The human brain is a marvel unrivaled by anything else on this planet. It holds a lifetime 's worth of thoughts, memories, and emotions. Nothing is more unique; it is what makes every person who he is. For most, it is a finely-tuned machine, never held up by more than the slightest glitch. But for an unfortunate few, it is a debilitating mess of chaos. As a schizophrenic, thoughts become disorganized; memories disappear, replaced by fallacies, and emotions blur together until they practically vanish. The earliest records of a disease resembling schizophrenia are believed to come from as early as 2000 B.C. when ancient Egyptians depicted depression, dementia, and thought disturbances characteristic of schizophrenia as it is understood
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The term “positive” is applied to symptoms which create a change in thoughts or behaviors. Many of these may be simply attributed to psychosis, which manifests itself through delusions and hallucinations. A delusion is a deeply-rooted belief that something imaginary is real, or that something real is imaginary. Hallucinations occur when one of the five senses becomes active without stimulation; the sensation is imagined. Any or all of the senses may be affected, but auditory hallucination is the most common. Patients experiencing auditory hallucinations often report hearing one or more “voices” either commenting on his or her own actions or encouraging self-harm. Other positive symptoms include inappropriate outbursts of anger, assumption of uncomfortable bodily positions, and excessive or unnecessary movement. Negative symptoms, on the other hand, represent an absence or deficiency of normal humanistic functions. These include social withdrawal, lack of appropriate responses to physical or emotional stimuli, poor personal hygiene practices, difficulty following instructions, inefficient thought processes, and inability to focus or carry out a task (nhs.uk), (schizophrenic.com), …show more content…
Delusions and hallucinations may continue to occur, but the emotional connection to them becomes much less strong, allowing for more normal behavior. Furthermore, there may be residual signs of disorganized speech and emotional withdrawal; these are likely manageable with therapy.
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is diagnosed when a patient exhibits symptoms which do not fully or clearly fit any other diagnosable form of the disease (schizophrenic.com)
Schizophrenia, in any form, may appear at any point in a person’s life: Some begin to show signs as children and others do not experience symptoms until late adulthood. There is a general consensus among experts that the illness is brought about by a collaboration of factors; these have been narrowed down to genetic mutations, environment, and differences in the structure and chemical balances of the brain. Scientists have long known that schizophrenia runs in families, as it occurs in about one percent of the general population and ten percent of those having a first degree relative with the disease. This observation provides evidence for the passing down of genetic mutations, but it has yet to be determined which gene or genes are responsible or what age a person may reach before these mutations take effect. Examinations of affected brains have shown abnormalities such as deficits in dopamine levels,
The term “positive” is applied to symptoms which create a change in thoughts or behaviors. Many of these may be simply attributed to psychosis, which manifests itself through delusions and hallucinations. A delusion is a deeply-rooted belief that something imaginary is real, or that something real is imaginary. Hallucinations occur when one of the five senses becomes active without stimulation; the sensation is imagined. Any or all of the senses may be affected, but auditory hallucination is the most common. Patients experiencing auditory hallucinations often report hearing one or more “voices” either commenting on his or her own actions or encouraging self-harm. Other positive symptoms include inappropriate outbursts of anger, assumption of uncomfortable bodily positions, and excessive or unnecessary movement. Negative symptoms, on the other hand, represent an absence or deficiency of normal humanistic functions. These include social withdrawal, lack of appropriate responses to physical or emotional stimuli, poor personal hygiene practices, difficulty following instructions, inefficient thought processes, and inability to focus or carry out a task (nhs.uk), (schizophrenic.com), …show more content…
Delusions and hallucinations may continue to occur, but the emotional connection to them becomes much less strong, allowing for more normal behavior. Furthermore, there may be residual signs of disorganized speech and emotional withdrawal; these are likely manageable with therapy.
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is diagnosed when a patient exhibits symptoms which do not fully or clearly fit any other diagnosable form of the disease (schizophrenic.com)
Schizophrenia, in any form, may appear at any point in a person’s life: Some begin to show signs as children and others do not experience symptoms until late adulthood. There is a general consensus among experts that the illness is brought about by a collaboration of factors; these have been narrowed down to genetic mutations, environment, and differences in the structure and chemical balances of the brain. Scientists have long known that schizophrenia runs in families, as it occurs in about one percent of the general population and ten percent of those having a first degree relative with the disease. This observation provides evidence for the passing down of genetic mutations, but it has yet to be determined which gene or genes are responsible or what age a person may reach before these mutations take effect. Examinations of affected brains have shown abnormalities such as deficits in dopamine levels,