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Schizophrenia Essay

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Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder characterized by a dysfunctional thinking process and withdrawal from the outside world. The word schizophrenia comes from two Greek words schizo which means split and phrenia, which means mind. This doesn't mean that a person with the disorder has multiple personalities, but rather parts of the mind seem to be operating independent of each other. The disease affects approximately 1 in 100 people and there are thought to be over 2 million schizophrenics in the United States today. Schizophrenia has been found to be a biologically based brain disease due to the imbalance of two of the brains chemicals dopamine and serotonin. In the brain of a schizophrenic there are …show more content…

Catatonic Schizophrenia has more of a physical notability. A rigid body, a very odd posture, and repetitive motioning are the main characteristics, which are together called catatonia. A Catatonic Schizophrenic is also very unresponsive to surroundings. There are 2 other types of schizophrenia, and they are Undifferentiated and Residual. Undifferentiated is characterized by symptoms that tend to match either none or more that 1 of the above types of schizophrenia. Residual Schizophrenia is characterized by rare episodes of attack and there are less severe symptoms after the initial attack.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is not an easy process and diagnosis is looked into very seriously and extensively. Characteristic symptoms are one are looked into for the diagnosis. These symptoms must be present for a significant period of time during a one-month period. The characteristics used for the diagnosis include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms. Social or occupation dysfunction is another are for diagnosis. This may be characterized by a disturbance in one or more areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care way below a level a person may have previously been at. Duration, or continuous disturbance for 6 months of which 1 month must show symptoms, is also used to diagnose the disease. Schizoaffective and Mood Disorder exclusion

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