The Effects of Schizophrenia on the Successful Achievement of Life Tasks - Research Paper Example

?Schizophrenia:- Schizophrenia is a severe chronic mental illness that disables several functions of the brain and creates enormous difficulties for victims in comprehending reality (National Institute of Health). Schizophrenia creates a constant state of paranoia wherein victims hear voices other people deny hearing, they have a constant threat perception from other people and fail to interact with and gel in the society. They tend to hear internal voices and have an incessant feeling that people are conspiring against them all the time by reading their minds and plotting against them. The consequence of these symptoms is constant fear and withdrawl. Furthermore, the constant mental instability leads to senseless talks and actions and alienates victims from other members of the society often leading to loss of jobs and connectivity with the people around. The disease also leads to impediments in information processing and lack of attention (Braff). Although schizophrenia affects men and women equally, its conception in males is at a much earlier age; usually in late teens or early twenties as compared to women who tend to suffer from the disease during their late twenties or early thirties. It is however, important to note that people do not usually get schizophrenia once they move pass the age of 45. Schizophrenia is found all around the world and medications have developed significantly over the past few years, however even if medication is effective consequences of the disease including lost opportunities, stigma, remaining symptoms can be very disturbing (National Institute of Health). Causes of Schizophrenia:- Several factors can contribute to schizophrenia in varying degree and eventually cause the disease. Genetically Transmitted: - This deadly disease runs in families. Only 1 % of the world gets the disease, however a member of a family with history of the disease has a 10% chance of getting the disease. Scientists argue that while several genes can contribute to the disease there is no single gene that can be held responsible for it. Scientists also believe that interaction between genes and environment is necessary for schizophrenia to develop. (National Institute of Health) Brain Chemistry and Structure:- Neurotransmitters including dopamine and glutamate play a vital role in reactions that may lead to schizophrenia. An imbalance in the complex, interrelated chemical reactions between the above mentioned chemicals, along with others, play a role in schizophrenia. The brains of people with schizophrenia often look different than the brains of people without the disease (National Institute of Health). Symptoms of Schizophrenia:- Symptoms of schizophrenia range from mild to severe and impact the functionality of the brain accordingly. Symptoms are classified into three types: Positive, Negative and Cognitive. Positive Symptoms:- Positive symptoms are ‘psychotic’ symptoms and often lead to severe distortion of the brain’s ability of normal functioning. Some of the key behavorial symptoms of the disease include: Hallucinations: The perception of existence of something that when it doesn’t exist for anyone else is called a hallucination. Delusions: The beliefs of people on things that are not true are delusional. Thought and Movement disorders: People start to think in ways that are not usual and have trouble in organizing their thoughts. Movement disorders may appear as intermittent agitated movements that are contrary to prevalent behavior. Negative Symptoms:- Negative symptoms refer to the inability of people to exhibit emotions or feelings. Other people may perceive victims to be depressed or numb or having little emotional sense. People with negative symptoms often have trouble having fun, showing facial expressions, etc. Cognitive Symptoms:- Cognitive symptoms are not easily observable; however they can create several difficulties in allowing people to have jobs. This may include trouble using information to make decisions, trouble remembering information immediately after learning it and trouble paying attention (National Institute of Health). Erikson’s stages of human development:- Erik Erikson was a famous psychologist who came up with a well renowned model of human development that divides human growth into eight stages of development. He considers environmental factors including culture and their impact on human development, including cognitive traits, leadership, etc. He organized lifespan of human beings into eight stages from birth to death. He further realized that adulthood spans over most of the years of the human life hence he divided it into experiences of young adults, middle age adults and old age adults. Whether the conflict at any particular stage is sorted out will depend on both biological maturation and social demands, however how the conflict is handled will significantly impact how future stages span out. The philosophy of Erikson is based on two assumptions: 1) The world expands as we get along and 2) Failure to overcome conflict in one stage will impact how conflict in the next stage is dealt with. The second point stems from the fact that experiences in the earliest stages have a big impact on later life, e.g. an individual who has went through severe distress in childhood will comprehend things differently than someone who has had a comfortable childhood (Sigelman and Rider). We shall now examine all eight stages of the Erikson model of human development and analyze how experiences during these stages can be impacted by schizophrenia. The Eight Stages Identified by Erikson include:- 1) Infancy – The First Eighteen Months Also referred to, by Erikson, as the oral sensory stage, infancy’s basic strength is drive and hope. The fact that at this age people are unaware of the environment is a driving factor behind terming this stage as that of hope and drive. The development outcome out of this stage is Trust vs. Mistrust. Successfully passing this stage of life may mean that our perceptions are shaped positively and we believe that life is fine and are willing and able to trust people. Possible Consequence: If, however, we fail to experience trust because the very basic of our needs are not satisfied we may feel a constant sense of worthlessness and mistrust towards society in general. If this sense of worthlessness prevails it will lay the groundwork for perceptions and cognitive functioning that can lead to schizophrenia. 2) Early Childhood – 18 months for 3 Years This is a critical stage of development as it is the first time people learn to be self reliant in terms of basic functions including walking, talking, and eating. Motor activities are learned ranging from basic mobility to slightly more complex training. This is the stage where humans develop self esteem and autonomy because of a feeling. However, failure to go through this stage successfully can result in shame and doubt of one’s capabilities specially when people are unable to perform to expectations. During this stage the most significant stage is with parents as they are constantly guiding and evaluating performance. Possible Consequence: Schizophrenic patients are unable to interact with the environment successfully and have a constant feeling of fear. The failure to go through this stage can result in self doubt, shame and subsequent feeling that everyone looks down on an individual. Although not directly interlinked, such feelings can contribute to the unconscious development of schizophrenic behavior. 3) Play Age – 3 to 5 Years Initiative and curiosity are at the heart of this stage. People tend to copy adults and feel the sense of initiative and creativity. Although Erikson was inspired by Freud, he does not agree with the notion that biological sexuality has more to do with this stage rather than psychological conflicts between parents and children. Frustration over failure to achieve natural desires and goals can lead to the experience of guilt. The key participants at this age are the immediate family. (Erikson) Possible Consequence: Guilt is the consequence of failure during this stage. As mentioned before, schizophrenics often have the fear that people are planning and plotting against them. This stage plays a key role because if individuals are left with an incessant sense of guilt, it can cognitively validate their claims that people are planning against them when they become schizophrenics. Hallucinations and delusions stemming from schizophrenia can further alienate these guilt driven children and destruct their development. 4) School Age: 6 – 12 Years During this stage, children are capable of learning, creating and accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge. This constant drive to learn and create leads to a sense of hard work and industry. This is a very critical stage of development as most of the activity is social and if we experience inadequacy and incompetence we may experience inferiority within our social context. This further dampens self esteem. This stage involves the expansion of the world as people interact with school friends, neighborhood, etc. (Erikson) Possible Consequence: Poor self esteem and inferiority leads to a sense of worthlessness and failure to propose one’s stance forward in a state of requisition. 5) Adolescence – 12 to 18 years Erikson argues that there is a basic change in the way development takes place from this stage onwards. Previous stages of development relied on what was done to us, however this stage is self controlled and how we interact is what decides how we progress. Life gets more complex during this stage as people go through sexual development, identity issues, and social interactions become complicated. Self discovery is at the core of this stage and people start separating themselves from family identity. Failure to successfully go through this stage can result in role confusion and upheaval (Erikson). The development of philosophy of life takes place and ideals are viewed as important rather than reality. This is also the most vulnerable stage wherein people are brainwashed to do things adults would not do. Suicide bombers exploit this stage of development to train youngsters into delusions of heavenly partners, etc. Peers are the most significant participants at this stage. Possible Consequence: This stage is critical as Schizophrenia often starts during the early twenties or late teens. The previous stages of development contribute a lot to decide whether psychological development has taken place appropriately. Schizophrenics at this stage can self destruct and get themselves into isolation due to positive symptoms. People tend to identify themselves, hence peers would not like to be identified with people who seize to exist normally in their senses. 6) Young Adulthood – 18 to 35 years Companionship and love are motivating factors during this stage as people seek to identify partners during young adulthood. Satisfying relationships are found and intimacy is developed with partners during this stage. The failure to do so however, may lead to isolation and distances from others. We struggle to find satisfying relationships and the world starts to grow smaller to us instead of expanding. Possible Consequence: Schizophrenics can have a terrible time during this stage. Their nonsocial behavior would alienate them from peers and result in complete failure to achieve intimacy and love. Furthermore, hallucinations and the constant fear of destruction from peers can result in increased animosity and distances. 7) Middle Age Adulthood – 35 to 65 years Making a living and working is the most important part of life at this stage as people tend to have developed a family of individuals reliant upon them. This is the stage of transmitting value systems and beliefs to children and challenging anything that disrupts so. We care for others and doing so gives us strength. The basic strengths are production and care and failure to work often leads to the feeling of meaninglessness. If we don’t get through this stage successfully we may feel stagnation and self absorption. Possible Consequence: Schizophrenics face the mountainous task of fighting cognitive and positive symptoms during work. Their failure to interpret and make sense of information can lead to poor productivity and expulsion from jobs. Furthermore, their negative symptoms do not allow them to interact with children and spouses emotionally and victims tend to struggle to transmit values and show emotions. 8) Late Adulthood – 55 to Death Erikson argues that most of the last stage is spent to recover from middle adulthood. The underlying reason is that a retrospective inspection of an individual’s life can either lead to integrity and satisfaction, or despair and frustration. Possible Consequence: Schizophrenia does not allow patients to go through the previous stages of life in a satisfying manner hence late adulthood is also a struggle more as a consequence of previous stages. They suffer despair, disappointment and frustration. As mentioned, while schizophrenia starts only in the early twenties or late teens at the earliest, stages of development throughout one’s life can impact on whether one has the unconscious tendency towards schizophrenic behavior. Schizophrenia later impacts life a lot. Works Cited Braff, David L. "Information Processing and Attention Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia." Scizophrenia Bulletins (1993). Erikson, Erik Homburger. Identity and Life Cycle. Norton, 1980. National Institute of Health. "Schizophrenia." Science Writing, Press and Dissemination Branch. 2008. Sigelman, Carol K and Elizebath A Rider. Life-Span Human Development . Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Read More