The Symptoms Of Schizophrenia

A mental illness can be defined as a range of health conditions that affect behavior, thinking, and mood. There are more than two hundred forms of mental illnesses. While in some cases, these disorders are not that serious, others are very rare and very severe. Some common types of disorders are bipolar, anxiety, eating, mood, and psychotic disorders. The most common psychotic disorder is called schizophrenia. In order for one to understand exactly what schizophrenia is, they first must understand the symptoms, how doctors used to break down the disorder into subtypes, how the disorder is diagnosed, and how doctors treat the disorder once it has been diagnosed. Schizophrenia is a very severe illness. It is a chronic, lifelong disorder. This …show more content…
The first one is delusions. Delusions are wrong beliefs that one has that will not change. They think that what they believe is true and will not stray from that belief. Most delusions are easy prove wrong, as most delusions are not based on reality. A few examples some delusions are that they believe that they are being harmed or spied on or that they are famous. While everyone around them knows that the delusions are simply delusions, the person experiencing it firmly believes that it is true. Another symptom is hallucinations. The first thing people think of when they hear the word “schizophrenia,” is that they hear voices. That is the most common hallucination. Hallucinations involve seeing or hearing things that are not actually there, but for the person experiencing the hallucination, they have “the full force and impact of a real experience” (Mayo Clinic 1). Disorganized speech or thinking is also another symptom. The person will speak in a way that only makes sense to them. Their behavior also changes if someone has schizophrenia. They may act like a child or be abnormally aggressive. It is especially hard for them to focus on a given task, so things usually do not get done. Lack of care for themselves or others is also on the list of symptoms. They seem to lack emotion and may start to slack on personal hygiene. These are just the main symptoms, as each person is …show more content…
Every person who has been diagnosed with this disorder must take medication. These medications are called antipsychotics. Antipsychotics “work on chemicals in the brain” (WebMD 1). They mainly work on chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin. Most of these medications can be taken as a pill, a liquid, or as an injection. The injection is usually taken one to two times a month and lasts as long as taking a pill daily. There are two types of drugs, the older and the newer. Some examples from the group of older medications are Chlorpromazine and Perphenazine. Some examples from the newer group of medications are Aripiprazole and Quetiapine. Every person reacts differently to these kinds of drugs, so it might take a while to decide which drug works best for each individual. The doctor who is behind deciding what drug works best makes the decision after looking at five things, according to WebMD. They look at the price, how accessible it is to the person who would be taking it, the side effects, how often it is taken, and how well it works on the schizophrenic’s symptoms. While both the new and the older antipsychotics, the older drugs may cause a higher production of prolactin. This affects “sex drive, mood, menstrual cycles, and growth of breast tissue in both men and women” (WebMD 1). With the prolonged use of either drug, old or new, there is a very high chance of developing tardive dyskinesia. This a movement