Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
is a mental disorder which affects thinking, feeling and
behaviour. It is most likely to start between the ages of 15 to
35 and will affect about 1 in every 100 people during their
lifetime.
Although
the word ‘schizophrenia’ is often associated with violence
in the media, this is the exception rather than the rule.
Hospital admission is often not needed and many people with
schizophrenia live a stable life, work, and have relationships.
Schizophrenia
can be caused by a combination of different factors. These
include genes, subtle brain damage at birth or viral infections
during pregnancy and childhood abuse. Street drugs (ecstasy,
LSD, amphetamines and crack) can probably trigger it,
particularly in teenagers using cannabis. Stressful events and
family tensions make it worse.
The symptoms of schizophrenia can
be classified into positive and negative criteria.
These are:
“Positive” symptoms include:
- Hallucinations
- hearing, smelling, feeling or seeing something that
isn’t there. Hearing voices is the most common problem.
These can seem utterly real. Although they can be pleasant,
they are more often rude, critical, abusive or annoying.
- Delusions
- believing something completely even though others find
your ideas strange and can't work out how you've come to
believe them.
- Difficulty
thinking – you find it hard to concentrate and tend to
drift from one idea to another. Other people can find it
hard to understand you.
- Feeling
controlled – you may feel that your thoughts are
vanishing, or that they are not your own, or that your body
is being taken over and controlled by someone else.
“Negative”
symptoms include:
- Loss
of interest, energy and emotions. You may not bother to get
up or go out of the house. You don't get round to routine
jobs like washing, tidying, or looking after your clothes.
You may feel uncomfortable with other people. Some people
hear voices without negative symptoms. Others have delusions
but few other problems. If someone has only muddled thinking
and negative symptoms, the problem may not be recognised for
years.
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