Briefly - Describe what you think Schizophrenia is?

Question

This is an informal (obviously) quick survey for a report I'm doing. I ask that you please avoid looking anything up - I merely want an idea of what and how much people know about schizophrenia.

Please briefly describe your understanding/assumptions about what schizophrenia is, and if you are okay with it, add your age at the end of the answer. Also, if you have a deep understanding of schizophrenia due to personal experience (you have it, a close family member/friend has it), please note that as well. If you've learned things about schizophrenia from the media (movies, tv), feel free to note the source.

I appreciate all responses - 10 points will be awarded randomly after 24 hours.....I wish I could offer more! Thanks!

Answer 1

Schizophrenia is a chemical imbalance in the brain that makes people extremely paranoid. It effects people in different ways and in different severity. It can be mind forms where no one can really tell you have it, to very extreme cases in which the person is violent with themselves and other.

I'm 27

Answer 2

Hmmm... Off the top of my head... Schizophrenia.

I think schizophrenia is when people start hearing voices and seeing things that do not exist. People with schizophrenia have paranoia, and may think that someone or something is trying to harm them.

It's a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be corrected by taking some drugs (don't know which), but the person may not go back completely to the life they had before.

I think it occurs later on in life, like in a person's twenties to late twenties. Also there's no real genetic link to passing on schizophrenia, but the chances of a person getting it increases if they had a sibling or parent who had schizophrenia.

Answer 3

My grandmother began to develop signs of schizophrenia when she was diagnosed with alzheimers. She was beaten and robbed in Philadelphia (where she lived) one night and had a really hard time dealing with. Schizophrenia plays off your biggest fears and discomforts, I believe. It may not be a documented fact or anything, but I know she had always had a bit of a problem with blacks and hispanics (no offense!! Sorry! she was just very old and had grown up surrounded by common racism and it's a hard thing to ougrow as you get older). But anyway, she was robbed by a black man and a hispanic man, and forever afterwards she was so suspicious of the two races. Her landlady of her apartment was also hispanic, and she honestly believed her and her black husband were breaking into her apartment and stealing things. So she would then start hiding things (like jewelery, valuables, and even her breathing machine even though she had asthma). And once they were hidden, she couldn't find them again and started to believe even more that they had been stolen.

All in all, what I know of Schizophrenia is that it is a psychological ailment that makes you truly believe that people are watching you, stealing from you, wanting to hurt you, etc. It's very sad, and basically irreperable, at least in 70+ year old women with alzheimers.

Hope that's enough for you're survey! (I'm 20 by the way, in case you needed my age).

Answer 4

I am not an expert in this arena.

But basically, I think that schizophrenia is a mental disorder, in which the patient may suffer from paranoia, delusions, and auditory or visual hallucinations. There are some sub-classes of schizophrenia, such as catatonia. Catatonic individuals are almost unresponsive to outside stimuli, and often stay seated in one position for a protracted period of time. There is also schizo-affective disorder, which is, in some fashions, similar to bi-polar depression. Often, people mistakenly think that 'split personalities' is one of the hallmarks of schizophrenic people- but this is incorrect. Sometimes, however, schizophrenics do have different modes or archetypes that they fall into, and that may give others the impression that they have different personalities.

Answer 5

Schizophrenia is what we all go through when we are stressed, anxious and the whole world is Schizophrenic. The bible says "Jesus was beside himself" many times. It is saying he was experiencing that too.We are made of Opposites just as the world is made of opposites and one thing cannot live without it's opposite. Up-down, yes-no,Sun-moon-good-evil etc. The real meaning of Schizophrenia comes from the Greek phylosophers who wrote the New Teastament. They knew we and the Universe is Schizo-prhenic. Please look up the two words in a Greek dictionary. Probably Ancient Greek.There is no cure for Schizophrenia because it is not an illness. It is how we humans are. -tonyintotonto

Answer 6

Schizophrenia is a collection of related psychiatric disorders of unknown etiology that follow a specific pattern of behavior. Typical behavior seen in schizophrenia includes psychotic episodes in which there is a severe mental disturbance and perceptions of reality are distorted. Psychotic episodes may also involve hallucinations. Schizophrenics often have delusions about personal identity, immediate surroundings or society, and paranoia. Schizophrenia has a component of heredity, but many factors other than genetics are involved. Schizophrenia is treated with antipsychotic medication.

Answer 7

Schizophrenia & it's symptoms are as individual as the person is.
One drug will work with one but not with another.
It's still mis-understood & we're pigeon-holed as loonies!

Do I sound like a loony?
I just have a voice (s) in my head that aren't me!
There's Good days & Bad days.
Today's a good day.
It's not the end of the world when you get the diagnosis, learning to live with it is a one day at a time thing.
If it's you, stay positive & I'll be thinking of you.

Answer 8

An good example for Paranoid form of Schizophrenia is father of my friend:
He´s often demountings things because of searching bugs in their house. Hi´s in contact with ETs, they help him to "great inventions", but he can´t describe, explain, because ETs amerce him by electroshocks, when he´s tallking about that.
ETs implanted some electrods to his brain the first time they have kidnapped him to their planet.
He´s victimize all the time...

Interesting form of Schizophrenia is Catatonia:
The ill one does "extra" moves, mimicry or gestures, for example: he march on the street, or take some "extra" position, for example: he lie on imaginary pillow or sit on imaginary chair. He could hold this position for hours...

Answer 9

I read an article somewhere describing how with the aid of MRIs, CAT, and PET scans, researchers are able to see the physiologic causes of the disease-- ventricles in the center of the brain are noticeably enlarged in schizophrenic patients. Some research seems to indicate that it could be caused by a virus. My favorite quote about mental illness is, "Even paranoids have enemies."

Answer 10

first of all which is the most important thing... is that it does not mean split personality, it means SPLIT MIND. Split personality is dissaciative identity disorder.
Now schizophrenia has a number of characteristics:
1. there is a distortion of speech.
2.hallucinations
3. dellusions
4. their emotional responses are distorted. they either behave inappropriately in certain occasions, or they simply do not show any emotion whatsoever.