Schizophrenia: Not A Split-Personality Case
Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that many people thought of as a case of split personality wherein a schizophrenic person is acting perfectly normal and become irrational or violent the next minute. Schizophrenia is such a serious disorder wherein it affects how a person thinks, feels and acts. People with schizophrenia have the difficulty of distinguishing what is real and what is just an imagination. They may also be unresponsive at times and have a hard time expressing their normal emotions.
Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness, meaning sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.
What causes Schizophrenia?
The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear. But researchers believe that a combination of genetics and environment factors contributes to the development of this disorder. It is also thought that some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and that a stressful or emotional life event might trigger psychotic episode.
Genetics (Heredity) – Schizophrenia tends to run in the families because it has strong hereditary component. Scientists believe that several genes are associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia.
Brain Development – Previous studies of people who have schizophrenia have shown there are differences in the structure of their brains, or small changes in the distribution or number of brain cells.
Neurotransmitters – Drugs that alter the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain are known to relieve some of the symptoms of schizophrenia. Scientists think that an imbalance in the complex, interrelated chemical reactions of the brain involving the neurotransmitters dopamine and glutamate may play a role in schizophrenia. Change in the body's sensitivity to the neurotransmitters is part of the cause of schizophrenia too.
Pregnancy and Birth complications – The effect of pregnancy and birth complications may be very small, but these conditions may make a person more likely to develop schizophrenia in later life: (a) bleeding during pregnancy, gestational diabetes or pre-eclamps, (b) abnormal growth of a baby while in the womb, like low birth weight or reduced head circumference, (c) exposure to a virus while in the womb, and (d) complications during birth like lack of oxygen and emergency caesarean section.
There are also some that triggers schizophrenia to develop in people who are at risk. This can include stress, and drug abuse. Stressful life event such as losing a job or home, a divorce or end of a long -time relationship, or even physical, emotional or sexual abuse can trigger the development of schizophrenia in someone who is already vulnerable of it. Drug misuse on the other hand increases the risk of developing schizophrenia. Drugs like cannabis, cocaine, LSD or amphetamines may trigger some symptoms of schizophrenia, most especially in people who are already susceptible to it.
Published at: 10/13/2015
