The Analysis of the Symptoms of Schizophrenia - Assignment Example

Schizophrenia: Symptoms, Treatments, and Ethical Responsibility Affiliation: Introduction Schizophrenia refers to amental disorder that is characterized by the abnormal social behavior of failure of a person in recognizing what is real. The disorder is a kind of chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder that has been affecting people throughout history. People with this kind of disorder tend to hear voices that other people do not hear. The same people suffering from this disorder believe that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or even plotting to harm them (Veague, 2007). The condition may end up terrifying an individual into the limit of withdrawing from other or even make them become extremely agitated. Symptoms of Schizophrenia In men, the symptoms of the disorder typically starts from the early to mid-20s, while in women, the symptoms typically begins at the late 20s. It is very uncommon for children to be diagnosed with the Schizophrenia and rare for those people aged above 45 years. Schizophrenia involves various problems with thinking (cognitive), behavior or emotions. The symptoms may include; Delusions – it is the case where an individual develops false beliefs that do not base on any reality. As an example, belief that you are being harmed or harassed, or having certain gestures or comments directed t your way. Delusions are common to patients diagnosed with Schizophrenia, occurring in more than 90% of all those that have the disorder. Hallucinations – it is the habit of producing sounds or other sensations. The patient experiences as real when they only exist in the person’s mind. The while the hallucinations may involve any of the five senses, the auditory hallucinations are the most common, whereby a patient hears voices or some other sound. Disorganized speech – it is a kind of fragmented thinking as a characteristic of schizophrenia. It is externally experienced in the manner of which a person speaks. The person diagnosed with Schizophrenia tends to be having problems with concentrating and maintaining a train of thought. The person may respond to a query by providing an unrelated answer, speak incoherently, and say illogical things. Disorganized behavior – Schizophrenia is known to be disrupting on the goal-directed activity, thus causing some impairments to the ability of the person taking care of his or herself, inability to perform work, and inability of interacting with others. Disorganized behavior may appear in form of a decline in the overall daily functioning, inappropriate emotional responses, having no purpose, and lack of impulse control. Areas of the brain most impacted by this disorder The primary areas of the brain that are most affected by schizophrenia are the forebrain, hindbrain, and limbic system. The forebrain, being the topmost and the largest portion of the brain is subject to divide into four lobes, limbic system, thalamus, hypothalamus, and corpus callosum. The forebrain as a whole serves in controlling cognition, knowing, learning, sensory, motor functioning, temperature regulation, reproduction, hunger, cycles of sleep, and creation of delusional ideations. Whenever schizophrenia is present, the temporal lobe process becomes skewed and hence resulting to the auditory and visual hallucinations (Veague, 2007). The hindbrain comprises of the pons, medulla and cerebellum, which serves the task of managing motor activity, posture, balance and blood circulation. When schizophrenia is present, it affects upon affecting this side of brain is shown through the negative symptoms of the blunted movement and a number of inappropriate body language signals. The limbic system is composed of the collection of brain systems that includes the hippocampus and amygdala. It is located at the innermost portion of the brain and serves the purpose of regulating emotions, memories, learning and sexual behavior. When this end of brain is affected by schizophrenia, it causes affective flattering, which is subject to consider as the negative symptoms of the disorder. Long-term implications of the disorder When the symptoms and signs of the disorder are subject to ignore or improperly treated, the effects may end up becoming devastating to the person with the disorder and the people around him or her. Some of the possible long-term effects of schizophrenia may include; Relationships problems – any kind of relationship will suffer in that people with schizophrenia often withdraw and isolate themselves. It is because the person with schizophrenia will always be suspicious of his or her friends and family. Disruption to normal daily lives – this mental disorder causes significant disruptions to the normal daily functions of the body. Experiencing of delusions, hallucinations and disorganized thoughts may prevent an individual from performing normal duties like bathing, eating, among others. Alcohol and drug abuse – long-term suffering of schizophrenia will develop problems with alcohol and drugs, which the parson with schizophrenia disorder uses as an attempt of self-medication. One may also become a heavy smoker, thus interfering with the effectiveness of medications prescribed for the disorder. Increased suicide risk – schizophrenia disorder affects ones development or independence in the world through suicidal risks. People diagnosed with schizophrenia disorder have higher likelihood of committing suicide at the psychotic episodes, during periods of depression, and within the first six months after the commencing of the treatment (Tsuang et al., 2011). Accepted treatments for schizophrenia Since the causes of schizophrenia remain to be unknown, treatments normally focus towards eliminating the symptoms of the disease. Treatment options may be antipsychotic medications, psychosocial treatment (behavioral treatment), and social related treatment (Castle et al., 2003). Antipsychotic medications – this is part of the psychopharmacology mechanism of treating the disorder. The most used medications include chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), perphenazine (Trilafon), and fluphanazine (Prolixin). Psychosocial treatment – this form of treatment may help treat a person with schizophrenia that is already stabilized on antipsychotic medication. Psychosocial treatment may help the patient in dealing with every day challenges from this illness, such as difficulties with communication, self-care, work, and problems of keeping relationships (Tsuang et al., 2011). Social related treatment – rehabilitation emphasizes upon social and vocational training as means of helping people with schizophrenia into functioning better in societies. Rehabilitation programs may include job counseling, money management counseling, and practicing on the communication skills. This program works well when they include some job training and specific therapies with the design of improving cognitive or thinking skills. Alternate treatment for the schizophrenia disorder An alternative of treating the schizophrenia disorder is by employing the use of a natural treatment approach. The first step in this approach will entail looking at the patient as an individual and as a whole person, followed by considering their diagnosis as possible means of guidance through the therapeutic decision-making. The last approaches to consider is looking at the obstacles of cure, and hence employ use of other therapies in removing those obstacles and hence aid the healing process (Castle et al., 2003). The entire natural approach of treating schizophrenia disorder is through three steps, homeopathy, followed by removing obstacles to cure, and concluding by offering supportive therapies. This approach is effective in treating the schizophrenia disorder in that some approaches of cure may be resistant to the medications, thus employing this approach supplements the effective part of a therapeutic plan. The use of this alternate method of treating schizophrenia disorder is ethical in that it follows the ideal medical procedures of medication. More significantly, it evaluates a patient by medical means, before deciding on the approach to employ. All the three steps in a natural treatment approach (homeopathy, removing obstacles to cure, and supportive therapies) follow the recommendable medical procedures that make the entire process ethical. Finally, differences in culture may have a negative or a positive influence towards the diagnosis and treatment of the person diagnosed with schizophrenia disorder. Some cultures might too traditional in that they oppose the modern treatment methods such as antipsychotic medications, hence influencing the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder negatively. References Castle, D. J., Copolov, D., & Wykes, T. (2003). Pharmacological and psychosocial treatments in schizophrenia. London: Martin Dunitz. Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. Veague, H. B. (2007). Schizophrenia. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers. Read More