Critical Analysis of the History and Treatment of Schizophrenia in Modern Psychology In the field of modern psychology and in American society at large schizophrenia remains a largely misunderstood mental illness since its first mention in the DSM-I under the classification of “schizophrenic reactions” (Tartakovsky, 2010). Schizophrenia, as with many mental disorders and illnesses, remains somewhat of a taboo subject in today’s culture. For that reason, it is vitally important to understand the diagnosis, along with its history, prevalence, causes, treatment and impact. Today, the DSM-V has six main criteria for diagnosis including characteristic according to Tandon et al. (2013).
Most people diagnosed with schizophrenia are aged between 18 and 35, with men tending to be diagnosed at a slightly younger age than women. There’s no complete answer to why some people develop symptoms of schizophrenia when other people do not. And, because of differences of opinion about the definition of schizophrenia and its symptoms, it’s not easy to identify what might cause it. The most common theories are: Dopamine - There is evidence that too much dopamine may be involved in the development of schizophrenia, but it’s still not clear how, or whether everyone diagnosed with schizophrenia has too much
The difference being, physical illness can be seen, and mental illness can hide, even masquerade it’s symptoms for long periods of time without any treatment. Some mental illnesses can be cured through the assistance of a psychiatrist or counselor. Depression is one such mental illness. Quite often when someone is feeling depressed for extended periods of time, having someone who will listen, and not make judgments is all that is needed. Other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia require a doctor to prescribe medication to keep the systems under control.
Antidepressants on the other hand by balancing neurotransmitters such as serotonin and epinephrine witch can cause depression if not sufficiently balanced. Anxiolytic drugs are used to combat anxiety disorders one drug in this field is benzodiazepines (Bzs) they work by releasing more (GABA) witch slows down the nerve transmission calming people down. This drug is effective in areas such as phobias. Another biological therapy is ECT, it is a surgical based treatment commonly used on manic depressives who haven’t responded to antidepressants. This treatment is administrated to a patient by putting a patient into an unconscious state then passing a current of 0.6 amps through the brain.
He was begun to hear voices or sounds that are never heard by anyone else. There are many different methods of treatment for this disorder including, medications and therapies. Because the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, treatments focus on eliminating the symptoms of the disease. Treatments include antipsychotic medications and various psychosocial treatments. Schizophrenia is most likely caused by genetic and emotional influences.
Common treatments known to science are; Chlorpromazine, Haloperidol, Perphenazine, Fluphenazine. These medications are antiphicotics, all of which help patients endure their symptoms. The common side effects vary between but are not limited to restlessness, dizziness, tremors, and rapid heartbeat. Though there is not cure for schizophrenia, a cure is still being researched. People that suffer from this illness are medicated to help them live successful independents lives, in serious cases patients are taken care of in specialized facilities or treatment
Schizophrenia & Other Psychotic Disorders: Schizophrenia, Delusional Disorder, brief Psychosis, Schizo-affective Disorder & Shared Psychotic Disorder. SchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a psychotic illness which can affect people in variety of ways, there is no evidence as yet why one develops the illness. Studies suggest there can be a combination of factors which can trigger the illness. It is agreed by health professionals that schizophrenia is most likely caused by a combination of factors, which can include the following: Dopamine is one of the chemicals that carry messages between brain cells and if there is too much Dopamine it can be a factor of one developing the illness. Genetic can play a big part in someone developing the illness as they are more vulnerable to the illness.
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Seizures are symptoms of abnormal brain functions. With the exception of very young children and the elderly, the cause of the abnormal brain function is usually not identifiable. When seizures start, the physician will try to identify the cause of the seizure. This is because the most specific diagnosis as to why seizures are occurring depends on finding a cure, and the best therapy will be one specific to the etiology. If a specific diagnosis of cause cannot be made , then the epilepsy will be described according to seizure type or epileptic syndrome.
A diagnosis can consist of hallucinations, delusions, strange behavior, lack of social skills, inability to feel pleasure, poverty of speech, and psychomotor retardation. There are many speculations about the causes of schizophrenia—some even believe that cannabis use (especially at such a young age) can increase the likelihood of forming it; along with a light body weight. Also, there are treatments out there for schizophrenia but the one that works the most effectively is an antipsychotic drug working in about 70% of patients. Only about 1 in 5 people recover from schizophrenia because some refuse the drugs or relapse from major stressors or the family