Schizophrenia

            Schizophrenia is a mental illness that distorts the senses, making it difficult for an individual to distinguish fantasy from reality. It is one of the most misunderstood diseases today. The illness affects approximately 1 percent of the population worldwide. This paper will discuss the possible causes, types, symptoms, and treatment of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness in which the victim is afflicted with disturbances in thought and perception; it may also affect a person's behavior and communication. In the late 1800"s Emil Kraeplin, a German psychiatrist, discovered the illness. Kraeplin named the mystery illness dementia praecox--early insanity (Young, 1988, p.20). The illness received the name schizophrenia in 1911; Eugene Bluer, a Swiss psychiatrist gave schizophrenia its name. The word "schizophrenia" has a Greek origin that loosely translates its meaning to "splitting of the mind." Due to its literal meaning, many people often confuse schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder (Young, 1988, p.21). The diseases are quite different in nature. .
             Possible Causes.
             There are many theories that speculate the cause of schizophrenia. The cause is still not clear to us today. Despite our not knowing the cause of the disorder, a few theories such as Karl Abraham's have been discredited. Abraham's theory stated that schizophrenia was a result of inadequate libido or ego development (Young, 1988, p.58). While Abraham's theory was discredited, others argued that the disorder resulted from problems with intrauterine development in the womb or in some phases of infancy and childhood (A.D.A.M., Inc, 2002; Young, 1988, p.55). Perhaps, the most accepted theories today on the cause of the disorder is genetics and/or a chemical imbalance in the brain. .
             Genetics has not been proven as the exact cause of schizophrenia. The illness itself is not inherited, but the predisposition for the illness is.