Definition
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder (or a group of disorders) marked by severely impaired thinking,emotions,and behaviors.Schizophrenic patients are typically unable to filter sensory stimuli and may have enhanced perceptions of sounds,colors,and other features of their environment.Most schizophrenics,if untreated,gradually withdraw from interactions with other people,and lose their ability to take care of personal needs and grooming.
Description
The course of schizophrenia in adults can be divided into three phases or stages.In the acute phase,the patient has an overt loss of contact with reality (psychotic episode) that requires intervention and treatment.In the second or stabilization phase,the initial psychotic symptoms have been brought under control but the patient is at risk for relapse if treatment is interrupted.In the third or maintenance phase,the patient is relatively stable and can be kept indefinitely on antipsychotic medications.Even in the maintenance phase,however,relapses are not unusual and patients do not always return to full functioning.
The term schizophrenia comes from two Greek words that mean "split mind." It was observed around 1908,by a Swiss doctor named Eugen Bleuler,to describe the splitting apart of mental functions that he regarded as the central characteristic of schizophrenia.
Recently,some psychotherapists have begun to use a classification of schizophrenia based on two main types.People with Type I,or positive schizophrenia,have a rapid (acute) onset of symptoms and tend to respond well to drugs.They also tend to suffer more from the "positive" symptoms,such as delusions and hallucinations.People with Type II,or negative schizophrenia,are usually described as poorly adjusted before their schizophrenia slowly overtakes them.They have predominantly "negative" symptoms,such as withdrawal from others and a slowing of mental and physical reactions (psychomotor retardation).
