What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness which interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others. If we define schizophrenia as a serious mental illness, then what is a mental illness?

  According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website, www.nami.org

• Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses. 
• They are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing.
• They cannot be overcome through “will power.”
• Mental illnesses are treatable.

There is no simple, definitive answer to what causes schizophrenia. According to the National Institute of Health (www.nih.gov), there is believed to be an imbalance in the chemical reactions that allow cells in the brain to communicate with each other.  Scans and autopsies have shown that physical differences to the brain exist as well.  Genetics may also be another piece to the puzzle. While schizophrenia only occurs in about 1% of the general population, an identical twin has a 40-65% higher chance of developing the illness.

Although men and women are impacted equally, symptoms tend to appear in the late teens for males and in the late twenties for females.  As with most illnesses, the symptoms of schizophrenia may vary from person to person.  They may develop slowly or appear quite suddenly.  They may include but are not limited to:

• Hearing or seeing something that isn’t there
• A constant feeling of being watched
• Peculiar or nonsensical way of speaking or writing
• A change in personal hygiene and appearance
• A change in personality
• Increasing withdrawal from social situations
• Inappropriate or bizarre behavior

Approximately 2.4 million American adults live with schizophrenia.  While there is no cure for schizophrenia, individualized treatment plans with antipsychotic medications may eliminate or minimize their symptoms.  One hurdle to overcome, however, is because of the way the illness impairs their thinking, they may not believe help is needed.  With the new medications and therapies available today, many experience enough improvement to their symptoms to lead independent lives.

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