By Hilary Gibson, Staff Writer
For over a century, neuroscience and
psychiatry have been trying to understand diseases of the brain,
among them the mental disorder called schizophrenia. It has been
difficult to define this erratic disease, and even more difficult to
medically treat and control it. What is known about schizophrenia is
that it is not a “split personality” disorder as is commonly and
erroneously believed. People living with schizophrenia, do not
become other people or switch in and out of character, as portrayed
in the story of Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.
Around 1851, a French scientist was the first to try and give a
name to the disease, referring to it as a “folie circulaire,” or
cyclical madness, a name based on how the symptoms of this disease
came and went in cycles, going through periods of severe attack, and
then periods of rest. It wasn’t until 1911 when the actual term
“schizophrenia” was used in identifying the disease.
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and debilitating brain disease
which effects people all over the world, and in America alone, more
than 2 million people each year who live with the symptoms of the
disease.. Schizophrenia doesn’t discriminate among the sexes,
effecting both men and women with about the same amount of
frequency, however, it tends to appear earlier in men, usually in
their late teens or early twenties, while with women, it usually
doesn’t appear until their twenties or early thirties. It has also
been observed that the first episodes of schizophrenia are more
likely to occur among college-aged students who are away from home
for the first time and subject to new stresses. With the prevalence
of heavier alcohol and drug consumption among college-aged students,
along with sleep patterns becoming radically altered by chemicals,
stresses, studying, and working, an episode can be easily triggered
during this time of life. People with schizophrenia often have
symptoms which are terrifyingly real to them, such as hearing
internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people
are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or are out to
get them. These symptoms may leave them frightened and withdrawn,
with their speech and behavior becoming so disorganized that they
may be difficult to understand. In some extremely rare cases,
children as young as five years of age have been diagnosed with the
disease, however, it usually does not appear prior to adolescence.
Since the symptoms can be severe and long-lasting, a chronic pattern
of schizophrenia often causes a high degree of disability. There are
medications and other treatments that can help lesson the severity
of these attacks, however, drug therapy must be used with regularity
and consistency, working best when taken as prescribed. As odd as it
may sound, even if the medicine is working as it should, one of the
biggest challenges for caregivers of people who have schizophrenia
is making sure they are actually taking their medication when and as
they should. Many times they will prematurely discontinue treatment
because of unpleasant side effects or for other reasons, which can
then lead to an extremely severe attack. Even when treatment is
effective, the lost opportunities, the stigma associated with the
disease, the residual symptoms, and the side effects of medication
may still haunt the person, making it extremely difficult for them
to easily assimilate again within mainstream society.
Printable Version
