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Stigma and Stereotypes:.
Schizophrenia is the most misused psychological term in the English language. The term literally means "split mind", however, the disorder does not coincide with this definition. Society has depicted schizophrenics to have "spilt personalities", perhaps instigated by the literal definition. One such example would be the movie "Me, Myself, and Irene" staring Jim Carrey in which he is a schizophrenic and portrays a character who switches between distinct personalities. Another stigma of this widespread group is that they are violent and not in control of their actions. This is the result of one or two such schizophrenics who have committed crimes that have been overly publicized in the media. These negative and erroneous stereotypes need to be eradicated in order for the ignominy of this disorder to be eliminated.
Description of Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a chronic and progressive mental illness in which patients distort the senses of perception, thought, and reality. It is known as the cancer of psychological disorders because of the variety of subtypes and because of its extensive implications. Affecting approximately 1% of the general population (nearly the incidence level of twins), schizophrenia is the most prevalent psychotic disorder. Schizophrenia typically emerges in people in their twenties who were previously thought to be "normal" and preferentially affects those with an ectomorphic body type. The age of onset for males is typically four years prior to that of females. This has been related to hormone fluctuation differences between males and females of these ages. Schizophrenia is a daunting and frightening disorder, and unfortunately, twenty-five to forty percent of individuals afflicted with this perplexing illness will attempt suicide; ten percent will succeed.
The psychopathology of symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into two subgroups: positive and negative.
