To many people, schizophrenia is a disease that is very confusing as well as life-altering. I chose this topic because of its complexity and how it affects the lives of those who suffer from it and of those around them. For many people, this condition is troubling and difficult to understand, but there are medications and different kinds of therapy that can help to minimize its effects. Another reason why I chose this subject as the focus for my paper is because my cousin Holly, who is now 21, was diagnosed at 12 with this disease and has been receiving treatment for a number of years. It is hard to know how to behave when someone in your own family is diagnosed with schizophrenia. How would you feel if someone in your family or circle of friends thought they could hear voices telling them what to do? Would you still treat them the same? These are some of the many questions that came to mind, and so I researched what the disease was and what types of treatments were available.
Space-filling model of the chlorpromazine molecule...
SchizophreniaBrain
English: Risperdal (United Kingdom packaging)Schizophrenia is a disease and needs to be understood and recognized. It's important to find out the facts if someone you care about has been diagnosed.
What is schizophrenia?
As I have mentioned above, schizophrenia is a disease and a relatively common disorder. About 1% of the population, or 2.2 million Americans ages 18 and older, will develop schizophrenia in their lifetime. According to AMI/FAMI, "Schizophrenia, a disease of the brain, is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man" (2). "Approximately 2.2 million American adults have schizophrenia in a given year" (NARSAD 1). It is a disease that has not been understood for a very long time and has simply been a mystery to doctors...