Schizophrenia Depth into Symptoms

 Life in general brings forth situations or task that causes confusion, frustration, and even the inability to understand, but for most of us the obstacles are easily overcome, worked through, or even learned so that one may grasp the general knowledge as to why there is a correct order, answer, or even process to an ideal. Imagine having the inability to work through a single idea, focus on a subject or even understand and participate in a normal conversation. Imagine not only having the inability to understand or focus while interacting with others, but in addition having a mind that is plagued with unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotion and motor abnormalities. Below an individual expresses their feelings on how it is to struggle with a disorder that entails symptoms which cause a large interference of the mind.

 “What does schizophrenia mean to me? It means fatigue and confusion, it means trying to separate every experience into the real and the unreal and sometimes not being aware of where the edges overlap. It means trying to think straight when there is a maze of experiences getting in the way, and when thoughts are continually being sucked out of your head so that you become embarrassed to speak at meetings. It means feeling sometimes that you are inside your head and visualizing yourself walking over brain, or watch another girl wear your clothes and carrying out your actions as you think of them. It means knowing that you are continually ‘watched’, that you can never succeed in life because the laws are all against your ultimate destruction is never far away” (Rollin, 1980, p. 162)

People with schizophrenia experience psychosis, a state in which a person loses contact with reality. The ability to understand and respond to the surrounding environment becomes disturbed to the point were proceeding with normal daily function, such as, working , attending school, and even at home becomes disturbed.  Although many may feel alone in their struggle with the disorder, this is far from true. Approximately 1 of every 100 people, an estimated 24 million, worldwide suffers from schizophrenia during their life time. In the United States alone 2.5 million battle the disorder.  The financial effects of the disorder is estimated to be more than $100 billion annually, contributing to the cost includes hospitalization, lost wages, and disability benefits.

Although the disorder distributes a high financial cost, the emotional cost is far greater. Those who suffer from schizophrenia have an increased risk of suicide, as well as physical, often fatal, illnesses. Schizophrenia appears in every socioeconomic group, but is found more so in the lower levels. However, it could be that the person was not always categorized in this class, but fell from a higher socioeconomic level do to the symptoms of schizophrenic preventing proper function and ability to hold a job. Some theorists call this the downward drift theory. The disorder shows favoritism toward gender as well. Although an equal number of men and women are diagnosed, the disorder appears earlier and tends to be more severs in men.

Positive Symptoms

The symptoms of Schizophrenia are categorized into three groups, positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and psychomotor symptoms. Positive symptoms are pathological excesses or bizarre additions to a person’s behavior.  Symptoms in the positive group include; disorganized thinking, speech, heightened perception, inappropriate affect, hallucination and delusions – a strange false belief firmly held despite the evidence to the contrary. There are five different types of delusions; one or all may be seen in an individual with the disorder. The most common delusion in schizophrenia is Delusion of persecution, a single delusion that dominates a person’s life and behavior. This delusions type may have a person believing that they are being spied on, plotted against, threatened, stalked, or deliberately victimized. Another delusion type is, Delusion of reference, personal or special meaning is attached to objects, events, or even the actions of others. Delusion of grandeur, a person believes themselves to be a person of great power, for example, a religious savior, a famous inventor, or other respected persons of power. Delusion of control, a person feels their feeling, thoughts, and even actions are being controlled by others. Delusion of erotomanic, experiencing this delusion has people believe, without any basis, that they are loved by someone who is only an acquaintance or even a complete stranger.  A person may also develop fantasies were they feel they need to protect, harm, or even kill the desired.  This delusion was determined in the attackers of John Lennon, shot to death in 1980, and George Harrison, nearly stabbed to death in 1999.

Another common positive symptom is hallucinations. Many confuse delusions and hallucinations or think they are one in the same, but on the contrary hallucinations – are the experiencing of sight, sound, or other perceptions in the absence of external stimuli. The most common hallucination by far in schizophrenia is auditory hallucination; people hear sounds and voices that seem to come from the area around them and not from the mind. The voices heard may talk directly to the one hallucinating, perhaps giving commands, direction, or warning one of danger. Studies have shown that auditory hallucinations may be caused by an increased blood flow to the Broca’s area of the brain. Tactile hallucination, takes the form of tingling, burning, or even a shocking sensation. Somatic hallucination, give the feeling that something is happening inside the body, described by some as snake crawling around in their stomach. Visual hallucination can produce vague images of colors, clouds, people, and objects. Gustatory hallucination, food and beverages taste strange or awful. Olfactory hallucination, constant smells or order that no one else can smell, such as smoke or poison.

 Negative Symptoms:

Negative symptoms consist of those that seem pathological deficits, characteristics that are lacking in an individual.  Negative Symptoms include; poverty of speech – decrease in speech or speech content, blunt and flat affect – a marked lack of expressed emotion,  loss of volition – feeling drained of energy and of interest in normal goals, as well as unable to start and follow through on a course of action.

Psychomotor Symptoms:

Some examples of psychomotor symptoms are; awkward movement, repeated grimaces and odd gestures, such extreme forms are called catatonia. In schizophrenia there are several types of catatonia, such as; catatonia stupor, a person stops responding to their environment by remaining silent and motionless for long periods of time. Catatonia rigidity, maintain a rigid upright posture for hours, resisting and efforts of being moved. Catatonia posturing, maintain awkward and bizarre positioning for a long period time, some examples maybe, standing with arms at 90 degree angle, squatting on one leg. They may also keep a position they were placed in, for example, a nurse may raise their arm to take a blood pressure. The arm will remain raised until it is moved again. Catatonia excitement, a different form of catatonia, a person may move excitedly and wildly. 

 Schizophrenia is bizarre and sometimes frightening disorder, more so to the suffer that the observer. The disorder was studied intensively throughout the twentieth century. But only since the discover of antipsychotic drugs have clinicians required any specific insight into the course and cause of the disorder. Theories were developed before that time, but typically failed to find empirical support, instead they contributed only to the inaccurate stereotype of those suffering with the disorder. Research conducted during the past three decades has revised the earlier views of schizophrenia as a single disorder with many faces. Studies suggest that the different types of schizophrenia may in fact represent different disorders. In other words each type may have a distinct course, distinct biological genetics, and maybe even psychological and sociocultural origins. Like other psychological disorders, theorists now believe schizophrenia is a combination of factors. The spectacular biological progress being made in biological study of schizophrenia is the far most impressive, but while the biological discovery is being celebrated, it should not blind us to the significant gaps and uncertainties that continue to obscure our view.