Schizophrenia as a Psychological Disorder - Coursework Example

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is ranked as one of the most disabling mental situations that are coupled with hallucinations and unreal perceptions. Specifically, a person suffering from schizophrenia experiences periodical may be unresponsive for specific periods of time and may have problems in feeling, acting, and even thinking. These individuals may not be violent, as most of the population perceives. At least 1% of the overall global population is currently suffering from this condition. It affects both genders equally. According to Walters (2005), while there may be various symptoms, the doctors rely on four main types that include positive, negative, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. Although this condition does not have a specified cure, if detected early, certain medication can be used to control it although the patient has to stay with it for life. Lehman (1999) sustains that the main perceived causes are environmental and genetic. Although these are cited as the main contributors of this condition, it is just a speculation, as researchers have not yet been able to say with absolute certainty what exactly causes schizophrenia. Tsuang (2011) maintains that when attempting to control schizophrenia, a combination of medication and therapy could help the patient lead a productive life. Schizophrenia is an acute psychological disorder that affects a person’s perceptions. This condition affects the capacity to feel, think as well as act. In most instances, the individual affected by this condition experiences problems in distinguishing real things from the imaginary ones which may affect how they behave in certain situations. The person may also be unresponsive for a significant period and encounter difficulties when attempting to express normal emotions in social settings. This condition is equally prevalent in men as it is in women (Walters, 2005). The most common misconception by the society concerning Schizophrenia incorporates people thinking that this condition is the same as split personality or even multiple personality. A significant portion of the individuals suffering with schizophrenia is not violent and do not pose dangers to other members of the society as those having multiple and split personalities would. Schizophrenia is a serious condition that affects at least 1% of the overall global population indicating how serious it has become in the modern world (Kinter et al. 2009). When considering failure to distinguish real from the unreal the people suffering from schizophrenia may hear voices that are not really there and some may even get preconceived ideas that others may be plotting against them or even controlling how they think. The effects of schizophrenia are far reaching in that they do not only affect the sick individual. Instead, the family, friends and the society at large is also affected. The larger portion of the people with schizophrenia is not able to work or even provide for themselves. This implies that they have to rely on the family members and the society for their survival. If proper treatment is administered to the sick person, then they can lead a productive life although a majority of these individuals have to cope with the disorder for life. With respect to age, among men this condition strikes between the ages of 15 and 25 while in women between 25 and 35 years. In spite of intense research into this disease, researchers have not been able to conclude on the exact nature of schizophrenia. This is because some of them view schizophrenia as a combination of several mental conditions that masquerade as one disorder. The reason behind this assumption is that the disorder is complex severe chronic, as well as disabling (Heeg et al., 2008). The lack of a specified treatment to eliminate it is also a key contributor towards this assumption. To show the severity of this condition, it is the third most disabling after dementia and quadriplegia and ahead of paraplegia and blindness in ranking. According to scholars, schizophrenia occurs when a person’s brain’s power to communicate effectively is affected to the point that it cannot function properly. Specifically, the human brain is made up of many nerve cells that consists branches, which transmit and receive messages from other nerve cells. Nerve cells release neurotransmitters that carry messages between the cells. This is the normal functioning of the brain that does not happen for an individual with schizophrenia since the message transmitting system does not work well in these individuals. To date, the medical world has not been able to establish a laboratory way of diagnosing a person with schizophrenia (Beck, 2011). Instead, all doctors rely on symptoms. While it may be challenging, the practitioner is able to rule out other conditions, which have similar symptoms as schizophrenia that include drug abuse, brain tumour, and thyroid dysfunction. The current diagnosis symptom list has divided the symptoms into four categories since the symptoms may vary between individuals. The symptom categories include positive symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive symptoms, and emotional symptoms (Walters, 2005). The positive symptoms are also referred to as psychotic symptoms, which are those that individuals with schizophrenia do not have and include delusion. The negative emotions are those that represent the elements taken away from the individual and include loss of the normal traits, which people without the condition exhibit. Such emotions include blunted emotion. Cognitive symptoms are those within the person’s thought process. These may be either positive or negative. For instance, having poor concentration may be said to be negative. Lastly, emotional symptoms are those within the affected person’s feelings. These are usually negative and may include blunted emotions. Besides being on the divisions there are specific symptoms that the physicians look for before they can make a successful diagnosis. These include delusions where the patient experiences false perception where one may feel as if their behaviour is being controlled form outside their bodies. It is common for individuals suffering from schizophrenia to describe possible plots against them, which is the result of the effect of the condition. These individuals may also hide in order to avoid an imagined persecution. At other occasions, they may think that they have extraordinary gifts and powers. The other symptom includes hallucinations, which comprise the most common symptom (Weinberger & Harrison, 2011). Here, the patients hear voices, which are more common as compared to feeling, seeing, and smelling inexistent things. These things seem very real to the patient and this is one of the most decisive symptom that helps the physicians in diagnosing an individual with schizophrenia. The other symptom is thought disorder where the patient may jump between subjects for no apparent or logical reason (Lehman, 1999). In addition, their speech may become muddies as well as incoherent. Other symptoms that may be experienced include lack of motivation, social withdrawal, unaware of the existence of the condition since they appear very real to the patient and poor emotion expression. Researchers are yet to pinpoint the single contributor of schizophrenia. It is only speculated that certain factors can contribute towards the development of schizophrenia, which is hard to diagnose in teens, as the most obvious symptoms are common in teens and include lowering of grades and change of friends. Genes is one of the factors thought to contribute towards the development of schizophrenia. If one’s family history has no case of schizophrenia, then the person’s risk is down to 1% but increases to at least 10% of a case has been witnessed in the family in the past. The gene known as schizophrenia gene may be a key contributing factor because it plays a very important role in the brain with regard to controlling the birth of new neurons and integration of these neurons into the pre-existing brain circuitry (Lehman, 1999). This may explain the key cause of schizophrenia since it has a key role in the neurons affected by schizophrenia. The other factor thought to contribute to the development of schizophrenia is chemical imbalance in the human brain. Experts urge that an imbalance in the hormone of dopamine may be related to the development of schizophrenia (Tsuang, 2011). This imbalance is also caused by the genes making a person susceptible to the condition. It is also thought that other neurotransmitters known as serotonin may be involved. The main reason why experts view the brain as the key cause of schizophrenia is that changes in perceptions, behaviour, and emotions are caused by the brain. Therefore, a problem in the processing is to blame. Experts also believe that family relationships are also to blame. Although there is no scientifically proven effect of family relationships, it is believed that since family tension may lead to relapses, it can also contribute towards schizophrenia. The environment is viewed as another contributing factor. In spite of the fact that there is no scientific proof backing the environment as a cause of schizophrenia it is believed that prenatal trauma as well as infections during the earliest stages of life may contribute towards the development of schizophrenia (Smith & Segal, 2014). Specifically, such injuries may happen between 5 months before a baby is born and a month after birth. Stressful situations are also potential contributors. This is supported by the fact that prior to the development of acute symptoms, the individuals developing schizophrenia become anxious, bad tempered, and unfocused. These may also trigger relationship issues unemployment or divorces (Jones et al. 2006). Since such situations are accompanied by stressful events, the possibility of schizophrenia developing rises. Certain drugs are also thought to contribute. These include cannabis in addition to LSD. According to experts, for individuals with a predisposition to schizophrenia or any other psychic illness, usage of cannabis can trigger the signs of the first episode. For a doctor to settle on schizophrenia as the diagnosis they must check the patient’s history and blood tests may be undertaken to determine the complete blood count. With regard to treatment, doctors insist that the condition can be controlled if it is discovered early. The most effective treatment method, according to psychiatrists, is a combination of medication with counselling to help in supporting the brain. The specific medications used are known as the anti-psychosis drugs that enable the patients to live in the comforts of their communities instead of hospitals. Although medication helps in improving this situation, majority of the individuals suffering from schizophrenia often go for long periods without taking the medication. This worsens the case and increases the possibility of development of resistance to the drugs. The medication controls the hallucinations as well as delusions. In conclusion, schizophrenia is a serious mental health problem that ought to be taken serious by the entire society as cases related to it are increasing. Overall, the condition incorporates disabling the patient to the point that they cannot tell the difference between what is real and what is not. The case concerning schizophrenia gets worse because the earliest symptoms are similar to normal changes that may be experienced by a teenager and that it has no definite cure. In fact, it can only be controlled and the control has best outcome if the condition is detected early enough. Moreover, there is no definite clinical way of determining that a patient is suffering from schizophrenia besides using the patient’s history, which may not be easy to track. Schizophrenia occurs when there is a disconnection between the neurotransmitters that are responsible for carrying information leading to failure to deliver the information or delivery of the wrong information. This is the reason why the patients may report hearing sounds, which are not there. Scientists are currently not certain of what causes the condition. However, they just speculate. While chemical imbalance in the brain has been cited to be a key issue leading to schizophrenia, genetics are said to play a critical role in addition to the environment within which a person is brought up. As a recommendation, parents should be taught on how to observe the changes in their children’s behaviour so as to help with early diagnosis of the condition. This would increase the chances of the patient living a productive life after treatment is administered. Late diagnosis may render the individual disabled for life especially due to the fact that there is no definite cure. It would also be of importance if learning concerning this condition were taken to the middle level schools to ensure that even the tutors and fellow students can help in identifying schizophrenia as it emerges. This is because early diagnosis is the only current solution since there is no cure. References Beck, A. T. (2011). Schizophrenia: Cognitive theory, research, and therapy. New York: Guilford Press. Heeg, B. M. S., Damen, J., Buskens, E., Caleo, S., de Charro, F., & van Hout, B.,A. (2008). Modelling approaches: The case of schizophrenia. PharmacoEconomics, 26(8), 633-48. Jones, P. B., Buckley, P. F., & Kessler, D. (2006). Schizophrenia. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Kinter, E. T., Schmeding, A., Rudolph, I., dosReis, S., & Bridges, J. F. P. (2009). Identifying patient-relevant endpoints among individuals with schizophrenia: An application of patient-centered health technology assessment. International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care, 25(1), 35-41. Lehman, A. F. (1999). Quality of care in mental health: The case of schizophrenia. Health Affairs, 18(5), 52-65. Smith, M. & Segal, J. (2014). Understanding Schizophrenia. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/articles/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-signs-types-and-causes.htm Tsuang, M. T. (2011). Schizophrenia. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Walters, P. (2005). Clinical Review: Schizophrenia. GP,1(1), 63-64. Weinberger, D. R., & Harrison, P. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Read More