Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a well-known severe, chronic and disabling disorder of the brain, affecting many people throughout history. In American, almost one percent of the Americans suffer from this disorder (NIMH - What is schizophrenia, 2009). Nonetheless, the general population is not aware of the actual meaning of the disorder. The term schizophrenia occurred in 1910 by Paul Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist. It comes by combining two Greek words, which means split and mind (Burton, 2012).

Most people confuse 'split personality' as schizophrenia. This concept gained popularity after the publication of a fictional novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. In contrast to 'split personality,' which is a steadily disappearing condition, schizophrenia is completely different. Patients suffering from schizophrenia hear voices attributed to various people, according to their belief, or have bizarre beliefs out of place from their usual characteristics. Nevertheless, this is quite different from having 'split personality' (Burton, 2012).

Discussion

A Brief History

The term 'schizophrenia' caused many confused beliefs about the exact characteristics of this disorder. Bleuler, with his new term, aimed at replacing the older misleading term 'dementia praecox,' which meant dementia of early life. A well-renowned German psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin, pioneered this preceding term. He believed that the condition resulted in mental deterioration, and occurred in younger age-grouped people. However, Bleuler disagreed with his beliefs. Thus, he clarified the matter by converting the name of the disorder to 'schizophrenia'. He defined the condition having characteristic heightened consciousness of memories and experiences, in contrast to mental deterioration that Kraepelin believed in (Burton, 2012).

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a chronic and serious disorder that affects the brain. The condition distorts the thinking of an individual, and the means he or she acts, expressing his/her emotions, perceiving the reality, and relating to others. Individuals ...