Schizophrenia is often incorrectly defined by society. Many people tend to stereotype individuals with this illness as having multiple personalities or split personalities. Not all people with this disease are confined to a small wall-padded room in a mental hospital, but many become actual working parts of society. “It affects the most fundamental human attributes, such as language, thought, perception, affect, and sense of self” (Shalala, 1997, paragraph 1). Though we understand this disease more thoroughly, the cause is still yet to be understood. “Research does however point to the interaction of genetic endowment and major environmental upheaval during the development of the brain” (Shalala, 1997, paragraph 3). It involves two types of neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. This disease usually tends to start in the late teen years or in early adulthood. There are two types of symptoms involved in schizophrenia. These two symptoms include the negative and positive. “A person generally will have a gradual build of symptoms that may or may not lead up to an actual “psychotic” episode” (Long, 1996, paragraph 8). It is extremely hard to diagnose this disease because many of the symptoms must be present, and for a long duration of time. The individual diagnosed with schizophrenia is then given medication and usually participates in a type of therapy. Though there is not absolute cure for this disease, many individuals will overcome it and begin living their lives again. References ...
