Comparing Psychotic Disorders - Research Paper Example

COMPARING PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS: Schizophrenia Paranoid Vs Delusional Disorder Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects of the population worldwide (i.e. about 1 in every 100 people) (Taber, Lewis, & Hurley, 2001). On the whole the term schizophrenia represents a syndrome that is linked to long term or duration, bizarre delusions, depressing signs, and a small amount of emotional symptoms (Os & Kapur, 2009). It is estimated that schizophrenia affects with higher frequency in the male gender right through adulthood but also equals in females in old age.

  Schizophrenia is in general is linked as a genetic disorder extremely inherited (MacDonald & Schulz, 2009, p. 495). This paper compares and contrasts on the bases of symptoms, diagnosis and treatment the two subtypes of Schizophrenia - Paranoid and the Delusional Disorder. “The vital characteristic of the Paranoid Schizophrenia is the existence of well-known delusions or auditory hallucinations” where none of the following problems are prominent: disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behaviors, or flat or inappropriate affect is present (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 313). In the case of Delusional disorder, “the essential feature is the presence of one or more non-bizarre delusions that persist for a minimum period of one month.

”  (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 323). Non-bizarre delusions involve circumstances that may possibly happen in real life such as a feeling of being followed or tracked by someone, poisoned, etc. (Brooks, 2010), In case of paranoid schizophrenia, differential diagnosis is a tedious procedure in view of the fact that it becomes necessary to eliminated all the other subtypes before diagnosing the paranoid subtype. One of the most prominent characteristic of paranoid schizophrenia is that patients have “delusions that are persecutory and/or grandiose”.

Besides, there is also the typical periodic theme. These people have hallucinations that are in general linked to the same content theme as the delusions that may further create states of anxiety, anger, unfriendliness, in addition to/or argumentativeness. The onset of paranoid schizophrenia in general is seen mostly in the old age when compared with other subtypes of schizophrenia. The unique features are a lot more constant over a period of time.  The prognosis in case of paranoid schizophrenia is greatly advanced when compared with other subtypes of schizophrenia, particularly on the subject of occupational functioning and independent living.

  (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 314) As it is well known that bizarreness is predominantly subjective in nature and also it is dependent on socio-cultural standards and expectations. In general in schizophrenia bizarre or strange delusions can be “clearly implausible, not understandable, and not derived from ordinary life experiences.”  (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 324). The subtypes of delusional disorder are classified on the basis of the content or the theme of the delusions or the theme thereof.

  Delusional disorder can be classified into “erotomanic, grandiose, jealous, persecutory, somatic, mixed, and unspecified types”. “The criteria used to differentiate among these diverse categories of psychotic disorder are based on length, dysfunction, coupled substance use, bizarreness of delusions, and existence of depression or mania.”  (Os & Kapur, 2009, p. 635)  However in case of delusional disorders, distortions of realism coexist with realms of sensible, pragmatic thinking.

  (Blaney & Millon, 2009, p. 361)  Therefore delusional disorders are distinguished from schizophrenia by the non-existence of active phase symptoms of schizophrenia such as prominent auditory or visual hallucinations, bizarre delusions, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, in addition to/or negative indications.  “In contrast to schizophrenia, delusional disorder typically produces less impairment in occupational and social functioning.”  (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 327) When it comes to the treatment of paranoid schizophrenia and the delusional disorder, it becomes very difficult to treat delusional disorder for several reasons such as the patients' repeated disagreement of the fact that they have any problem, particularly any mental problem, technical hitches in developing a therapeutic alliance, and social/interpersonal conflicts (Chopra et al 2009).

For treating this disorder tranquilizers and anti-depressants are commonly used as it may help in controlling depression that is common in people with delusional disorder. Delusional disorder in general is not linked with any type of violent behaviour or cause severe injury. Even though as the time passes these people may increasingly become more and more occupied with their delusion, they may not exhibit problems in social circumstances (depression-guide.com, 2005). Medications are an important part of paranoid schizophrenia treatment together with psychotherapy.

The main drugs involved are the first-generation (typical) anti-psychotic drugs, second-generation (atypical) anti-psychotic drugs along with other medications such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications and mood-stabilizing medications (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2010). On the contrary psychotherapy is frequently used to help people with delusional disorder. In rare cases anti-psychotic medication may be preferred medication, though it may not help them effectively (Grohol, 2010).

Finally it can be said that paranoid schizophrenia is comparatively serious mental disorder when compared to delusional disorder. However, people with both these disorders need the support of family, society and the medical community. References American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author. Blaney, P. H., & Millon, T. (2009). Oxford textbook of psychopathology (2nd ed.). New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

Brooks, K. (2010) Paranoid Schizophrenia vs Delusional Disorder. try-therapy.com. Retrived on 11 May 2011 from Chopra, S., Soreff, S. et al. (2009) Delusional Disorder. WebMD LLC. Retrived on 11 May 2011 from depression-guide.com, (2005) Delusional Disorder Overview, Cause, Types, Symptoms, Treatment, Medication. Retrived on 11 May 2011 from Grohol, J.M. (2010) Delusional Disorder Treatment. Psych Central. Retrived on 11 May 2011 from MacDonald, A. W., & Schulz, S. C. (2009, May ). What we know: Findings that every theory of schizophrenia should explain.

Schizophrenia Bulletin, 35(3), 493-508. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (2010) Paranoid schizophrenia. Mayo Clinic. Retrived on 11 May 2011 from Os, J. V., & Kapur, S. (2009, Aug 22-Aug 28). Schizophrenia. The Lancet, 374(9690), 635-645. Taber K.H, Lewis DA, Hurley RA (2001) Schizophrenia: What's under the microscope? J Neuropsychiat Clin Neurosci 13:1-4.