Introduction
Schizophrenia comes from Greek origin and means, "split mind" (Coconcea, 2004). This is not to be confused that schizophrenia refers to a split-personality disorder. People with schizophrenia don’t have separate personalities. These are two extremely different disorders, yet many people have made this mistake in the Western culture. Another common assumption many people tend to make is that schizophrenics are violent and dangerous. Studies indicate that this is false and they are not especially prone to violence (Berk, 2006). Schizophrenia is defined as a chronic, severe, disabling brain disease that affects approximately one percent of the U.S. population (over two million people) in any given year (Berk, 2006). People are usually …show more content…
If you were to develop this disorder before the 1930’s you would probably sadly spend the rest of your life in a psychiatric hospital. Shocking treatments were often attempted to help cure schizophrenia; some of these treatments included, surgical cutting of connections to the front of the brain, infusing insulin to induce a coma, and putting patients into large tanks of cold water (Goff, 2008). However these procedures didn’t work to well to even ease the suffering. The causes of schizophrenia are not fully understood, making it very difficult to come up with an easy and effective treatment. Therefore treatment focuses on helping stop the symptoms through the use of antipsychotic drugs. Most show very worthwhile improvement while taking this medication, but some aren’t helped or don’t need them (Berk, 2006). Sometimes a family member might make the horrible assumption that the medication is no longer needed because they saw so much improvement in their loved one when in reality they still do (Coconcea, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are usually quite sufficient in helping hallucinations and delusions from leaking into their daily life, but they cannot be expected to always prevent them from happening. Consequently, there are a few long term side effects of some antipsychotic medications such as Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), but newer medications lower the risk of TD (Berk, 2006). Many people with schizophrenia do not take treatment because of the possible side effects and/or other reasons such as social stigma. After medication and the psychotic symptoms are in check, psychosocial therapy can be a great way to help deal with behavioral problems, such as difficulty with communication, motivation, self-care, and relationships (Berk,
Schizophrenia comes from Greek origin and means, "split mind" (Coconcea, 2004). This is not to be confused that schizophrenia refers to a split-personality disorder. People with schizophrenia don’t have separate personalities. These are two extremely different disorders, yet many people have made this mistake in the Western culture. Another common assumption many people tend to make is that schizophrenics are violent and dangerous. Studies indicate that this is false and they are not especially prone to violence (Berk, 2006). Schizophrenia is defined as a chronic, severe, disabling brain disease that affects approximately one percent of the U.S. population (over two million people) in any given year (Berk, 2006). People are usually …show more content…
If you were to develop this disorder before the 1930’s you would probably sadly spend the rest of your life in a psychiatric hospital. Shocking treatments were often attempted to help cure schizophrenia; some of these treatments included, surgical cutting of connections to the front of the brain, infusing insulin to induce a coma, and putting patients into large tanks of cold water (Goff, 2008). However these procedures didn’t work to well to even ease the suffering. The causes of schizophrenia are not fully understood, making it very difficult to come up with an easy and effective treatment. Therefore treatment focuses on helping stop the symptoms through the use of antipsychotic drugs. Most show very worthwhile improvement while taking this medication, but some aren’t helped or don’t need them (Berk, 2006). Sometimes a family member might make the horrible assumption that the medication is no longer needed because they saw so much improvement in their loved one when in reality they still do (Coconcea, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are usually quite sufficient in helping hallucinations and delusions from leaking into their daily life, but they cannot be expected to always prevent them from happening. Consequently, there are a few long term side effects of some antipsychotic medications such as Tardive Dyskinesia (TD), but newer medications lower the risk of TD (Berk, 2006). Many people with schizophrenia do not take treatment because of the possible side effects and/or other reasons such as social stigma. After medication and the psychotic symptoms are in check, psychosocial therapy can be a great way to help deal with behavioral problems, such as difficulty with communication, motivation, self-care, and relationships (Berk,