Schizophrenia (Essay Sample)

SCHIZOPHRENIA
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Introduction
One of the most common mental disorders in the globe, schizophrenia, affects the brain causing chronic confusion, auditory hallucinations, false beliefs, and the like. The exact cause of schizophrenia is not precisely known with scholars, health officials, and relevant experts in psychological disorders attributing the disease to many causes. Genetics, psychological processes, environment, background, and social processes are all suspect causes of schizophrenia. To understand schizophrenia, this summary will analyze the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the disorder.
Symptoms
There are varying symptoms characterizing schizophrenic individuals all of which vary within an individual. Some of the most common symptoms are hallucinations, with many victims "hearing voices”. Another common symptom is delusions, where an individual is often on the assumption that he or she is in danger or the like. Paranoia, lack of social cognition, memory problems, and impaired speech are some of the symptoms. Impaired speech is often linked to the symptom of disorganized thinking where an affected individual is unable to connect understandable sentences due to thoughts dissolution. Some individuals may exhibit difficulties in executive functioning. The symptoms listed above can be classified into two categories, negative and positive symptoms. Hallucinations, delusions, speech impairment, and such like symptoms are positive symptoms and are readily identifiable or diagnosable. Negative symptoms like meager executive functioning or foul moods are not easily diagnosable as schizophrenic since they are prevalent in healthy individuals. As such, negative symptoms are not useful in the diagnosis of the disorder. Also, cognitive symptoms as inability to pay attention and thought disorders like disorganized thinking are discernable in some victims.[M. Baier "Insight in Schizophrenia." Current Psychiatry Reports, 2010: 12 (4) 356-61.] [D.I Velligan & L.D Alphs. "Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia: The importance of identification." Psychiatric Times, 2008: 25(3).] [M. Baier "Insight in Schizophrenia." Current Psychiatry Reports, 2010: 12 (4) 356-61.]
Diagnosis
Diagnosing schizophrenia is mainly done through observations with many of the symptoms of the disorder visible and easily diagnosable. Any individual with expertise in psychological disorders has the ability or capability to diagnose schizophrenia (Velligan & Alphs, 2008). Also, psychologists rely on experiences of the affected individual and any abnormality he or she portrays. However, over recent years, psychologists have devised new methods for diagnosing schizophrenia namely ICD-10 criteria and DSM criteria. Both of these criteria look for different symptoms over a certain timeline.[Ibid]
Treatment/ Prevention
Due to the inabilities to discern what causes schizophrenia, direct treatments for the disease have not been developed thus leaving specialists with medications that work at eliminating the symptoms. The commonly used medications are antipsychotic medications with the capability to deter many symptoms of schizophrenia. Antipsychotic medicines are used together with variations of social and psychological supports. These medications are effective for approximately two weeks after which there must be another procurement of the drugs. Research has revealed that Antipsychotic medicatio...