I chose to write my research paper over Schizophrenia. It is a psychological disorder that I have always found fascinating. Approximately 20% of North Americans will be affected by a mental illness during the course of their lifetime. (MHA, 'What You Should Know About Mental Illness') More specifically, 1 in 100 Americans will suffer from schizophrenia. That means that 300,000 people in America will, at some point in their life, be affected by a very serious and highly misunderstood mental disorder. (Schizophrenia Society of America) It is a serious disorder that consumes a person's life and is nearly impossible to control. In this paper, I will talk about the definition of Schizophrenia, the symptoms of Schizophrenia, the three minor categories of schizophrenia, the Genetics of schizophrenia, sleep disorders caused by the disease, differences in the disease on different ethnicities, and insensitivity to pain.
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by disorganized and delusional thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions. (Psychology Eight Edition, David G. Myers) Schizophrenia is a brain disease, just like Alzheimer's. It cannot be predicted or prevented and is not a moral weakness, character flaw, or result of poor parenting. (MHA, 'Facts on Schizophrenia') When schizophrenia is literally translated it means, "split mind". It refers to not someone with multiple personalities, like a person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, but rather someone who is split from reality. Which is where schizophrenics get their disorganized thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and/or actions. (Psychology Eighth Edition) This also contributes to the common misconceptions that have greatly contributed to the "schizophrenia stigma" which makes life for schizophrenics even more difficult. Schizophrenia is a very difficult illness to deal with because of its debilitating symptoms, uncertain causes, and the degree of difficulty to find the right treatment for an individual.