Katie Houston and Kristina Clark

 Means “split mind”, a split from reality that shows itself in disorganized thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions.  A person with schizophrenia is delusional: they have false beliefs, often of harassment, that may accompany psychotic disorders.

 Subtypes of schizophrenia:  Paranoid-preoccupation with delusions or hallucinations, often with themes of persecution or grandiosity  Disorganized-disorganized speech or behavior, or flat or inappropriate emotion  Catatonic-immobility or excessive, purposeless movement, extreme negativism, and/or parrotlike repeating of another’s speech or movements  Undifferentiated-many and varied symptoms  Residual-withdraw, after hallucinations and delusions have disappeared

 At first, you may be tense or have trouble sleeping  Then psychotic symptoms appear, such as:  Showing no emotion  Bizarre motor behavior  Delusions  Hallucinations  Disordered thinking

 Even experts are not sure what causes the disorder  Some doctors think the brain cannot process information  Genetic disorder  Environment may trigger the disorder  Social factors may also contribute

 Made based on interview of person and family members  No medical tests for schizophrenia  CT Scans of the head and other imaging techniques may find changes that occur with schizophrenia and rule out other disorders

 Antipsychotic or neuroleptic medications may help control the symptoms  Side effects include:  Sleepiness  Weight gain  Jitters  Problems with movement  Long term risk include a movement disorder called tardive dyskiesia, meaning they move without meaning to.  Participation in support groups also shows signs of improvement

 People with this disorder have higher rate of preventable risk factors such as:  Smoking  High alcohol consumption  Poor diet  Lack of exercise

 Most people find that their symptoms improve with medication  Some can control their symptoms overtime  Others have a functional disability and at risk for repeated episodes  To live in the community, they may need:  Supportive housing  Work rehabilitation  Other support programs

 John Nash: Mathematician and Nobel Prize winner  Eduard Einstein: Albert Einstein’s son  Jack Kerouac: Author

Heredity and the Genetics of Schizophrenia (n.d.). In Schizophrenia.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from reditygen.htm reditygen.htm Myers, D. G. (2007). Psychology (8th ed., pp ). New York: Worth Publishers. Schizophrenia (n.d.). In Google Health. Retrieved November 17, 2010, from ophrenia ophrenia