| Schizophrenia, from the Greek roots | | | | have refuted this. During the first |
| schizein "to split" and phrn, phren- | | | | trimester of pregnancy, maternal |
| "mind", is a psychiatric diagnosis that | | | | starvation or viral infection may lead |
| describes a mental illness characterized | | | | to increased risk for schizophrenia |
| by impairments in the perception or | | | | development in the offspring. It has |
| expression of reality, most commonly | | | | even been conjectured that babies born |
| manifesting as auditory hallucinations, | | | | in the winter season are at higher risk |
| paranoid or bizarre delusions or | | | | for developing this mental illness in |
| disorganized speech and thinking in the | | | | their early adulthood. |
| context of significant social or | | | | Genetic factors appear to play a role, |
| occupational dysfunction. Onset of | | | | as people who have family members with |
| symptoms typically occurs in young | | | | schizophrenia may be more likely to get |
| adulthood, | | | | the disease themselves. Some researchers |
| Schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling | | | | believe that events in a person's |
| mental illness that may be caused by | | | | environment may trigger schizophrenia. |
| abnormal amounts of certain chemicals in | | | | For example, problems during |
| the brain. These chemicals are called | | | | intrauterine development (infection) and |
| neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters | | | | birth may increase the risk for |
| control our thought processes and | | | | developing schizophrenia later in life. |
| emotions. Schizophrenia is a group of | | | | People with schizophrenia describe |
| serious brain disorders in which reality | | | | strange or unrealistic thoughts. In many |
| is interpreted abnormally. Schizophrenia | | | | instances, their speech is hard to |
| results in hallucinations, delusions, | | | | follow due to disordered thinking. |
| and disordered thinking and behavior. | | | | Common forms of thought disorder include |
| People with schizophrenia withdraw from | | | | circumstantiality (talking in circles |
| the people and activities in the world | | | | around the issue), looseness of |
| around them, retreating into an inner | | | | associations (moving from one topic to |
| world marked by psychosis. | | | | the next without any logical connection |
| Schizophrenia is usually diagnosed in | | | | between them), and tangentiality (moving |
| people aged 17-35 years. The illness | | | | from one topic to another where the |
| appears earlier in men (in the late | | | | logical connection is visible, but not |
| teens or early twenties) than in women | | | | relevant to the issue at hand). |
| (who are affected in the twenties to | | | | Schizophrenia is a severe, lifelong |
| early thirties). Many of them are | | | | brain disorder. People who have it may |
| disabled. They may not be able to hold | | | | hear voices, see things that aren't |
| down jobs or even perform tasks as | | | | there or believe that others are reading |
| simple as conversations. Some may be so | | | | or controlling their minds. In men, |
| incapacitated that they are unable to do | | | | symptoms usually start in the late teens |
| activities most people take for granted, | | | | and early 20s. They include |
| such as showering or preparing a meal. | | | | hallucinations, or seeing things, and |
| Many are homeless. Some recover enough | | | | delusions such as hearing voices. |
| to live a life relatively free from | | | | Schizophrenia can be treated with |
| assistance. | | | | medication in the form of tablets or |
| Environmental factors are merely | | | | long-acting injections. Social support |
| speculative and may include | | | | for the individual and support for |
| complications during pregnancy and | | | | carers is important. Counselling may be |
| birth. For instance, some studies have | | | | offered to the person with schizophrenia |
| shown that offspring of women whose | | | | and their family. Brain scanning, |
| sixth or seventh month of pregnancy | | | | especially MRI scanning, has provided a |
| occurs during a flu epidemic are at | | | | far greater understanding of the |
| increased risk for developing | | | | condition and led to the development of |
| schizophrenia although other studies | | | | antipsychotic medication and therapies. |