Schizophrenia
Informative on Schizophrenia: What you need to know
Introduction:
Schizophrenia. Just the sound of the word rolling off your tongue brings immediate thoughts and sensations that carry with it much bias and stigmatic notations. Many affiliate words, or less scientific shall we say, are loony, schizoid, crazy, deranged, insane or wacko. Coined by the Swiss psychiatrist Paul Eugen Blueler in the early 20th Century, schizophrenia has often been confused with personality disorders, particularly dissociate identity disorder. “Despite its etymology, schizophrenia is not synonymous with dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder or split personality.” (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2008) This age old disorder was often associated with witchcraft, physical illness or even demon possession in the ancient times. In its history, the term shcizophrenia isn’t but a mere hundred years old but the delusional symptoms and hallucinogenic psychotic behaviours that comprise the disease has more than likely accompanied man througout history. In a journal written by Theocharis Chr. Kyziridis, he touches on everything from platonic ideas of a connection between madness and prophesies, to the Greeks who adopted ideas that mental illness were surely from the, “Gods.” (Kyziridis.T, 2005, pg.42) However, with increased advancements in psychological studies, heightened sense of knowledge regarding diagnoses and use of the DSM, as well as neurobiological and pharmacological intervention, this once idopathic brain disease is beginning to reveal itself as far more than just non-emperical dogma.
Symptoms:
“The range and symptoms in the diagnosis of schizophrenia is extensive, although patients typically have only some of these problems at any given time.” Shizophrenia has two types of symptoms associated with the disorder, positive and negative. (Davidson G., Johnson, S., Kring, A., and Neale, J. 2007. Chpt 11) Positive symptoms are also...
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