Schizophrenia

4 Pages 884 Words

A lot of the research and information I found on schizophrenia, are heavy on the side of genetics. However; there is much evidence of the environment having a large impact as well. It is hard to say what kind of effect you childhood experiences have on schizophrenic people because the disease isn't usually diagnosed until the ages of 18 and on. There is some evidence that I will discuss later on that have to do with environmental factors during pregnancy that have some correlation to schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is the most common psychoses in the United States affecting around one percent of the United States population. It is characterized by a deep withdrawal from interpersonal relationships and a retreat into a world of fantasy. This plunge from reality to fantasy results in a loss of contact from reality that can vary from mild to severe. They is more than one acceptable definition for psychosis. The psychoses are different from other groups of psychiatric disorders in their degree of severity, withdrawal, alteration in affect, impairment of intellect, and regression.
It is possible that there may be a pre-schizophrenic phase a year or two before the disorder is diagnosed. This phase may include neurotic symptoms such as acute or chronic anxiety, phobias, obsessions, and compulsions or may reveal dissociative features. As anxiety mounts, indications of a thought disorder may appear. An adolescent may complain of difficulty with concentration and with the ability to complete school work or job-related work. Over time there is severe deterioration of work along with the deterioration of the ability to cope with the environment. Complains such as
mind wandering and needing to devote more time to maintaining one’s thoughts are heard. Finally, the ability to keep out unwanted intrusions into one’s thoughts becomes impossible. As a result, the person finds that his or her mind becomes so confused and thoughts so distracted, t...