X Syndrome. This disease causes severe mental problems during young childhood, and eventually leads to brain degeneration. It starts in the mind and begins to eat at the body (Bishop B4). This disease has a definite cause, however newly discovered- one in 10 males has a weak X chromosome, which can break off during very early fetal development, causing genetic information to be lost. This disease can be tested for early in pregnancy, and sufferers as well as carriers can be easily identified (Angier 22A). Soon after this discovery, a large number of males found to have fragile X syndrome were found in psych wards. Now that there is a definite cause for such a disease, there is much hope for a definite cure. But that’s only one disease..On top of all this, each person handles a disorder differently. For some people, depression is something they see a doctor and take medication for, and they are able to live their lives with minimal anguish. However, other people lay in bed, day after day, with each prescription taking place of the last in the line to numb the pain, as they contemplate death by their own hand—just to stop the mental hurt (Young 44). Without excluding either side, there must be a happy medium reached, where everyone can get the help they need. The causes of mental illnesses are largely mysterious, that is, noone can ever tell for sure, since the disease is of the mind, not a physical part of the brain (Roleff 45). However, for each disease there are a number of proposed causes, and therapy is based upon these. Schizophrenia, a disease characterized by multiple personalities but no real personality of one’s own, is one of the most serious mental illnesses known to scientists. There are different divisions of schizophrenics, as well, such as hebephrenics, who have childlike behavior and very “silly” attitudes but no real thinking, and catatonic schizophrenics, who are comatose but strike strang...
