Hello everyone! This is an installment of the Newspaper’s series on mental conditions and disorders. I find the variety of ways that the brain works to be extremely fascinating, so I have been exploring them. I hope you enjoy these presentations of my research. Many of these conditions are considered ‘disorders’ because they are different than what we are used to and could make operating in the world challenging. But, these conditions can cause reflection on what is ‘normal’ – both in terms of brain function and in terms of what we expect in society. If you have any questions or requests on topics, email me -> Hiruni Manawadu
Schizophrenia is a surprisingly common illness that affects the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. The symptoms of schizophrenia can make it difficult to function in day to day life but can be treated once identified. Symptoms of schizophrenia are split into 3 main categories, psychotic, negative, and cognitive.
Psychotic symptoms
Hallucinations -> sensing things that are not there. This can be with any of the five senses, but most commonly with hearing [ex: hearing voices when it is completely quiet.]
Delusions -> when someone has strong and irrational beliefs that often confuse others. For example, someone experiencing a delusion may believe that the people on the radio are trying to send you a secret warning.
Thought disorder -> when someone thinks illogical or unusually or has trouble organizing their thoughts. They may have trouble speaking, make up random words, or randomly jump from one topic to another in the middle of a sentence.
Movement disorder -> when someone has abnormal body movements, such as repeating the same motion for no reason.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms are when the person withdrawals from their emotions. It seems as if they are washed out, like a stiff dry sponge that has had all emotion ringed out. They may have dull expressions, not find enjoyment or anticipation in things, have trouble sticking to a regular task, and have low energy. In very extreme cases they may stop moving and talking for a while, which is called catatonia. These symptoms are similar to depression and are often mistaken for such.
Cognitive Symptoms
Cognitive symptoms are symptoms related to every day brain function. People experiencing cognitive symptoms often struggle with memory, attention and concentration. It’s often hard for these people to learn new things, use information once they have learned it, and pay attention or focus.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is extremely serious and should not be joked about. When describing someone with schizophrenia do not call them crazy, insane, or a schizophrenic. The labels crazy and insane have been used to demonize the mentally ill for a long time. While reading this article, you may have found yourself relating to some of the symptoms. Many of these symptoms overlap to other more common disorders such as depression or adhd. However, if you are experiencing a majority of these symptoms [especially the psychotic ones] maybe research a bit more and you may need a diagnosis. Schizophrenia is not common in young children and develops as you get older, but the sooner diagnosed the better. People with schizophrenia are not usually violent when treated, but are at risk at harming themselves and falling out of place in society. Schizophrenia is also commonly associated with having split personalities which IS NOT true. That is a characteristic of dissociative identity disorder which we will write about in a future article