Schizophrenia

2 May Schizophrenia “ Schizophrenia is a challenging disorder that makes it difficultto distinguish between what is real and unreal, think clearly, manage emotions, and relate to others” (Smith and Segal). Schizophrenia has multiple causes, and generally does not pass across generations. The causes of schizophrenia are a conglomerate of psychological, environmental, and genetic factors. The psychological causes of schizophrenia generally happen before birth. Children whose mothers had infections during pregnancy have increased risk of suffering from schizophrenia. Tough circumstances in life during childhood and/or adulthood including bullying and emotional or physical abuse can also cause schizophrenia in an individual.
Symptoms of schizophrenia include unrealistic beliefs or delusions and disorganized speech. The patient hears, feels, smells, and tastes objects which are invisible to others. The patient’s behavior is also disorganized. The relatively less noticeable psychotic symptoms include shyness, lack of speech, and curiosity.
Diagnosis of schizophrenia is complicated as there is no standard test to identify a patient with schizophrenia. The clinician or therapist tries to diagnose it by collecting information about the personal, social, and medical history of the patient. The clinician or therapist tends to identify hallucinations and delusions in the patient’s behavior.
There are several mood-enhancing and stress-relieving medicines that are prescribed for the treatment of schizophrenia. The genetic term used for these medications is “ antipsychotics” as they tend to reduce the severity of psychotic symptoms. Medications to treat schizophrenia include risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, asenapine, and paliperidone. Antipsychotic medicines immediately enhance the mood of the patient. There are other mood-stabilizer medicines like divalproex, lamotrigine, and lithium that are effective for the treatment of mood swings, though they consume more time to show effects as compared to the antipsychotics (Dryden-Edwards and Stoppler 4). In order to achieve objective results, it is imperative that medicines are taken regularly.
Works Cited:
Dryden-Edwards, and Stoppler, “ Schizophrenia.” 2012. Web. 2 May 2012.
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Smith, Melinda, and Segal, Jeanne. “ Understanding Schizophrenia.” Jan. 2012. Web. 2 May
2012. .