Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access

A Short Note on Schizophrenia: Causes and its Symptoms

Amnie Kammoun^{* *}Correspondence: Amnie Kammoun, Department of Psychology, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt, Email:

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Description

Schizophrenia is a condition that seriously affects a person's physical and mental health. This is because it destroys brain function and affects thinking and memory. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia can cause hallucinations, delusions, and highly disturbed combinations of thoughts and behaviors that interfere with daily functioning and can lead to disability.

Schizophrenia typically begins at different ages. It usually starts between the ages of 15 and 25 for men and 25 to 35 for women. It also tends to affect men and women equally. However, these cases are usually very serious. Early onset tends to lead to more severe and difficult-to-treat conditions. About 20% of new cases of schizophrenia occur in people over the age of 45. These cases tend to be more common in women. In these cases, delusion symptoms are more severe, with less severe negative symptoms and effects on thinking and concentration. Although it is a serious condition, it is treatable and many people with schizophrenia can live happily.

Schizophrenia causes mental illness and is accompanied by serious disability, and can affect all areas of life, including personal, family, social, educational, and occupational functions. Discrimination and human rights abuses in people with schizophrenia are common. There are many effective treatment options for people with schizophrenia, and at least one in three people with schizophrenia recover completely.

Symptoms of schizophrenia

When an illness is active, it can be characterized by a stage in which one cannot distinguish between real and unreal experiences. As with any illness, the severity, duration, and frequency of symptoms vary. However, people with schizophrenia often have less frequent severe psychotic symptoms as they become older. Failure to take medication, use of alcohol or drugs, and stressful situations tend to increase symptoms. Symptoms fall into three main categories.

• Positive symptoms: Hallucinations, delusions, exaggerated or distorted perceptions, beliefs, and behaviors such as hearing voices or seeing things that does not exist.

• Negative symptoms: Loss or diminished ability to initiate a plan, speak, express emotions, or find pleasure.

• Disorganized symptoms: Confused and disordered thinking and speech, trouble with logical thinking, and sometimes strange behaviors and abnormal movements.

Cognition is another area of schizophrenia impaired function that causes attention, concentration, and memory problems and impairs academic performance.

Causes of schizophrenia

The cause of schizophrenia is unknown, but researchers believe that a combination of genetics, brain chemistry, and environment contributes to the development of the disorder.

• Genetics: Schizophrenia is not caused by just one genetic variation, but a complex interplay of genetics and environmental condition influences the Schizophrenia. Heredity also plays a key role in developing schizophrenia which is more than six times higher if you have a close relative, such as a parent or sibling, with the disorder.

• Environment: Exposure to the virus or malnutrition before birth has been shown to increase the risk of schizophrenia, especially in the first and second semesters. Recent studies also suggest a link between autoimmune disease and the development of psychosis.

• Brain chemistry: Problems with certain brain chemicals, including neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate, can contribute to schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters allow brain cells to communicate with each other. A network of neurons may also be involved.

• Drug use: Several studies suggest that the use of psychoactive drugs in teens and young adults may increase the risk of schizophrenia. Increasing evidence suggests that smoking marijuana increases the risk of psychological incidents and long-term mental experiences.