Mental Disorders: Symptoms And Causes Of Schizophrenia

Before one can begin applying Schizophrenia in a real-world context, and how it affects both those that are victims of it and the people that interact with those diagnosed with the disorder, one must first be able to establish the characteristics of it. Although the cause of schizophrenia is not fully clear, there are a multitude of indicators that can help diagnose the individual. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the main component of the disorder is the the issue of “psychosis,” which means a loss of touch with reality. The common symptoms also include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behavior, which lead to issues in self-care and general life functioning. However, …show more content…
Furthermore, this inability can lead to the inability to maintain a role in society. The final feature of schizophrenia is the timespan of the symptoms. The symptoms must persist for at least 6 months in order to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. A common misconception in diagnosing schizophrenia involves this timespan. An individual can have have schizophrenic characteristics, but not be schizophrenic. Individuals who suffer from these symptoms for less than one month are diagnosed with brief psychotic disorder, while individuals who suffer from these symptoms for 1-6 months are diagnosed with schizophreniform disorder. Nonetheless, there are a few scenarios that cannot be present. Symptoms cannot be due to schizoaffective disorder, which is the distinct collection of psychotic and mood disorder symptoms, or due to depressive/bipolar disorder with psychotic features. Other exclusions include substance or medical abuse (DNA Learning …show more content…
Schizophrenia is one of the few disorders that does not have a common archetype. This can raise some concerns as there cannot be a “universal solution” to treating individuals with schizophrenia, besides the fact that the disease has no cure. This variety in possible symptoms can also make it difficult to diagnose and, in turn, control. According to MentalHealth.net, 1% of the United States population is comprised of individuals with schizophrenia; nonetheless, 1.2% of individuals suffer from this disorder (Nemade and Dombeck). This raises an important question: if that 0.2% of the population are not being treated or do not have the support system (e.g., family, friends, psychiatrists) to help them cope with the disorder and help lead healthy lives, could it lead to unconventional forms of coping with the disorder and illegitimate responses when interacting in society? Criminal