Man that is really sad sounding, kathyinmo. Terrified of things that aren't even there... how do you even help in that situation? I had a schizophrenic friend that only developed symptoms around age 20, I haven't seen much of them since. It's not that I'm nervous by them or anything they are just ill and do their own thing, hard to keep in contact. Most people know chickened's comments were very incorrect and mental illness is not treated with money or room and board. He is a bit callous to things he doesn't understand so it's somewhat of a broad spectrum. Please don't feel you are causing problems here, your posts are very informational.
I am getting too personal. I deleted a post.
Schizophrenia is usually diagnosed at age 18 - 25. Many are very intelligent people, often just entering their college years. It is a very sad disease, and much misunderstood.........
I wanted to show you a picture of what a schizophrenic sees, and I found the picture. It is in this blog...
From the blog of:
Carolyn Jack
Editor and CEO, Geniocity.com
A project of The Genius Group LLC
Are creative and crazy the same thing?
Back in January, I wrote about some theories related to the scientific causes of creativity. One of them was about a possible relation or similarity between schizophrenia and creativity - a study done three years ago found that the behavior of some highly creative people is rather like that of people with the mental illness.
Now comes a study that finds a certain gene mutation may result in intense creativity in some people and in schizophrenia or psychosis in others. The scientific community will probably want to see this mutation examined further before subscribing to this one study’s results, but the connection is intriguing. I just hope people don’t use it to reinforce the widely held notion that artists are nuts.
Read the story and see what you think.
Cat images painted by artist Louis Wain during the period when he became schizophrenic.
Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia is not a split personality. Schizophrenia is a psychosis, a type of mental illness in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. At times, people with psychotic disorders lose touch with reality.
Artwork by schizophrenics is an excellent representation of their warped, fantastic, and often terrifying view of reality.
The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three broad categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive symptoms.
Positive symptoms are psychotic behaviors atypical of a mentally healthy person. Those exhibiting positive symptoms seem "out of touch" with reality. However, these behaviors can come and go and vary in severity based on whether the individual is recieving treatment. Examples include:
- Hallucinations. These are things a person sees, hears, smells, or feels that no one else can see, hear, smell, or feel. Auditory hallucinations or "Voices" are the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia. According to NIMH, "The voices may talk to the person about his or her behavior, order the person to do things, or warn the person of danger. Sometimes the voices talk to each other. People with schizophrenia may hear voices for a long time before family and friends notice the problem. Other types of hallucinations include seeing people or objects that are not there, smelling odors that no one else detects, and feeling things like invisible fingers touching their bodies when no one is near."
- Delusions. These are false beliefs that are not part of the person's culture and do not change. The person steadfastly believes delusions even after other people have repeatably proven that the beliefs are not grounded in logic nor reality. Delusions in which a person believes others are trying to harm them are called "delusions of persecution"
- Thought disorders. These are defined as unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking. There are three forms of thought disorders related to schizophrenia. NIMH further breaks down thought disorders into three forms: The first form is called "disorganized thinking." This is when a person has trouble organizing his or her thoughts and/or connecting them logically. Typically, the speak in a garbled way that is hard to understand. The second form is called "thought blocking." This is when a person stops speaking abruptly in the middle of a thought. When asked why he or she stopped talking, the person may say that it felt as if the thought had been taken out of his or her head. Finally, a person with a thought disorder might make up meaningless words, or "neologisms."
Movement disorders. These may appear as agitated body movements. A person with a movement disorder may repeat certain motions over and over. In the other extreme, a person may become catatonic. Catatonia is a state in which a person does not move and does not respond to others. However, catatonia in schizophrenics is rare today with the prevalence and availability of treatment and medication.
Negative symptoms are associated with disruptions to normal emotions and behaviors. These symptoms are harder to recognize as part of the disorder and can be mistaken for depression or other conditions. Those suffering from negative symptoms need help with everyday tasks and chores. Often, they neglect personal hygiene. NIMH categorizes the negative symptoms as the following:
- "Flat affect" (a person's face does not move or he or she talks in a dull or monotonous voice)
- Lack of pleasure in everyday life
- Lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities
- Speaking little, even when forced to interact
Cognitive symptoms are the most subtle of the three types of symptoms. They make it difficult to lead a normal, functioning life including holding employment causing significant emotional distress. Like negative symptoms, cognitive symptoms are often difficult to recognize as part of the disorder. Often, they are detected only when other tests are performed. Cognitive symptoms include the following:
- Poor "executive functioning" (the ability to understand information and use it to make decisions)
- Trouble focusing or paying attention
- Problems with "working memory" (the ability to use information immediately after learning it).
Edited by kathyinmo - 5/12/12 at 10:05am
