why is schizophrenia an illness?
182959
its really best that you consult specialist for it.
638563
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality and by significant social or occupational dysfunction. A person experiencing untreated schizophrenia is typically characterized as demonstrating disorganized thinking, and as experiencing delusions or auditory hallucinations. Although the disorder is primarily thought to affect cognition, it can also contribute to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. Due to the many possible combinations of symptoms, there is ongoing and heated debate about whether the diagnosis necessarily or adequately describes a disorder, or alternatively whether it might represent a number of disorders. For this reason, Eugen Bleuler deliberately called the disease "the schizophrenias", plural, when he coined the present name.\n\nBipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) is a diagnostic category describing a class of mood disorders where the person experiences states or episodes of depression and/or mania, hypomania, and/or mixed states. It is considered to be a disability. The difference between bipolar disorder and unipolar disorder (also called major depression), for the purpose of this introduction, is that bipolar disorder involves "energized" or "activated" mood states in addition to depressed mood states. The duration and intensity of these mood states varies widely among people with the illness. The fluctuating component of this illness is called "cycling" from one mood state to another at varying rates. Cycling, another word for mood swings, causes varying levels of impairment. For most individuals with bipolar disorder, the condition is disabling and the individual has some difficulty functioning.
575524
its a bit of a strange concept look at the website for more info its far too complex for me to write about!\nhttp://www.biopsychiatry.com/schizophrenia.htm
980347
There are no mental illness that do not impair cognitive thinking but cause violence/violent tendencies. Only criminal behavior - and maybe tempory insanity (e.g. anger).\n\nHope this answers your question!
3458
schizophrenia is a clinical diagnosis of a break between personlity and reality causing illogical ways of thinking and often types of imagined things like visual and auditory hallucinations.\n\nneurosis is a mental or mood disorder with no apparent physical condition involving symptoms like anxiety, depression, and phobias, but without psychotic symptoms such as delusions or hallucinations.\n\nschizophrenia is not all in your head, while neurosis is. schizophrenia is helped a tine bit by talk therapy, but is by no means cured by it. Neurosis on the other hand, can be cured with cognitive or other types of talk clinical therapy.
709587
Yes, it can be just as bad, or even worse than, a physical illness.\n\nSome mental illnesses are related to chemical deficiencies.  If the person takes the right supplement, the mental illness goes away.  If they stop taking the supplement, the illness can come back.  so in that case, the mental illness has a physical cause - so I guess you could say it is a physical illness, in a way.
888109
i have found that music helps sooth the body no matter mental condition you may have. it gives your brain a chance to take a break from the moment, all you can do is try it ! if it works for you great, if not - open the front door and yell at the next person that walks by,  it works for me, hint: my neighbors know I'm crazy!!\nread the following it might help!!\n \nSchizophrenia is probably the most distressing and disabling mental disorder. The first signs of schizophrenia tend to surface in adolescence or young adulthood. Symptoms are confusing and can be distressing to family and friends. \n\nPeople with schizophrenia suffer from problems with their thought processes. These lead to hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and unusual speech or behaviour . Symptoms affect the ability to interact with others, and often people with schizophrenia withdraw from the outside world. \n\nContrary to popular belief, people with schizophrenia do not have 'split personalities'. Another common belief is that people with schizophrenia are dangerous. In fact, they can be dangerous, but mostly only during the acute phases of their disease. It is fair to say that people with schizophrenia are far more likely to be victims of violence and crime than to commit violent acts.\n\nSchizophrenia is a life-long illness and most patients will need treatment for the rest of their lives. This means they will miss out on career opportunities, stable relationships and friendships. Because of the lack of public understanding, people with schizophrenia often feel isolated and stigmatised, and may be reluctant or unable to talk about their illness. \n \n\nDespite the availability of new medication with less severe and fewer side effects, only one person in five 'recovers' from the illness, and one in ten people with schizophrenia commits suicide.\n\nSchizophrenia is distressing for everyone involved. Patients clearly suffer from great disruption to their lives. Families and friends will also be seriously affected and distressed because of the effects schizophrenia has on their relative and the burden of caring for their beloved one. Coping with the symptoms of schizophrenia can be especially difficult for relatives and friends who remember their beloved one before s/he became ill. \n\nDespite clear evidence to the contrary, many people still believe that schizophrenia is caused by poor parenting or a lack of will power. Nothing is further from the truth. Schizophrenia is a complex illness and scientists believe it is caused by a number of different factors that act together. These factors include: genetic influences, trauma (injury) to the brain occurring during or around the time of birth, as well as the effects of social isolation and/or stress. In some cases the use of drugs, such as cannabis can also be a contributing factor. However, as yet no single factor has been identified as the cause of schizophrenia.\n\nSchizophrenia affects between 1 and 2% of people. The illness occurs all over the world and the incidence (or the rate of the illness) is similar in different countries and different cultures. Men and women are at equal risk of developing the illness. Whereas in men the illness tends to surface between the ages of 16 and 25, most females develop symptoms between the ages of 25 and 30. \n \n\nWhen taken regularly and followed as prescribed, medications and other treatments for schizophrenia, can help reduce and control symptoms . However, some people don't experience the benefits of available treatments, or may prematurely discontinue treatment because of unpleasant side effects , including weight gain, or intolerance to the medication. Even when treatment is effective, patients often find it difficult to persevere with treatment. Lost career opportunities, stigma, ongoing symptoms and/or side effects can cause many difficulties and prevent patients from leading a normal life.\n\nSubstance misuse is a common concern
987084
There are many different kinds of schizophrenia and I've found everyone is a bit different.  I'm not going to bore everyone with pages of information.  Please go to the NAMI.org website and link to "inform yourself".  Their information on schizophrenia is pretty accurate.  Their emphasis is on "brain disease", and schizophrenia is a brain disease.\n\nAs opposed to personality disorders or disorders caused by abuse or trauma.  Which brings up the cute but clearly ignorant statement someone before said about which one is asking the question.  Schizophrenia is definitely not the same as multiple personality disorder (dissociative identity disorder since the latest DSM was published).  Unfortunately, there are so many people who just can't seem to understand that.  The treatment is very different for those two conditions!
190643
could also be schizophrenia
198093
The World Health Organization has identified Schizophrenia as one of the ten most debilitating diseases affecting human beings. \n\nSchizophrenia is a devastating brain disorder that affects approximately 2.2 million American adults, or 1.1 percent of the population age 18 and older. Schizophrenia interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others.\n\nAnother serious thought disorder is Schizoaffective Disorder. The symptoms of Schizoaffective Disorder look like a mixture of two kinds of major mental illnesses - mood disorders (depression, bipolar disorder) and schizophrenia.\n\nWhile there is no cure for Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder, they are highly treatable and manageable illnesses. However, people may stop treatment because of medication side effects, disorganized thinking, or because they feel the medication is no longer working.\n\nStigma is another major problem facing both the sufferer and family members. Those involved with schizophrenia are concerned about the dozens of misconceptions about the illness. Many believe that people with schizophrenia are violent and dangerous, which is not true. One parent stated that he was often accused of abandoning his daughter when he took her to the hospital. Another parent said that clerks in stores ignored her son when he asked for help or tried to make a purchase. Some religious groups hold the view that the illness is one of God's punishments.\n\nIf you think you or a family member have a thought disorder, you should seek information and treatment. At HealthyPlace.com, we believe that the more you understand about Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder and issues like antipsychotic medications, the more likely you are to get the full benefit of treatment. We want to help you learn as much as you can about Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder and to offer you support in your or your loved one's recovery.
586070
"Mental illness" is much to broad a term for an answer to be possible.  Some indeed may have a higher, rather than lower, level of consciousness than so-called normal people.  You never know, do you?  Not really.  You cannot know what is going on in anyone else's mind, and psychology does not gain my trust when it pretends it does know.
682768
Be careful not to mistake schizoid personality disorder with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a very serious illness, but schizoid personality disorder is neither serious nor dangerous.\n\nSchizoid personality disorder is characterized by lack of interest in social activities and relationships, emotional coldness and preferring solitary activities.\n\nI recommend that you read more about schizoid personality disorder, for example on this website: http://www.pipeline.com/~dada3zen/schizoid_per_dis.htm\n\nI am schizoid myself. It is not that bad, but it does effect my life. I don't enjoy company with people much and prefer to be alone a lot and to do things by myself and I get annoyed when people try too much to get me to socialize and "be normal". I've read that schizoid people usually don't mind their condition much, but that it can bother people around them.
894802
Well, I had symptoms for 25 years before I was diagnosed. I think you just cope because that's all you nkow. Some cope better than others with the damage it causes. However, once I was diagnosed, I had trouble coping with the diagnosis of a mental illness. That took a long time to come to terms with.
827264
Whatever the cause they're correct. It isn't a mental illness. Eventually you may go mad, but it is an acquired perversity which can be dropped. When you introduce into the body toxic poisons and waste fluids in the body as with the type of activity that kind of life is known for, it attacks the entire body. Total breakdown. That's why it's called Acquired Immune Deficency Syndrome. You flooded the body with poison by that activity. It is not a sex act. You're not designed that way. The colon/rectal area is, simply put, the body's sewer system. Read what happened to Marat during the French Revolution. He escaped his enemies by hiding in the Paris sewers and contracted an incurable skin disease.
543834
Mental Illness is a very misunderstood condition. Often the person suffering the condition has trouble understanding it, how can you expect people who have never experienced it to understand.\n\nMental Illness is about chemical imbalances in the brain. You cannot control the imbalance by 'positive thinking' or by behavioural modification. You generally need drug intervention to get you sorted out. The drugs are the equivelent of putting a broken leg in plaster.  \n\nThere is stigma attached to being mentally ill. But don't worry about it. Take your medications and find a support group in your local area. You will find it easier to cope with if you find one friend who understands.
78980
Yes, it is possible to misdiagnose a person as schizophrenic. Not all schizophrenia is chronic schizophrenia (although, alas, most cases probably are chronic and long-lasting) An acute psychotic episode is where they had psychotic symptoms in reaction to a stressor and the symptoms went away with treatment. It is also possible that he had a depressive disorder of psychotic proportion that was misdiagnosed. Major depression is usually episodic so it might be that it remitted. Finally, it is possible that he used psychoactive drugs and it precipitated a psychotic episode (for example, amphetimines--speed--can cause amphetimine psychosis that mimics paranoid schizophrenia).\n\nIt is certainly possible to hide the symptoms, but not easy. Does anyone else in his family have a depressive or psychotic disorder?\n\nAsk him about it....
1185248
It sounds like it would be helpful for you to learn more about schizophrenia to understand better what you could be getting yourself into by staying in the relationship.  Trying to maintain a relationship with someone who is suffering from the symptoms of a serious mental illness is difficult, and you don't want to go into it with your eyes closed.  There are a lot of great websites out there that talk about the symptoms of the illness.  http://www.schizophrenia.com/  also has support forums for family members and friends of individuals with schizophrenia....those might be helpful for you.  Another helpful thing may be to see a counselor on a short term basis yourself.  A psychologist or LCSW should be able to talk with you about the illness and help you think about the pros and cons of getting deeper into the relationship.  They can also help you explore your own reasons for starting this relationship and help you start thinking about whether or not it's a good choice for you.  Best of luck to you!