In 1888, on the second story of the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum, in a cold, dark room, sat a young tortured artist (Pachko, 2015). He had just been admitted into the asylum for taking a razor and cutting off his left ear. His life was filled with self-harm, self-doubt, God, and art (Bio, 2000). His art helped him stay mentally stable, for a short amount of time (Bio, 2000). On July 27, 1890 he went out to paint the morning sky and could no longer cope with the “voices in his head” (Bio, 2000). Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest that morning and died three days later, in his brothers’ arms (Bio, 2000). Van Gogh died at the age of 37. He is considered to be one of the greatest Dutch painters, but his life was cut short because he suffered from a mental illness called Schizophrenia (Bio, 2000). The History of Schizophrenia Schizophrenia can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt in, “The Book of Hearts” (Yuhas, 2013). It describes Schizophrenia as “madness” it noted that the “madness” came from demons (Yuhas, 2013). The disorder known today as Schizophrenia was originally called Dementia Praecox (Yuhas, 2013). Dementia Praecox is defined as the general loss of cognitive abilities (Mayo Clinic, 2014). A German physician named Emil Kraepelin was the first to formally diagnose people with Dementia Praecox in 1887 (Yuhas, 2013). In 1908 Eugene Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, believed deterioration was not involved with this disorder, but actually it was a split mind, so he coined the term Schizophrenia (Yuhas, 2013). Overview Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness. A person with Schizophrenia generally has an altered perception of reality (Smith, 2015). Schizophrenia is a combination of hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking or speech, or movement disorders (NIMH, 2014). Hallucinations include seeing, hearing, tasting, or smelling something that does not exist (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Delusions include false ideas, an example is that the person believes they are being spied on, but they actually are not (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Disordered thinking or speech include the person putting together meaningless words that are completely unrelated to the conversation or setting they are in (Smith, 2015). Movement disorders included the person repeating certain movements over and over (NIMH, 2014). People with Schizophrenia can become paralyzed with fear. This may cause them to withdraw or become extremely flustered (Smith, 2015). People with Schizophrenia can sit for hours without talking or moving and if they do speak it may not make any sense (Smith, 2015). They may seem fine until they talk about what they are really thinking or feeling (NIMH, 2014). This is why people who have Schizophrenia have such a high risk of committing suicide (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Causes of Schizophrenia The exact cause of Schizophrenia unknown (Mayo Clinic, 2014).
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Experts believe it is a combination of environmental factors, genetics, abnormal brain chemistry and structures (Smith, 2015). Scientist know Schizophrenia runs in families. A person with an immediate family member who has Schizophrenia has a ten percent chance of developing this disorder (NIMH, 2014). A person who has a second-degree family member with Schizophrenia also has a higher risk of developing this disorder, over someone who has no family history of Schizophrenia; who would only have about a one percent chance of developing it (NIMH, 2014). Many experts believe that Schizophrenia has to do with genetic and they also agree that an environmental role is a big factor such as exposure to a virus during infancy or a prenatal exposure, complications during birth, malnutrition before birth, parental loss or separation, and physical or sexual abuse play a big role in triggering this disorder (Smith, 2015). Examinations of people’s brains who suffered from Schizophrenia after they have died have showed slight differences when compared with people who have healthy brains (NIMH, 2014). People with Schizophrenia have abnormal brain cells that lead to defective connections that occurred before birth (NIMH, 2014). Scientists think that the brain, when going through changes like puberty, could trigger Schizophrenia (Smith, 2015). Also, people with Schizophrenia tend to have less gray matter, some areas of the brain show less activity, and they also tend to larger ventricles in the brain (Smith, 2015). Signs and Symptoms The symptoms of Schizophrenia are broken down into
Experts believe it is a combination of environmental factors, genetics, abnormal brain chemistry and structures (Smith, 2015). Scientist know Schizophrenia runs in families. A person with an immediate family member who has Schizophrenia has a ten percent chance of developing this disorder (NIMH, 2014). A person who has a second-degree family member with Schizophrenia also has a higher risk of developing this disorder, over someone who has no family history of Schizophrenia; who would only have about a one percent chance of developing it (NIMH, 2014). Many experts believe that Schizophrenia has to do with genetic and they also agree that an environmental role is a big factor such as exposure to a virus during infancy or a prenatal exposure, complications during birth, malnutrition before birth, parental loss or separation, and physical or sexual abuse play a big role in triggering this disorder (Smith, 2015). Examinations of people’s brains who suffered from Schizophrenia after they have died have showed slight differences when compared with people who have healthy brains (NIMH, 2014). People with Schizophrenia have abnormal brain cells that lead to defective connections that occurred before birth (NIMH, 2014). Scientists think that the brain, when going through changes like puberty, could trigger Schizophrenia (Smith, 2015). Also, people with Schizophrenia tend to have less gray matter, some areas of the brain show less activity, and they also tend to larger ventricles in the brain (Smith, 2015). Signs and Symptoms The symptoms of Schizophrenia are broken down into