What is Schizophrenia?

so schizophrenia is a 

thought disorder which impairs judgment behavior and ability to interpret reality the normal case for the diagnosis of schizophrenia involves the symptoms being present for at least six months to confirm this diagnosis the risk factors involved for schizophrenia include men who are between 15 to 25 years of age they have the highest risk people with high levels of dopamine and abnormalities with the serotonin schizophrenia is also said to have a genetic predisposition so if you have a family member like a mother or a father who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia you are more likely to also have schizophrenia in comparison to someone who does not have the disorder in their family other factors include substance abuse so schizophrenia has been seen as a result of certain recreational drugs that people have been taking these include drugs like cocaine methamphetamine cannabis and also it can be due to other substances like alcohol now these symptoms vary according to the type of schizophrenia that you have so the classification of schizophrenia can include the paranoid type of schizophrenia disorganized type and catatonic type and there's also undifferentiated type and residual type but the symptoms involved in schizophrenia include hallucinations which are often auditory so you're the patient is usually hearing voices others include delusions disorganized speech disorganized behavior and social or occupational dysfunction and saccadic eye movements are also seen which is where they have jerking eye movements so if you look at the brain imaging of a person who has schizophrenia a CT scan will show lateral and third ventricular enlargements and reduction in cortical volume. schizophrenia are things like IQ tests and personality tests so for an IQ test they'll usually score a bit lower and that could be due to low intelligence at the onset of the disease or it could be due to deterioration deterioration as a result of the disease or a personality test may show of normal findings such as his ideas and theories so the treatment for schizophrenia is usually things like hospitalization which is usually recommended just to stabilize the patient or it could be for safety reasons if medications are used they are antipsychotic medications which are used 

to control both the positive and the 

negative symptoms these medications are things like a my sole pride or lanza pain which are considered to be fairly effective but they do have side effects as well if there is poor response to these drugs another medication which is called clozapine is used if other medications have failed other treatment methods include psychotherapy which is supportive and the primary aim is to have the patient understand that the therapist is very trustworthy and has their best intentions