Alcohol On Tv Essay, Research Paper

Picture this. Everybody is out to get you. You hear voices, or you hallucinate,

These are just a few symptoms of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a serious mental

disorder that effects about 1% of America. It is the most common mental disorder in the

country. There is no cure for schizophrenia.

There is no known cause to schizophrenia, but some people have theories. The

normal progression of logical thought is disrupted, thus being called the ?thought

disorder?. ?A glitch in the timing of cell responses may help account for these people?s

fragmented experience of the world around them. Electrical activity fails to synchronize

with a specific sound as frequently as a normal healthy prison (Bower online).?

Inheritance may also play a role. The risk increases with the number of relatives

already affected. The risk is about the same in the schizophrenic?s siblings as in their

offspring. Increased risks are seen in second and third degree relatives of the

schizophrenics. ?The expectation of becoming schizophrenic increases from 9% in a

sibling to 16% when a parent and their sibling have the disorder. The risk is about 46%

when both parents have it (Mcgruffin online).?

The course of schizophrenia is variable from person to person. People diagnosed

with schizophrenia display a wide ranging breakdown of perception and thought. They

have trouble making sense of sights, sounds and feelings. They may laugh or cry for no

apparent reason. They may move more slowly, or walk in a circular motion. ?A good

prognosis is more likely if the psychosis is an acute onset of florid symptoms, marked by

fluent mood change, in addition to disturbances in thinking (Torrey Online).?

Specific abnormalities include delusions, hallucinations, alteration of senses,

inability to sort and respond to incoming sensations appropriately, altered sense of self,

and changes in emotions movements and behavior. The delusions make them believe that

people are reading their minds or plotting against them (Paranoid Schizophrenia), and/or

they may believe they control other peoples thoughts. The hallucinations, or alteration of

senses, are when they see, hear, or smell things that are not there, 75% of schizophrenics

hear voices at one time or another. They may have disorganized thinking and/or speech,

by not communicating in coherent sentences, or making no sense when they speak. They

cannot organize their thoughts logically. A few may be aggressive or dangerous, but most

are passive, withdrawn or no threat to others.

Schizophrenics are prone to more diseases. Individuals have more infections, heart

disease, type II diabetes, and breast cancer in females. Some people may have an elevated

pain threshold, so they may not complain when the symptoms are no longer treatable.

In normal cases the patient will be admitted to a psychiatric unit. The treatment

consists of antipsychotic drugs, combined with physiotherapy. Antipsychotic drugs are

used in treatment because they help relieve delusion, hallucinations, and thinking

problems. Many patients may need to try several different antipsychotic drugs before they

find the right one, or combination that works the best for them. The drugs work by

correcting the imbalances in the chemicals that brain cells communicate with one another.

Conventional/standard antipsychotics (the older ones with more side effects)

include Thorazine, Prolixin, Haldol, Navane, Stelazine, Trilafon, and Mellaril. Atypical

Antiphychotics (the newer ones with less side effects) include Risperdal, Clozaril, and

Zyprexa. The most common side effects include dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision,

and drowsiness. Less common side effects include deceased sexual desire, menstrual

changes, and stiff muscles in neck and jaw. More serious side effects include restlessness,

muscle stiffness, slurred speech, tremors in hands and feet, and Agranulocytosis. ?25% of

people that schizophrenia effects recover fully, 50% recover to some extent, and the rest

need long term institutionalization (Schizophrenia).?

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that has serious effects. There is no cure

and only people pull through 100%. Write a letter to congress and tell them to fund

research on schizophrenia so that they will find a cure.