Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia


Schizophrenia is the most common of the psychoses. About one to two percent of people in Western countries are treated for schizophrenia at some time in their lives, and many additional schizophrenics never receive clinical attention. About half of the inpatients in U.S. mental hospitals are schizophrenics. The syndrome was first described as an intellectual deterioration and symptoms first occur in early adulthood. Then it was later discovered that the disorder is a splitting of psychic functions. Ideas and feelings are isolated from one another; a patient may speak incoherently, for example, or express frightening or sad ideas in a happy manner. Contrary to some popular accounts, schizophrenics do not have a split personality, even though schizophrenia is Greek for split mind. Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by a variety of symptoms including loss of contact with reality, bizarre behavior, disorganized thinking and speech, decreas...