The cause of schizophrenia is not fully known. However, it is said that schizophrenia usually results from a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors.
Because schizophrenia has a strong hereditary component, people with a first degree relative(parent or sibling) who has this illness, have a 10 percent chance of developing it as well. The general population only has a one percent chance. Amazingly, 60 percent of schizophrenics have no family members with the disorder! So how did it evolve? This comes to show that biology is not destiny.
Studies have suggested that inherited genes make a person vulnerable to schizophrenia and then environmental factors act on this vulnerability to trigger the disorder even more. Stress is a major factor which influences schizophrenia symptoms. Factors such as prenatal difficulties, viral infections, prenatal complications, and various stressors seam to influence the development of this disorder. Other recent studies think that schizophrenia may result in part when a certain gene that is key to making important brain chemicals malfunctions.
Overall, research is still on going about where schizophrenia develops and where it originally came from. Which to me means that no one really knows what schizophrenia is!
Schizophrenia is known to many, but since no one really knows the history or how to control it properly, they use medication. Drugs. Antipsychotic medications. Its a life long treatment, and once taking the medications thousand of doctors suggest that they keep on using even if the symptoms have gone away. These medications usually help a schizophrenic reduce their symptoms such as; hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence.
Another form to treat this disorder is going to therapy. Unlike the medications, therapy helps the patient go on with life knowing they have this illness, and still have social interactions with others. They help them understand all of the symptoms they have, the crazy thoughts, and sudden urges to do things.
I recently, had a conversation with one of my co-workers who has an cousin with this disorder. As I was telling him about what I was learning, he stopped me and said he doesn't believe in the word schizophrenia. I was taken back on what he was telling me, which lead me to research a little more into what he was telling me. A little off the lines with what I'm studying but I wanted to try and see his point of view. Here is a small video of what he had shown me...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beAjfx1g24o
Since he is not the first person to tell me this, I thought maybe my next blog will be about others perspectives on schizophrenia. Whether is good or evil.
Elsa, I would really like to learn about those perspectives on schizophrenia and the potential stigma towards it. I myself like to keep my distance, mostly because I don't know enough about the subject and that all the people I have really seen are the more aggressive types. I'm curious to see where you go with this. Good job.
ReplyDeleteAlso, does schizophrenia come out only when a person is a child, or can it show later in life?
Schizophrenia tends to appear in early adulthood.
DeleteSchizophrenia is mostly common in early adulthood, but it is possible for a young child at the age of 5 and beyond to start having symptoms. Most of the time, they are evaluated and watched carefully to insure that the diagnosed is real, and not just a stage of growing up for the child.
ReplyDelete