www.schizophrenia.com " target="_blank"> www.schizophrenia.com

WHAT IS IT?
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime – more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties, than in women, who are generally affected in the twenties to early thirties. People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. These symptoms may leave them fearful and withdrawn. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others. Available treatments can relieve many symptoms, but most people with schizophrenia continue to suffer some symptoms throughout their lives; it has been estimated that no more than one in five individuals recovers completely.

This is a time of hope for people with schizophrenia and their families. Research is gradually leading to new and safer medications and unraveling the complex causes of the disease. Scientists are using many approaches from the study of molecular genetics to the study of populations to learn about schizophrenia. Methods of imaging the brain’s structure and function hold the promise of new insights into the disorder.

Schizophrenia As An Illness

Schizophrenia is found all over the world. The severity of the symptoms and long-lasting, chronic pattern of schizophrenia often cause a high degree of disability. Medications and other treatments for schizophrenia, when used regularly and as prescribed, can help reduce and control the distressing symptoms of the illness. However, some people are not greatly helped by available treatments or may prematurely discontinue treatment because of unpleasant side effects or other reasons. Even when treatment is effective, persisting consequences of the illness – lost opportunities, stigma, residual symptoms, and medication side effects – may be very troubling.

The first signs of schizophrenia often appear as confusing, or even shocking, changes in behavior. Coping with the symptoms of schizophrenia can be especially difficult for family members who remember how involved or vivacious a person was before they became ill. The sudden onset of severe psychotic symptoms is referred to as an “acute” phase of schizophrenia. “Psychosis,” a common condition in schizophrenia, is a state of mental impairment marked by hallucinations, which are disturbances of sensory perception, and/or delusions, which are false yet strongly held personal beliefs that result from an inability to separate real from unreal experiences. Less obvious symptoms, such as social isolation or withdrawal, or unusual speech, thinking, or behavior, may precede, be seen along with, or follow the psychotic symptoms.

Some people have only one such psychotic episode; others have many episodes during a lifetime, but lead relatively normal lives during the interim periods. However, the individual with “chronic” schizophrenia, or a continuous or recurring pattern of illness, often does not fully recover normal functioning and typically requires long-term treatment, generally including medication, to control the symptoms.

Making A Diagnosis

It is important to rule out other illnesses, as sometimes people suffer severe mental symptoms or even psychosis due to undetected underlying medical conditions. For this reason, a medical history should be taken and a physical examination and laboratory tests should be done to rule out other possible causes of the symptoms before concluding that a person has schizophrenia. In addition, since commonly abused drugs may cause symptoms resembling schizophrenia, blood or urine samples from the person can be tested at hospitals or physicians’ offices for the presence of these drugs.

At times, it is difficult to tell one mental disorder from another. For instance, some people with symptoms of schizophrenia exhibit prolonged extremes of elated or depressed mood, and it is important to determine whether such a patient has schizophrenia or actually has a manic-depressive (or bipolar) disorder or major depressive disorder. Persons whose symptoms cannot be clearly categorized are sometimes diagnosed as having a “schizoaffective disorder.”

Can Children Have Schizophrenia?

Children over the age of five can develop schizophrenia, but it is very rare before adolescence. Although some people who later develop schizophrenia may have seemed different from other children at an early age, the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia – hallucinations and delusions – are extremely uncommon before adolescence.

The World of People With Schizophrenia


Distorted Perceptions of Reality
People with schizophrenia may have perceptions of reality that are strikingly different from the reality seen and shared by others around them. Living in a world distorted by hallucinations and delusions, individuals with schizophrenia may feel frightened, anxious, and confused.

In part because of the unusual realities they experience, people with schizophrenia may behave very differently at various times. Sometimes they may seem distant, detached, or preoccupied and may even sit as rigidly as a stone, not moving for hours or uttering a sound. Other times they may move about constantly – always occupied, appearing wide-awake, vigilant, and alert.


Hallucinations and Illusions
Hallucinations and illusions are disturbances of perception that are common in people suffering from schizophrenia. Hallucinations are perceptions that occur without connection to an appropriate source. Although hallucinations can occur in any sensory form – auditory (sound), visual (sight), tactile (touch), gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell) – hearing voices that other people do not hear is the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. Voices may describe the patient’s activities, carry on a conversation, warn of impending dangers, or even issue orders to the individual. Illusions, on the other hand, occur when a sensory stimulus is present but is incorrectly interpreted by the individual.


Delusions
Delusions are false personal beliefs that are not subject to reason or contradictory evidence and are not explained by a person’s usual cultural concepts. Delusions may take on different themes. For example, patients suffering from paranoid-type symptoms – roughly one-third of people with schizophrenia – often have delusions of persecution, or false and irrational beliefs that they are being cheated, harassed, poisoned, or conspired against. These patients may believe that they, or a member of the family or someone close to them, are the focus of this persecution. In addition, delusions of grandeur, in which a person may believe he or she is a famous or important figure, may occur in schizophrenia. Sometimes the delusions experienced by people with schizophrenia are quite bizarre; for instance, believing that a neighbor is controlling their behavior with magnetic waves; that people on television are directing special messages to them; or that their thoughts are being broadcast aloud to others.

Who do you think has it?

There is a medication on the market for treatment-resistant Schizophrenia...it's called Clozaril.

http://www.clozaril.com/i...?checked=y

(I am in no way endorsing this medication...the information is for educational purposes only.)

My ex boyfriend had it.

Unfortunatelly I didn't fully realise that until there
was an array of knives and china flying at my head in
the dead of night whilst I was being accused of plotting
with the "Men in Black" to stop him from being beamed
up by aliens before the commencing of mass slaughter on
the new year's eve 1999.

Fcuz, a lot more happened but that was one of the bigger
outbursts. Actually, normal everyday life was no longer
an option. There were spies at the supermarket, there
were trackingdivices in our car so we always had to go on
foot. My every move was scrutinised unto infinity and I
was blamed and persecuted for everything, from the food
not being cooked in time to rain falling outside to the
weatherman's choice of clothes lol.

It took me a while to get away and it severely fucked me
up in all my future relationships since that was the 1st
serious relationship I ever had.

IstenSzek said:

That must have been really, really difficult to deal with...
I hope both of you are doing better...

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[This message was edited Mon Dec 22 13:27:51 PST 2003 by Number23]

Now I assume this is just a flame baiting thread but let me put my in.
Some of my students suffer from schizophrenia, it's a very scary, very sad disease. If anyone is interested in the topic, from an emotional, not clinical stand point, I recommend you read "I Know This Much is True" by Wally Lamb. It's a great book and it shows the real side of the people and families effected by this illness.

As for the flame bait, if you are trying to call another orger crazy, why not take a look at yourself, you are the one who wasted the time and energy to create this thread, you are the one obsessing about another person's supposed mental illness. If you are doing this to attack another you must not have all your marbles either.

If this thread was created in innocence I apologize, I'm just really at the end of my rope with the petty threads and org drama."Why can't we all just get along?"

http://www.nami.org/

if you know someone or of someone with this diagnosis the NAMI website is a good resource

I have had it in a mild form, for about two years. I have been on medication for it for that long too.

The four biggest things I hate about this illness, which are worse than the illness itself:

#1 - the stigma of having a mental illness.

#2 - ignorant people, mostly the media who still believe a schizo person has a "split personality". schizophrenia is nothing of the sort. what they are referring to is multiple personality disorder, which is in fact so rare as to be virtually non-existant anyway.

#3 people treating me differently once they find out. fortunately I am one of the lucky few who have what is called "insight" about their own illness - ie I realise the symptoms are not real. it sucks that people think they have to walk on eggshells around you. but thankfully, most people who know me now, actually KNOW me and know that I'm not crazy. which brings me to number four...

#4 people thinking you're crazy. you're not. you're just ill in the same way you would be if you had cancer, because it is a brain disease...a physical disease and in most cases, you can be helped.

luckily for me i've made an almost complete recovery. i still get the odd disturbance...anxiety, etc...but mostly i've learnt to ignore it, along with help from therapy and meds.

anyway, thanks for this thread. more people need to realise that it is not what is commonly thought of as "craziness", in most cases... and it is not a "split-personality" at all.

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[This message was edited Mon Dec 22 19:16:46 PST 2003 by mrdespues]

mrdespues said:

... I just like your eyebrows.

My girlfriend has a really good friend with schizophrenia. She has to keep switching meds to remain even remotely stable. The meds make her (to be polite) drowzy and disconnected. It is so sad sometimes, and not to sound to un-"pc" but kinda of funny. (even she finds it be funny) I know so little about this except for her talking about it but I can see how sad she is even when she is laughing about her latest "episode"

Lammastide said:

ha, when did you see my eyebrows? that was a long time ago when i posted them!

mrdespues said:

Some things are worth remembering.

Lammastide said:

mrdespues said:

Wow mrdespues, that takes some courage to talk about it like that. Very well said.

Someone very close to me suffers from a form of it as well, and you're right about it on all counts.

2the9s said:

Indeed

I think i hit something here...

mrdespues said:

I do PR for a mental health clinic and part of my job is to help educate the public about mental illness...I commend you for coming forward...you have NOTHING to be ashamed about. It's so true, what you said about mental illnesses just being another disease (like diabetes, etc.) People tend to flip out about these things because they affect the brain/behavior. It's about time for us to get out of the dark ages!