Schizophrenia
This refers to a mental disorder that exhibit certain mental characteristics. This disorder is a disabling and a severe mental disorder that affects a large number of people in the world. Researchers on the disease have found that more than 2 million Americans aged around 18 years and above suffer from the disorder. One cannot ignore the fact that patients and the community in general are affected by the disorder in one way or the other. The patients with this disorder find it hard to work or even sustain a job, for this reason they may end up being poor and they have to rely on their close relatives for monetary support. This disorder affects both en and men. Researchers have found that the signs of this disorder emerge at an early age of 16 to 30 years (Amerandra, 2009).
Men tend to experience the symptoms of the disorder at early age as compared to women. It becomes hard for one to get the disease at an age beyond 45 years. The disease rarely affects young children, but there is continued awareness on the onset of schizophrenia onset among young children. The disease is not easily detected among the young children because the symptoms presented by the diseases are common (Amerandra, 2009). For example, the teens may change friends, they may also drop their grades, and they experience sleep problems. The disease is said to have some genetic origins. Some social factors and neurobiology are great contributors to the disorder. Reaction to some drugs and other factors tend to trigger the symptoms of the disorder (Abnormal Psychology).
Over the years, people have had a continued perception that the disorder is a result of split personality due to the symptoms exhibited by the disorder (Hirsch & Weinberger, 1995). However, researchers have identified that the disorder can easily be classified as a split of mental functions. The disorder has been identified as a serious disorder that affects people. This is due to its ability and potential to impact on the life of an individual negatively. People with the disorder cannot manage to live a healthy and productive life. However, a significant number of people are able to lead a comfortable life despite the condition, through management of the disorder (Leviticus, 2009). They can only live a good life if they can be able to manage the symptoms of the disorder. They must find means of adapting to the disorder although they will still experience the reality of the disorder.
The disorder is usually characterized by impaired emotional responses and the patient exhibits a breakdown of mental processes. Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental disorder and patients have a lot of challenges that emanate from the disorder. Patients diagnosed with the disorder tend to show a range of symptoms. Some of the symptoms include hallucinations, delusions and in most cases they experience disorganized speeches and thoughts (Whitborne, 2013).
Most of the hallucinations are voice related. These patients claim to hear voices from nowhere and in some situations they tend to respond to the voices by presenting uncoordinated speeches. The patients may also experience emotional difficulties. For instance, these patients may lack responses to emotional triggers (Hirsch & Weinberger, 1995). These patients are likely to experience social problems, they may exhibit social withdraw, and they may reduce social interactions with their close friends and family members. A common symptom that may be eminent with individuals suffering from this disorder is sloppy dressing codes and loss of hygiene. These individuals are likely to stay for a long duration without washing, combing their hairs and other basic hygiene measures.
Patients may exhibit lack of motivation and poor judgment on issues. This disorder affects how an individual relates with other individuals. It is a social disorder, and individuals with this disorder tend to develop serious social problems. One cannot ignore the social effects that are related to the disorder. The disease is further worsened by the social effects that may emanate from isolation and lack of emotional support. These individuals cannot be able to develop social relations since their minds do not function normally. These rarely form any social identities because no one wants to relate with them in the society.
The disorder is diagnosed through a series of criteria. The first criterion is referred as the active phase. In this stage, the symptoms of the disease become very prominent. At this stage, an individual may experience, negative and positive symptoms. Positive symptoms may refer to distortions of mental thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Individuals may also experience exaggerated false beliefs that may be contrary to the individual intelligence. For example, these individuals may feel that every person who comes close to them wants to cause harm to them.
These individuals may experience hallucinations. They develop false perceptions, which do not correspond to the stimuli in their environment. These individuals experience unfocused and vague flow of thoughts. The negative symptoms refer to the functioning that is below the normal expected behavior (Hirsch & Weinberger, 1995). These individuals tend to experience a restricted affect. They experience a narrowed expression of emotions. They lack the energy and the will to take any action. They lack the sociality, and they lose interest in social groups (Hirsch & Weinberger, 1995).
Clinicians use the above symptoms in diagnosing of the disorder. The diagnosis of the disorder has to be based on the symptoms which are most prevalent. Some of the diagnosis includes the catatonic types of schizophrenia. In this case, the individuals experience severe motor disturbances. The affected individuals, cannot speak, move or even respond to situations.
They may stay for a long time staring blankly without responding. The symptoms at this stage do not have any psychological effect (Leviticus, 2009). The individuals can jump, run or do funny things. They do not have consciousness with what happens around them. With the guidance of the symptoms detected from the patients, the clinicians are able to form a conclusion on the type of schizophrenia that the patient suffers from. Serious challenges have emanated from the diagnosis of the disorder (Abnormal Psychology). Many clinicians have developed many theories on how to diagnose this disorder.
There is a significant relationship between the disorder and psychology. Many researchers have found that the disorder relate closely to psychological effects. Researchers have related the disease to psychological effects such as a lot of stress, shocks in life such as job loss, death of a key family member or a serious stressful occurrence. (Whitborne, 2013) Individuals, who suffer from the disorder, tend to illustrate a low self-esteem (Maj & Sartorious, 2003). They believe that they live in a different world from other people. They easily develop boundaries based on individual self and their social relations become constrained (Hirsch & Weinberger, 1995). These individuals develop strong perceptions that their world is unique from other individuals in the community (Maj & Sartorious, 2003). This physiological state leads to an emotional split in the individuals. The situations are further worsened by a history of psychological abuses such as rape, torture or discrimination.
Individuals who have experienced serious social issues tend to develop this disorder. Researchers have attributed this disorder more to psychological causes than to genetically causes (Maj & Sartorious, 2003). For this reason, we cannot ignore the relationship between the disorder and psychology. While psychology tries to study the functioning of the individual brain, schizophrenia presents a disorder that affects the functioning of the brain (Whitborne, 2013). Some social issues such as isolation, belonging to a low social class or a minority group, can trigger the disorder.
The relationship between the disorder and the social economic situations cannot be ignored. Individuals, who have experienced serious social economic situations, are vulnerable to the disorder. These individuals tend to think that the circumstances that they have gone through are extraordinary and they keep on recalling the situations (Maj & Sartorious, 2003). The ability of the individual to cope with the psychosocial issues that face them in life can prevent the individual from developing the disorder.
The most effective ways of treating the disorder relates closely to psychological treatments. Researchers have found that psychological therapies can aid a lot in the treatment of the disorder. The use of cognitive behavioral therapy has proved to be very useful in treating the disorder. This therapy has shown positive improvements in treating negative and positive symptoms in individuals (Maj & Sartorious, 2003).
In conclusion, schizophrenia relates closely to psychology. Most of the symptoms discussed above are psychological effects. The individuals can adopt a good and healthy living if they are given emotional and social support. The psychological therapies can aid a lot in the curing of the disorder.
References
Abnormal Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2013, from http://www.zeepedia.com/read.php?schizophrenia related_psychotic_disorders causes_of_schizophrenia_abnormal_psychology&b=83&c=39
Amerandra. (2009). Schizophrenia and Psychology.
Hirsch, S. R., & Weinberger, D. R. (1995). Schizophrenia. Oxford: Blackwell Science
Leviticus, J. (2009). Effects of Schizophrenia.
Maj, M., & Sartorius, N. (2003). Schizophrenia. Chichester: Wiley.
Whitborne, S. (2013). Schizophrenia and Related Disorders.
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