In the following article you will find out what exactly is schizophrenia, its causes, how a genius can be a schizophrenic at the same time and why everyone of us can one day suffer from schizophrenia symptoms.
What is Schizophrenia and How is it Caused?
It is a Greek word which means "splitting of the mind" and it is used to describe a mental illness where the patient looses contact with the reality and in extend lives in his/her own world and suffers from different illusions. Schizophrenia can appear in different phases where the patient temporarily looses perception of the reality or can be continuous and last for a life time. No one knows what a schizophrenic sees or feels. It can be caused by genetic or environmental factors. It can also caused by the use of drugs such as marihuana. Recently scientists stated that schizophrenia can be linked to different genes and therefore it can be caused by heredity factors. Stress or a shocking event in someone's life can cause a trauma resulting to mild mental disorders which gradually will lead to schizophrenia. It affects around 0.5% of the population and it is equally divided amongst men and women. Another interesting fact is that most schizophrenics are born in winter or spring and usually in countries of the northern hemisphere. Therefore people of the more economically developed countries of the world are more vulnerable to schizophrenia.
Signs and Symptoms
When we think someone with schizophrenia, the first thing that comes to our mind is violence, crimes and disturbing murders. But the truth is that in almost all of the cases these just happen in movies. Schizophrenia cannot be diagnosed with a lab or physical examinations. Psychiatrists can diagnose it just by observing the behavior of patients and their reactions towards different situations. There are three different kinds of symptoms:
- Positive Symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and racing thoughts
- Negative Symptoms such as apathy, lack of emotion, poor or nonexistent social functioning or inability to respond to different situations
- Cognitive Symptoms which mainly include disorganized thoughts, difficulty concentrating and/or following instructions, difficulty completing tasks, memory problems
Someone to be diagnosed with schizophrenia must show these symptoms for more than a period of one month. Different questions are asked by a psychiatrist. Here are some examples:
- Do you feel that unusual things are happening to you?
- Can you predict the future?
- Do you find it difficult to make a separation between a dream and reality?
- Can you read people's mind?
- Do you feel all the time that people want to physically hurt you?
- Do you have supernatural powers?
- Do you hear people talk when there is no one around?
If you answered fore that 3 "Yes" to these questions then a psychiatrist would see you as a possible schizophrenia case.
Famous People With Schizophrenia
- Tom Harrell - Jazz Musician
- Albert Einstein's son
- Meera Popkin - Broadway Star
- Andy Goram - Scottish football player
- John Nash - Mathematician, Economist and Nobel Prize winner
I left John Nash for the end. He is an example of a genius with schizophrenia. He developed the illness after loosing his job at MIT but still his thinking appeared to be as good as before. He lost a sense of reality and had difficulty to socialize with other people. But still he was working at Princeton. Schizophrenia therefore is not always linked to violent reactions or lack of intelligence.
Prevention of Schizophrenia
Environmental factors can affect anyone cause a big psychological trauma and even schizophrenia. Especially children are in greater danger since they are more likely to be affected by events or social pressure. Since certain genes can be linked to mental illnesses, we can say that some people are more vulnerable that others. Stress, a traumatic experience like an accident, loss of someone special, loneliness and social rejection through a combination of biological factors can lead to Schizophrenia. Finally it is important to know that help from a psychiatrist or in worse cases, special medical treatment can minimize the symptoms of schizophrenia and help a person with such a mental illness live a normal life.
