Download Schizophrenia

• Categorize the following disorders as anxiety, mood,
dissociative, or somatoform.
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Arachnophobia
Depression
PTSD
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Hypochondria
OCD
Bipolar disorder
Depersonalization disorder
Conversion disorder
• Schizophrenia is usually considered the most serious
psychological disorder and can be very disabling.
• Schizophrenia is characterized by a loss of contact with reality.
• The three types of schizophrenia are paranoid, disorganized,
and catatonic schizophrenia
• What are the basic symptoms of schizophrenia?
• What are the three major types of schizophrenia?
• How do psychological and biological explanations of
schizophrenia differ?
• Schizophrenia: characterized by loss of contact with reality.
– Can be very disabling and can lead to the affected person’s inability to function
independently
– First appears in young adulthood
– Usually develops gradually, but can also appear suddenly
• Most striking symptoms are:
– Hallucinations
– Delusions
– Paranoid
– “Shutter Island”
– Grandeur
– “Beautiful Mind”
– Thought disorders
• Other symptoms include social withdrawal, impaired social skills, loss of normal
emotional responses.
• Occasionally, may go into a catatonic stupor: an immobile, expressionless,
comalike state.
• Symptoms must persist for at least 6 months for a full schizophrenia diagnosis
• Otherwise, schizoform diagnosis (1-5 months), psychotic break due to a stressor (<1month)
• Genes and environment
• The illness occurs in 1 percent of the general population, but it occurs in 10
percent of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder, such
as a parent, brother, or sister.
• Twins?
• 40 to 65 percent chance
• Despite some genetic role, no gene causes the disease by itself.
• Scientists think interactions between genes and the environment are
necessary for schizophrenia to develop.
• Many environmental factors may be involved, such as exposure to
viruses or malnutrition before birth, problems during birth, and other
not yet known psychosocial factors.
• Paranoid Schizophrenia
• Delusions of frequent auditory hallucinations that center on one theme,
often a theme of persecution
• Hear voices
• Everyone is “out to get them”
• Delusions may be of any of the 5 senses
• Prison smell
• Tasting poison
• Disorganized Schizophrenia
• Incoherent in their thought and speech and disorganized in behavior
• Delusions and hallucinations are unconnected
• Emotionless or inappropriate emotions
• Catatonic Schizophrenia
• Activity may slow to a stupor and the suddenly switch to agitation
• May hold unusual, uncomfortable body positions for long periods of time,
even after legs and arms swell and stiffen
• Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
• Does not fit within any of the other 3 categories
• May exhibit symptoms of all three of some combination thereof
• Antipsychotic Medications
• Psychosocial Treatment
• Rehabilitation
• Family education
• Cognitive behavioral therapy
• Teaching them to “test” delusions
• Attempting to simply ignore the voices
• There is no known cure
• Even with treatment, a return to “normalcy” is extremely rare
• Psychotic symptoms may disappear, but others will most likely
not
• Social withdrawal, impaired social skills, loss of normal emotional
responses
• Psychological Views
• Result of overwhelming of the ego by urges from the id.
• Fantasies become confused with reality.
• Family environment may spur disease, but does not cause it.
• Biological Views
• Studies try to link abnormal brain functioning and structure with
specific symptoms.
• Heredity, complications during pregnancy and birth, and birth during
winter were all shown to affect rates of schizophrenia.
• Multifactorial Model
• Biological and psychological factors may interact in development.
• The model suggests that even severely dysfunctional environmental
factors are not enough to lead to the disease.
• Write which 3 things you find most important to know about
schizophrenia.
• What are the basic symptoms of schizophrenia?
• What are the three major types of schizophrenia?
• How do psychological and biological explanations of
schizophrenia differ?