Schizophrenia:

1
Schizophrenia

• A Serious, but Treatable Mental Disorder
• By Emily Bonner

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Agenda

• Definition
• Who is at risk?
• Heredity and schizophrenia
• Symptoms
• Subtypes
• Myths and Facts
• Treatments
• How to treat people with Schizophrenia

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Websters Dictionary Defines

• Schizophrenia is a major mental disorder of
  unknown cause typically characterized by a
  separation between the thought processes and the
  emotions a distortion of reality accompanied by
  delusions and hallucinations, a fragmentation of
  the personality, motor disturbances, bizarre
  behaviour etc. often with no loss of basic
  intelligence functions.

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Who is at risk?

• Schizophrenia generally affects men and women in
  the prime of life (ages 16 to 25).
• Late onset schizophrenia (affects people ages
  40-50,) is more common in women than men.
• Schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose in
  children as it can be confused with the childs
  overactive imagination.

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Risk Factors

• Schizophrenia is not preventable.
• Condition runs in families people may have a
  predisposition towards it.
• 1 in every 100 people will develop schizophrenia
  in their lifetime.
• It is impossible to fake schizophrenia people do
  not acquire these symptoms for attention.

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Symptoms

• Catatonia
• Loss of connection between thoughts and emotions
• Withdrawal
• There are many subtypes of schizophrenia, each
  type exhibits different combinations of these
  symptoms.

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Subtypes

• The Undifferentiated type causes a reduction of
  outside interests, a lack of emotional depth, and
  a withdrawal to simple behaviour

• The Hebrephenic type causes disorganized and
  childish behaviour, coupled with delusions and
  hallucinations

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Further Subtypes

• The Catatonic type causes unusual muscle and
  nerve behaviour, long periods of inactivity and
  catatonia alternating with impulsive behaviour.

• The Paranoid type causes delusions, illogical
  thinking, and the feeling that others are
  plotting against them.

It is important to remember that these types are
not exclusive and schizophrenics may show a
mixture of these symptoms.
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The Myths and Facts of Schizophrenia

• Schizophrenics have split personalities
• They are always violent
• Some causes of schizophrenia are substance abuse
  and poor childhoods

• Schizophrenics have one personality
• They are rarely violent
• Substance abuse worsens, but does not cause
  symptoms
• Early diagnosis and treatment improves prognosis

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Schizophrenia is Treatable

• Schizophrenia is a neurobiological disease,
  largely treatable with drugs
• There are two types of drugs used to treat
  Schizoids. They can reduce 80 to 90 of symptoms.
• Typical anti-psychotic drugs
• Atypical anti-psychotic drugs

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Typical Anti-Psychotic Drugs

• This is the older type of drug.
• It works by strongly blocking the
  neurotransmitter dopamine.
• Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that causes
  people to feel happy. An unfortunate side effect
  of typical drug treatment is depression.

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Atypical Anti-psychotic Drugs

• Are more effective in treating the negative
  symptoms of schizophrenia, such as withdrawal and
  simple behaviour.
• Work by blocking both dopamine (though not as
  strongly as typical drugs) and seratonin.
• Less side effects.

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Schizophrenia

• While schizophrenia is treatable, it is not
  curable.
• Treatment with anti-psychotic drugs reduces
  chances of re-hospitalization by 40.
• Schizophrenics are not insane, they simply have a
  chemical imbalance in the brain.
• Schizoids are very rarely violent.

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Human Needs

• Treat schizophrenics with care, they are not
  going to hurt you.
• Treat them as you would anyone else they are not
  insane and do not appreciate being treated as
  such.
• Encourage schizophrenics to take their
  medication, however unpleasant the side effects.
• Schizophrenia is nobodys fault. It is not
  preventable.

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References

• Shirley Brinkerhoff, Schizophrenia and Drug
  Treatment. Mason Crest Publishers, 2004
• Evelyn B. Kelly, Coping with Schizophrenia. The
  Rosen Publishing Group, New York 2001
• Rachel Miller. Diagnosis Schizophrenia. United
  States of America Columbia University Press,
  2002.
• What is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia Society of
  Canada. July 13th, 1997 http//www.schizophrenia.c
  a/ .Access Date Dec. 8th, 2004.
• Schizophrenia Healthy NJ Information for
  Healthy Living. July, 2004. http//www.healthynj.o
  rg/dis-con/schizophrenia/main.htm. Access Date
  Dec. 6th, 2004.