Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior. A common misconception is that the person afflicted with Schizophrenia has multiple personalities or a split personality. Although the meaning of the word Schizophrenia is “split mind” it is in regards to defining how their mind is split from reality. This disorder requires lifelong treatment and the chance of a full recovery is unlikely but it can be managed using medications and the proper psychological care.
It's not known what causes schizophrenia, but researchers believe that a combination of genetics and environment contributes to development of the disorder. Problems with certain naturally occurring brain chemicals, including neurotransmitters called dopamine and glutamate, also may contribute to schizophrenia. Neuroimaging studies show differences in the brain structure and central nervous system of people with schizophrenia. The changes in neurotransmitters and the perception of reality support the fact that this is a brain disorder.
Originally schizophrenia and other mental disorders like it were thought to be punishment for disobeying God. Greek philosophers Hippocrates, Aristotle and Galen were the first to claim that it was not punishment from God but as an affliction occurring when there is imbalance in the body. In first century A.D. it was reinstated that it was a punishment from God an idea was that was reinforced by the rise of Christianity. Those that had mental disorders at this time were considered heretics and burned at the stake. It wasn’t until the fifth-teenth century that this began to get slightly better for those with mental issues but it was not a quick fix.
Sigmund Freud influenced twentieth century psychiatry a large amount and as a result by the second half of the twentieth century the majority of...