Schizophrenia disorder

There are various types of mental health disorders that people suffer from in our society. The major types of mental illness in our country are bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, depression and personality disorder. All of them have a strong hold over the patients personality and influences the way he thinks, reacts, handles stress and make choices. From all of the mental health disorder, schizophrenia is the most challenging for the patient as well as the people around him. Let us learn some of the basics of schizophrenia, what is it, what are its symptoms and causes.

What is Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that impedes the patients ability to think clearly, handle emotions, function in a normal way, make decisions and how he perceives the rest of the world. Patients have a distorted way how they observe reality due to which they may claim to hear, see, sense things that arent real and feel that others could harm them. For these patients there is a very thin line between

reality and their own world, which often cause clashes with the people they deal with and spoil interpersonal relationships. This could lead them to be socially withdrawn and could make them anxious. Schizophrenia usually appears in early adulthood and there are very rare cases of teenagers being affected by it. Symptoms of Schizophrenia Usually schizophrenia develops over time and has symptoms that can alert with slight warnings of change in behavior. Following are some of the most common symptoms of Schizophrenia. Patients become socially withdrawn Usually numb and expressionless Depressed, inability to react appropriately in situations of joy and sorrow Hostile towards criticism Change in hygienic conditions Insomnia or excessive sleeping Loss of concentration, unable to remember Change in the way of speaking usually for the worse. Delusional talking and perception Hallucinations

These signs are the common symptoms of schizophrenia but they could not necessarily lead to the disorder. However seeking medical advice in time of doubt is the best option.

Causes of schizophrenia There is no research to prove the exact causes of schizophrenia however it can be safely assumed that it is a blend of environmental and genetic factors. Lets take a look at both of the influencing factors. Genetic There is a 10% possibility that schizophrenic patients will pass on the gene to their kids as the disorder has strong genetic components. Environmental The major external component responsible for the disorder is stress. Stressful work and living conditions are a major catalyst in most mental health disorders and schizophrenia is no different to this fact. However other factors like unhappy childhood and formative years, sexual, physical or mental abuse during childhood or contraction of certain viruses during infancy are also major factors that contribute to the onset of schizophrenia.

The most important factor about this disorder is accepting the fact that it is a problem that needs to be treated and addressed to. Family support and acceptance also play a major role in helping the patient overcome the disorder