Madness: Uncovering Schizophrenia

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Madness: Uncovering Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a troubling illness, once considered madness, which is not fully understood; yet, new research is helping patients to cope and to treat their illness. Since creditable research towards schizophrenia did not begin until the early 1800’s, as explained by Susan Naylor, little is known about exactly what causes schizophrenia nor what can be done to prevent the illness (xi). Schizophrenia is an extremely difficult illness to live with due to the paranoia and hallucinations a schizophrenic suffers. Because of the symptoms listed above and many others, many people believe that a schizophrenic is mad or crazy preventing a schizophrenic to establish stable relationships. Daniel C. Javitt explains that psychiatrist and physicians are becoming more educated in classifying a schizophrenic; therefore, enabling these physicians to more accurately treat patients (50).
The study of schizophrenia does not have a long history; yet, researchers have made great strides in decoding schizophrenia. The author Naylor explains that the word schizophrenia used to describe a mental illness originated from two Greek words meaning “split” and “mind” by a man of the name Eugen Bleuler (xvi). The same author goes on to add that patients labeled a schizophrenic were placed in asylums otherwise known as “madhouses” where physicians performed crude autopsies and other detrimental experiments on the patients bodies. She also points out that these physicians were unaware of the damage they were inflicting by trying to uncover the secret about the illness they call schizophrenia (xi).
There are multiple symptoms of a schizophrenic ranging from mild to extremely severe. Charles Broomhead argues that despite the widespread perception that patients are violent and harmful to others, it is relatively rare for a schizophrenic to assault others. He found evidence that schizophrenics are at greater ...