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Amanda Desorcy

Professor Hellmers

ENG 1201

18 April 2019

Schizophrenia in Everyday Life

Have you ever thought you heard a voice or felt your phone vibrate but it was not

actually there? What about walking through a dark hallway and a dark figure catches

your eye and scares you to death for it only to be an inanimate object? In the minds of a

person suffering with Schizophrenia, all these things are very real in their minds. That

voice is real and telling them things. The phantom vibration you thought you felt, could

be a hand grabbing their ankle as they walk. While we cannot see what is happening

inside their minds and what is being internally done to them, doesn’t mean it is not

happening. There is a huge stigma around Schizophrenia as a whole. The main cause

of this is simply the lack of education amongst the common people about

Schizophrenia. If people remove the stigma behind Schizophrenia by educating

themselves, educating others, and accepting mental health as a whole, people with

schizophrenia will live a happier life.

Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder that occurs in the brain due to a few

debatable possible causes. Such causes can be physical, genetic, psychological and

environmental factors according to the Mayo Clinic. While research is still being done on

the disorder and its exact cause, it is agreed upon in the medical community as a “brain
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disease.” (Mayo Clinic 2018) The symptoms of Schizophrenia can range from positive

to negative based on the subtype the person has. There are only five main subtypes of

schizophrenia that are recognized in the mental health community: Paranoid,

Disorganized, Catatonic, Undifferentiated, and Residual.

Paranoid Schizophrenia is the most common subtype of schizophrenia and is

generally categorized to have positive symptoms. The most common symptoms of

Paranoid Schizophrenia are hallucinations and delusions, both of which make

differentiating reality and imaginary extremely difficult. Warning signs of disorder are

“seeing, hearing, or tasting things that others do not, suspiciousness and a general fear

of others’ intentions, persistent, unusual thoughts or beliefs, difficulty thinking clearly,

withdrawing from family or friends, and a significant decline in self-care.” (Cagliostro

2018) The most common treatment option for Paranoid Schizophrenia is medication.

While the medication helps to manage the disorder, it comes with many negative side

effects such as weight gain, nausea, and drowsiness. Other types of treatment such as

therapy can be done as well, but less effective.

Disorganized Schizophrenia, also referred to as Hebephrenia, is another one of

the five subtypes. While it still carries some of the common symptoms of schizophrenia,

some are less prominent that others. Disorganized schizophrenia mostly affects speech,

the ability to focus, and impulse control. It is common for a person with this disorder to

switch topics quickly and with no reasoning, repeat something many times, and use

words that have no meaning to anyone but the person themself. They can appear to
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have a very flat personality or do not know how to appropriately respond to a situation,

such as laughing as laughing at something sad. (Hurley 2018) Disorganized

Schizophrenia is treated through medication management, psychotherapy, life skills

training, supported employment opportunities, and family education.

Catatonic Schizophrenia is another subtype of schizophrenia is which the person

with the disorder has trouble differentiating the person's conscious mind and reality.

While Catatonic Schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia, catatonia itself also has

three subtypes which determine the symptoms. The three subtypes are akinetic, excited

catatonia and malignant catatonia, Akinetic carries symptoms related to retardation.

Excited catatonia is often explained as a frenzy or manic state. Malignant catatonia can

cause unusual vitals, fever, delirium, muscle rigidity in the muscles. (Black 2018)

Treatment for Catatonic schizophrenia as a whole heavily relies on medications and

injections. Because this subtype has such an impact on health and mental processing,

therapies would not be as effective.

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia is simply for the people with schizophrenia that

do not fit in the first three subtypes. It carries all the common symptoms such as,

“...significant delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, or disorganized or

catatonic behavior, their symptoms are not predominantly positive, disorganized, or

movement disordered.” (Cagliostro 2018) Treatment is commonly therapy, medications

and life skills training.

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The last subtype of schizophrenia is Residual Schizophrenia. This subtype is for

people who are not experiencing the most severe symptoms. However they do have

some of the less extreme symptoms such as thought distortions or odd beliefs. Residual

schizophrenia is treated a majority of the time using an antipsychotic medication to keep

the disorder manageable in everyday life.

No matter what subtype a person is categorized in, person should always be

treated with respect and dignity. It is very unfortunate how much stigma surrounds

Schizophrenia, but how little people really know about it. This stigma comes from the

media, made up or exaggerated stories, and when people with extreme cases are not

getting proper care. By changing the conversation and informing the general public

about the disorder, we as a community change change the stigma. Educating children in

school about mental health and why it is okay to talk to someone should become a part

of mental health units.

The problem with people thinking that people with schizophrenia are crazy and

should be locked up is that most people with the disorder just want to be normal like

everyone else. They did not ask to be any different that anyone. It is also very rare that

a person with schizophrenia gets becomes bad enough to need to be locked up and

drugged.Mental health has been a controversial topic for a long time. Many people just

think and assume it is people trying to get attention or making it up. It is only up until

recently that people have starting becoming more aware.

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People could behave differently to those with the disorder by simply educating

themselves on the disorder and trying to treat them as normal as possible. The only

difference between a normal functioning person and a person with Schizophrenia is the

chemical imbalance in the brain. As well as educating yourself on the disorder, people

could also do their part in helping out a person with the disorder. Perhaps a patient is

hallucinating and trying to cross a busy street, by jumping in and stopping them and

taking them to a hospital or calling 911 would greatly help that person.

In general, if people would just be kind to those suffering with mild to severe

schizophrenia the disorder would be looked at less like a psychotic break and more like

a condition that can be treated and managed. It would create a safer space for people

to speak out about their issues. An educated community is a community that people feel

safe in.
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This image accurately depicts most subtypes of Schizophrenia. It shows the voices that

a person may hear in their head. As well as showing the many different emotions

happening throughout the brain. This image is showing how hyperactive a person with

Schizophrenia brain really is in a layman image.

Works Cited
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Cagliostro, DIna. “Paranoid Schizophrenia: Overview of Causes, Symptoms, &

Treatments.” PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, 14

Feb. 2018, www.psycom.net/paranoid-schizophrenia.

“Schizophrenia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research,

10 Apr. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-

causes/syc-20354443.

Hurley, Katie. “Disorganized Schizophrenia (Hebephrenia): Symptoms & Treatment.”

PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, 13 Feb. 2018,

www.psycom.net/disorganized-schizophrenia-hebephrenia#treatment

Black, Rosemary. “Catatonic Schizophrenia: Recognize the Symptoms of a Catatonic

State.” PsyCom.net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1986, 30 July

2018, www.psycom.net/schizophrenia/catatonic-

schizophrenia/#treatingschizophreniawithcatatonia.

Lynham, Amy J., et al. “Examining Cognition across the Bipolar/Schizophrenia

Diagnostic Spectrum.” Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, vol. 43, no. 4, July

2018, pp. 245–253. EBSCOhost,

Carey, Benedict. "Scientists Home In on Cause of Schizophrenia." New York

Times, 28 Jan. 2016, p. A1(L). Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

http://link.galegroup.com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A441563940/OVIC?
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u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=23826b35. Accessed 7 Apr. 2019.

“Schizophrenia.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml.

Petrie, Bonnie. “San Antonio Man Working To Erase Stigma Of Schizophrenia.”

Texas Public Radio, www.tpr.org/post/san-antonio-man-working-erase-stigma-

schizophrenia