Anxiety Disorders - Term Paper Example

It is observed that this disease generally occurs in youngsters in their late 20’s to 30’s. Before the disease gets worse, the affected persons live and behave normally in the society. The main features of paranoid schizophrenia are “a preoccupation with one or more delusions or frequent auditory hallucinations, but nothing prominent in terms of disorganized speech, flat or inappropriate emotions” (Schizophrenia types, 2011). At the same time, various study results show that when a person gets affected by paranoid schizophrenia, his ability to think and function in daily life would be better as compared to people with other types of schizophrenia.

In the case of paranoid schizophrenia, the patient may not suffer too much problems with concentration, memory, or dulled emotions. In the view of Nordahl, Carter, Salo, Kraft, Baldo, Salamat, Roberston, and Kusubov (2001), it is a dreadful and chronic disease that may lead to a series of complications including suicidal behavior. It has been identified that affected persons can manage the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia and lead a happier and healthier life if they get effective treatment.

Symptoms and diagnostic criteria The common signs and symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia may include delusions, auditory hallucinations, anger, emotional distance, anxiety, argumentativeness, violence, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and self-important or condescending manner. As Coon, Mitterer, Brown, Malik, and McKenzie (2010, p.465) point out, delusions and auditory hallucinations are the key symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. In paranoid schizophrenia, the patient experiences the common delusion that somebody is going to single out him for harm.

For instance, the affected person may believe that his co-worker is trying to attack him or the police is monitoring every move he makes. He may also feel that he is famous or that he has a strong relationship with a famous person. This type of delusion may lead to aggression or violence if the affected person feels that he must defend those who want to attack him. An auditory hallucination is an illusion of sound or voice that no one else hears. This sound may be a single voice or an array of voices that would make rude comments about patients’ real or imagined faults.

Sometimes, these unreal voices may command the patients to act in a particular way that raises harm to themselves or to others. In order to be diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, the patient must meet the symptom criteria defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). According to DSM, the diagnostic criteria for paranoid schizophrenia include frequent auditory hallucinations and a preoccupation with one or more delusions. Researchers argue that often it would be very difficult to diagnose paranoid schizophrenia since many other mental disorders have similar symptoms.

The tests for the disease include physical exams, laboratory tests, and psychological evaluation. Treatment and prognosis Since the paranoid schizophrenia is a chronic disease, it needs lifelong treatment even though the patient feels better during the periods of treatment. For every type of schizophrenia, treatment options are almost similar. The application of specific treatment approach depends on the severity of identified symptoms. Usually, the treatment for paranoid schi