A recent discovery has shown that the serious mental illness that is schizophrenia is actually a group of 8 distinct genetic disorders. Although genetic research has been difficult for those involved in the field of mental health, it is the future of all medicine and humanity. Simply altering neurotransmitters with drugs is a short term …
Many people are prescribed antipsychotic drugs even if they do not have conditions that necessarily warrant their use. The most commonly treated conditions with antipsychotic medications include: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and psychotic depression. If you have a condition like schizophrenia that results in auditory hallucinations, feelings of paranoia, and various types of delusions, …
Most people that are on antipsychotics tend to already have a susceptibility to psychosis. In cases of schizophrenia, individuals are put on this class of medications to address psychotic symptoms. These tend to work by decreasing activity of dopamine receptors to reduce the likelihood of a person experiencing auditory hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia. During the …
The symptoms that people experience during schizophrenia can vary depending on the subtype of the illness. There are 5 types of schizophrenia as recognized by the DSM (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and although many have similar general symptoms, there are various features that can distinguish one subtype from the others. A diagnosis …
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is characterized by general symptoms of schizophrenia that do not fit a specific classification or diagnosis of another subtype. People may exhibit the traditional “positive” and “negative” symptoms, but they may fluctuate over a period of time. This type of schizophrenia can be particularly challenging to diagnose with confidence because someone needs to …
Residual schizophrenia is one of the 5 types of schizophrenia that is characterized by a long-term history of negative symptoms (i.e. psychomotor slowing), with very infrequent or rare occurrences of positive symptoms. To meet the criteria for diagnosis, the person must have experienced positive symptoms (e.g. hallucinations/delusions/etc.) at some point. With that said, the person …
Disorganized schizophrenia (also called “hebephrenia”) is one of the 5 main types of schizophrenia. It is characterized by symptoms of extreme disorganization and typically develops between 15 and 25 years of age. The term “hebephrenia” is Greek for “adolescence” and refers to the fact that this subtype of schizophrenia typically has an adolescent onset. Primary …