Research Question: What do the identifying factors of schizophrenia entail, and how can it be differentiated from other mental health conditions?

This Spring semester I undertook prioritizing the completion of my Flexible Core Requirement which prompted my enrollment in General Psychology 1001. There I found myself becoming fascinated with the various mental disorders which plague cognitive ability, one that particularly caught my attention was Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is described as a mental disorder that affects the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, perceives reality, and relates to others. Taken literally Schizo which refers to split and Phrenia which refers to the mind describe an experienced fragmented pattern of thinking. Schizophrenia which affects roughly 1 in 300 people worldwide, and encompasses a total of 24 million individuals currently diagnosed and or affected worldwide. One fascinating fact mentioned during a lecture on mental disorders was the given probability that everyone is likely to interact with someone suffering from Schizophrenia at least once in their lifetime, making it a prominent mental health disorder in society today. The exact causes of schizophrenia are still under debate, this particular mental disorder is challenging to pinpoint largely because symptoms can manifest differently within individual patients. For example, some patients may become delusional and hallucinate events that are removed from reality, while other patients may tend to crave social isolation and lack the ability for emotional responses. However, research findings suggest a combination of physical, genetic, psychological, and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop Schizophrenia. Many individuals may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event may trigger psychotic episodes further developing Schizophrenia. 

An individual experiencing Schizophrenia is likely to experience symptoms of Delusions, which are false beliefs that are not based in reality. Delusions may include, thinking that you’re being harmed or harassed, certain gestures or comments being directed towards you, having exceptional ability or fame, another person being in love with you, or the occurrence of a major catastrophe. Symptoms of Schizophrenia also include Hallucinations which involve seeing or hearing things that don’t exist. Patients with schizophrenia experience hallucinations at full force, which may impact their perspective and understanding of reality. Hallucinations can occur within any of the senses, but hearing voices is the most prominent. Additional symptoms experienced include Disorganized thinking (speech), which is inferred from disorganized speech. With Disorganized thinking, effective communication may be impaired, and answers to questions may be partially or completely unrelated. Rarely, patients’ speech may include putting together meaningless words that can’t be understood, sometimes referred to as word salad. Symptoms also may include actions that are disorganized or abnormal motor behavior. This may present itself in several ways, from childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation. With abnormal motor behavior action may not be focused on a goal, making it difficult to complete tasks. Abnormal behavior can include resistance to instructions, inappropriate or bizarre posture, a complete lack of response, or useless and excessive movement. 

Schizophrenia may often be difficult to initially diagnose as it shares many identical symptoms with other prominent mental disorders. For instance, both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can involve mood disturbances, yet the distinct manic or hypomanic episodes in bipolar disorder set it apart from the primarily cognitive and perceptual disruptions in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia’s positive symptoms such as hallucinations and disorganized thinking differentiate it from major depressive disorder, whereas persistent low mood and anhedonia take center stage. Substance abuse, which can mirror schizophrenic hallucinations, often necessitates a careful evaluation of substance use history to differentiate substance-induced psychosis from the chronic nature of schizophrenia. The shared experiences of hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairments between Schizophrenia and other prominent mental disorders make diagnoses commonly necessitate a thorough prior evaluation by mental health professionals.

Treatment for schizophrenia may vary based on the objective the patient chooses when entering treatment. Forms of treatment include individual psychotherapy, focused on teaching patients how to deal with their thoughts and behaviors. Cognitive behavior therapy focuses on helping patients change their thinking and behavior, showing them ways to deal with voices and hallucinations. With a combination of CBT sessions and medication, schizophrenic patients can eventually tell what triggers their psychotic episodes and the times in which hallucinations or delusions flare up, and how to reduce or stop them. Treatment can also take the form of mediation with some common Antipsychotic drugs including Prochlorperazine, Olanzipine, Thioridazine, and Risperisone. For schizophrenic patients with increased disorganized thinking and/or abnormal behavior, the anti-tremor medication Benztropine can be prescribed to control tremors, shaking, and unsteadiness. 

In conclusion, as a deeper understanding into the characteristic symptoms of Schizophrenia continue to be documented and researched, outlining diagnostic criteria and early contributing factors emerge that bring with them hope for more accessible and accurate diagnoses. Through treatments ranging from psychotherapy to medication, there is a glimpse of relief for those grappling with Schizophrenia. The collaborative efforts of mental health professionals and researchers pave the way for personalized care, offering a reliable future for individuals coping with Schizophrenia management. 

Sources Utilized  

(Non-Scholarly)

• “Schizophrenia.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023. 
• “Diagnosing Schizophrenia.” Patient Care at NYU Langone Health, nyulangone.org/conditions/schizophrenia/diagnosis. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023. 

(Scholarly)

Nancy C. Andreasen, M.D., Ph.D. , Michael Flaum, M.D., Schizophrenia: The Characteristic Symptoms, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1991, Pages 27–49, https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/17.1.27