About Schizophrenia

You have probably heard people describe themselves or friends as "schizophrenic". It has become common to talk about the schizophrenia of our stress-filled, busy lives. But as a medical term, schizophrenia refers to a serious, mental disturbance that affects the perception and expression of reality. For instance, schizophrenia patients may hear voices or sounds that others do not. They may suspect other people of trying to hurt them or control them. Such hallucinations may lead to behavioral problems that might prevent the patient from working or communicating.

To understand how schizophrenia affects the individual, it is useful to start with a picture of how the brain functions. The brain consists of billions of nerve cells, with each cell receiving and sending out messages to other cells. The cells communicate through chemicals, called neurotransmitters, which are released by the branches of the nerve cells. The neurotransmitters carry the messages from the end of one nerve branch to the cell body of another. In the brain of a schizophrenia patient, this communication system is disabled.

Often, the metaphor of a malfunctioning telephone switchboard is useful to explain the way the brain of a schizophrenia patient works. In Schizophrenia: Straight Talk for Family and Friends, Maryellen Walsh describes this well. "In most people the brain's switching system works well. Incoming perceptions are sent along appropriate signal paths, the switching process goes off without a hitch, and appropriate feelings, thoughts, and actions go back out again to the world....in the brain afflicted with schizophrenia...perceptions come in but get routed along the wrong path or get jammed or end up at the wrong destination."

Typically, schizophrenia symptoms may first show themselves in late adolescence or early adulthood. It occurs in both sexes, but males show symptoms earlier than females. The illness has been known to occur as late as 40 years in age. It has also been found across races, cultures, and social classes. It affects about 1 percent of people all over the world.

Often schizophrenia is confused with multiple personality disorder, medically known as dissociative identity disorder. But the two are different kinds of mental illnesses and require appropriately different kinds of treatment.