Schizophrenia Chronic Illness

Essential Question/Bellringer What is Schizophrenia? Bellringer: On handout

Defining Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder About 1% of Americans have this illness (about 3 million) More men are diagnosed than women

Symptoms of Schizophrenia Delusions: A belief that is clearly false and that indicates an abnormality in the affected person’s content of thought Disorganized Speech Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior Hallucinations: a false perception occurring without any identifiable stimulus and indicates an abnormality in perception in the five senses.

Types of Schizophrenia Paranoid Type: Delusions and auditory hallucinations(hearing voices that are not there) Disorganized Type: Characterized by speech and behavior that is disorganized or difficult to understand Catatonic Type: consists of activity levels on either end of the spectrum. They are either dazed or hyperactive. Undifferentiated type: a form of schizophrenia that does not match any of the above Residual: consists of some schizophrenic symptoms of lesser severity

Causes of Schizophrenia Brain Abnormalities Dopamine Overactivity (researchers speculate that such a high level may intensify brain signals in schizophrenia, creating positive symptoms, such as paranoia) Brain Anatomy (people with schizophrenia have abnormal brain activity. For example, some patients have low brain activity in the frontal lobe, which is responsible for making plans and judgment

Causes of Schizophrenia Genetic Factors Nearly 1 in 100 odds of any person’s being diagnosed with schizophrenia become about 1 in 10 among those who have an afflicted sibling or parent, and close to 1 in 2 among these people have an afflicted identical twin

Causes of Schizophrenia Environmental Factors Schizophrenia is also said to be caused by environmental factors, such as malnutrition before birth, exposure to viruses, and problems during birth.

Approaches that explain Schizophrenia Both biological and social-cultural explain the schizophrenia disorder. Biological explains this disorder because some causes of schizophrenia are in relation to genes and dysfunctions in the brain. Social-cultural explains this disorder because environmental factors can possibly cause schizophrenia as well.

Treatments for Schizophrenia Antipsychotic Medications An example of a medication is clopazine, which helps treat hallucinations Self Help Groups No therapists are involved, but groups of people help and support each other Rehabilitation Emphasizes social and vocational training to help people with the disorder function better in their communities Psychosocial Therapy Help patients who have difficulty with self-care, communication, work, etc. form relationships with others

Video #1 Four Patients With Schizophrenia (Youtube) Watch and Discuss Write three things that you find interesting and write one thing you found confusing.

Video #2 Schizophrenia: The Split Mind Questions based on the video – Q1: Which parts of the brain does the disorder affect? – Q2 : Name at least two symptoms of the disorder? – Q3 : Based on what you have just watched, do you think you would be able to cope with having this disorder?

Exit Slip Based on what you have just learned about schizophrenia, answer these three questions: How would you support someone who shows early symptoms of schizophrenia? How has this lesson changed your thinking about schizophrenia? What would you still like to learn about schizophrenia?