Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is considered the most serious of the mental disorders. The word itseld means split (schizo) and that describes the main characteristic of the disorder.

The person suffering from schizophrenia experiences a split with reality. Many incorrectly think that schizophrenia is a single disorder but it is a cluster of symptoms and disorders.

The disorders are characterized by the breakdown of personality functioning, withdrawl from reality, distorted emotions and disturbed thought patterns.

To put some order to the many symptoms, they are broken down into categories of positive and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms mean they are undesirable additions to a person's mental life and they include:

  • Delusions or the exaggerations of reality. There are two types of delusions: delusions of grandeur and delusions of persecution. Delusions of grandeur refer to a person's concept of himself and his abilities. For example, a person with schizophrenia could believe that he is Jesus Christ and he may possess "special" powers because he believes he holds the secret to controlling the world's gravitation. The second type of delusion are delusions of persecution and these types of delusions make the person feel that others are watching him or are "out to get him." The world and all people in it become the enemy.
  • Hallucination or false sensory experiences that feel real. The most common hallucinations are auditory.

More positive symptoms:

  • Severely disorganized thought, speech and behavior. An example of this is called word salad, which is an illogical jumble of ideas and symbols linked by meaningless words. For example, a patient may say something like this, "She went up the down staircase and then won the race and was seen leaving the building but grieving about the brick that was a click of the color lick".
  • Disturbances involving extremely high or low activity levels of motor activity or odd movements and gestures.

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia are the ones that show a reduction of normal functioning.  Examples of negative symptoms include the following:

  • Flat affect which means showing little emotion
  • Inability to feel pleasure
  • Lack of motivation
  • Lack of meaningful speech
  • Decrease in personal hygiene

Watch The Brain (3:27) to learn about Schizophrenia

There are four types of schizophrenia: paranoid, disorganized, catatonic and undifferentiated.

Paranoid schizophrenia involves strongly held delusions of persecution or grandeur. The person may act on the delusion as in a person feeling that people are plotting against them and then will act out in a defensive manner to protect themselves.

The movie, A Beautiful Mind, was about John Nash and depicted his struggle with schizophrenia.

A second type of schizophrenia is disorganized schizophrenia. This type involves inappropriate behaviors including odd movements and disconnected emotional states. Word salad is common with this type.

Catatonic schizophrenia involves rigid or excitable motor behavior.

The patient will change from the rigid stupor to agitation. People can hold unusual and uncomfortable body positions for long periods of time.

Undifferentiated schizophrenia has a mixture of symptoms. It involves thought disorders and features from the other types of schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia typically first occurs in men younger than age 25 and in women between 25 and 45 years old. Both men and women are equally affected and schizophrenia is noted in all cultures. It affects about 1% of the world's population.

Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are the last group that we will look at.

Personality disorders are characterized by long-standing chronic, inflexible, maladaptive patterns of perception, thought and behavior that interfere with a person's ability to function personally or socially.

This pattern emerges during adolescence. As a disorder these are hard to diagnose and it is questioned if they really exist or are a part of other disorders. Two examples of personality disorders are narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder.

Narcissism

The term narcissism was derived from Greek mythology and was about a Greek youth whose punishment for not falling in love with the nymph, Echo, fell in love with his image in pool of water.

Today the narcissistic personality disorder refers to a grandiose sense of self-importance and a preoccupation with fantasies of success and power. The narcissist needs a steady and large amount of attention and admiration and reacts strongly to criticism. They feel entitled to favors without thinking of reciprocating.

Antisocial Personality

The antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing pattern of irresponsible behavior that hurts others without causing any feelings of guilt. Trouble with the law and authority figures usually begins early in life and many antisocial personalities spend time incarcerated.

Personality Disorders

You will continue exploring mental disorders, but The Health Organization now estimates that 400 million people worldwide suffer from psychological disorders.

Interestingly, depression and schizophrenia are the only disorders observed in all cultures. One U. S. government survey estimates that 15% of the population is in need of therapy with 1.9 million people per year admitted to mental hospitals in the United States, and 2.4 million Americans get out-patient help each year.

Although there are a large number of people who have mental disorders, there is still, unfortunately, a stigma that prevails about mental illness. Many people who suffer from a mental disorder must also endure being ostracized from society and made to feel shame and guilt for their illness. Society in general has many misconceptions about mental illness.