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Aniya Waller

Professor Rebecca Morean

English 1201.503

7 July 2020

Schizophrenia

In the world, there is one percent of people who suffer from schizophrenia (Cohn). Many

people have relatives that have this disorder. The underlying question is what caused this person

to have schizophrenia and how should we treat it? Are any steps that the individual should take

to help the patient? Do the medications prescribe really help get rid of this disorder or does it just

allow the patient to put on a facade when the medicine is taken?

In the 1800s the Schizophrenia was called dementia praecox before the Swiss

psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler gave it the true name. People had just now discovered this disease

there wasn't any treatment for it until after the second (Cohn). The cause of schizophrenia in

these times was believed to be a toxic in the brain ( Faustman). These theories can not be proven.

The quote, “Psychoanalytic theories regarding schizophrenia evolved over the years

(Faustman).” shows that people now have different theories as to what the cause of

schizophrenia is.

To start off, the symptoms of schizophrenia include a variety of things. These symptoms

include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech or thinking, extremely disorganized

behavior, and not being able to function properly. These symptoms start to show when people

are in their twenties (Mayo Clinic). There is no real known cause of schizophrenia. Since this
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still remains unknown there is no cure to schizophrenia (​National Institute of Mental Health​)

(Kinney) (Mayo Clinic). The medicine prescribe are to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia.

These treatments may be for a lifetime (Mayo Clinic).

To help a person with schizophrenia that related to you its best hat the person learns

about the disease beforehand. This is so that you can properly support the paint and help the not

relapse. “ Family "psychoeducation," which includes teaching various coping strategies and

problem-solving skills, may help families deal more effectively with their ill relative and may

contribute to an improved outcome for the patient (​National Institute of Mental Health​). ”, shows

how families have a big part in helping the patient. Another way to help a person with

schizophrenia is through rehabilitation. This helps the patient regain their life skills far as for

jobs and living. The other way the patient can get help is through individual therapy, self-help

groups, and spot that this person has the disease early on (Mayo Clinic) (​National Institute of

Mental Health​).

“Not many people would include schizophrenia on a list of major diseases that burden

American society, but that is what it is( Cohn)”, shows that people downplay the seriousness of

schizophrenia. People diagnosed with schizophrenia die twelve years before the average person

dies. With this, there are many misconceptions about the cause of schizophrenia and the

medicine proscribed. One of these misconceptions is that the patient can get addicted to the

medicine prescribed. This is not the case because the medicine is highly nonaddictive in fact, the

patients tend to stop or forget taking the medicine (​National Institute of Mental Health​).

According to Cohn, “ 40 percent of people with schizophrenia stop taking their medications

within 18 months." Another misconception is that people have thought as the cause of
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schizophrenia to be because of possession and demons (Faustman), this theory hs no factual

evidence supporting this. The cause is also believed to be genetic but again there isn't sufficient

evidence proving that it is genetics alone (Faustman).

Ultimately schizophrenia is a complex disease and there is no cure for it. There are

medications put in place to help decrease some, but not all symptoms of schizophrenia. People

who have relatives may want to learn about the disorder to better helps support them. Therapy

and rehab are also options in helping the patient overcome the disorder. Early diagnosis might

also prevent the disorder from worsening.

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Work cited

Cohn , Jonathan. “There's Now A Miraculous New Treatment For Schizophrenia.

”​The Huffington Post​, TheHuffingtonPost.com,

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/stop-the-madness/​.

Faustman, William O. “Examining the Causes of Schizophrenia.” ​Sinclair,​ 2002,

https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListTyp

e=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&curre

ntPosition=3&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010204204&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Rele

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204204&searchId=R1&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=3

Kinney, Dennis K., et al. “Relation of Schizophrenia Prevalence to Latitude, Climate, Fish

Consumption, Infant Mortality, and Skin Color: A Role for Prenatal Vitamin D

Deficiency and Infections?” ​OUP Academic​, Oxford University Press, 8 Apr. 2009,

http://academic.oup.com/schizophreniabulletin/article/35/3/582/1874387​.

National Institute of Mental Health, . “Treatments for Schizophrenia: An Overview.”

Sinclair ,​ 2002,

https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=Viewpoints&resultListTyp

e=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&searchType=BasicSearchForm&curr
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entPosition=6&docId=GALE%7CEJ3010204208&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Rel

evance&contentSegment=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ301

0204208&searchId=R1&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true&ps=1&cp=6

“Schizophrenia.” ​Mayo Clinic,​ Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 7 Jan.

2020,

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443