The Devastation Of Schizophrenia

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The Devastation of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a severe and devastating brain disorder that distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality and relates to others. Of all mental illnesses, schizophrenia undoubtedly results in the greatest amount of personal, emotional and social costs. It presents an enormous threat to life and happiness. It also causes more lengthy hospitalizations, more chaos in family life, more exorbitant costs to individuals and government and more fears than any other. Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia is not a split personality. It actually means a split between the individual's perception of reality and reality, not a Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde switch in character (Grayson, 1). Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime - more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year. Although schizophrenia affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties, than in women, who are generally affected in the twenties to early thirties.
Scientists still do not know the specific cause of schizophrenia and believe that it is a combination of many factors that may precipitate the disorder. It is known, however, that schizophrenia- like cancer and diabetes- is a real illness with a biological basis. It is not the result of bad parenting or personal weakness. No credible authority believes any longer that social circumstance, poverty, poor mothering or willful behavior cause schizophrenia. Researchers have uncovered a number of factors that appear to play a role in the development of schizophrenia (Grayson, 3).
Schizophrenia does "run in the family". The disorder has an important genetic component. Evidence for a genetic element comes from twin studies. Monozygotic twins (identical twins) are those with exactly the same genetic make...