The World Health Organization stressed that schizophrenia is the ninth leading cause of disability around the world.
The disorder typically strikes young people and can result in a lifelong mental disability. Normally, it appears in men in their teens and women in their twenties.
According to the Merck Manual Medical Information, schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by loss of contact with reality (psychosis), hallucination (usually hearing voices), delusion (false beliefs), abnormal thinking, flattened affect (restricted range of emotions), diminished motivation and disturbed work and social functioning.
The onset of schizophrenia maybe sudden over the period of days or weeks, or slow and insidious, over a period of years, where the severity and types of symptoms usually sufficient to interfere with the ability to work, interact with people and care of oneself.
Department of Health says that schizophrenia affects about 1 percent of the world’s population. Per their data about 90% of patients in treatment are 18-55 years old.
Symptoms may be triggered by environmental stresses and stressful life events. Drug user may worsen the symptoms as well, symptoms are classified into three groups:
*** Positive (non-deficit) symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, thought disorder and bizarre behavior.
*** Negative (deficit) symptoms include blunted affect, poverty of speech, anhedonia (a diminished capacity to experience pleasure), asociality (lack of interest in relationships with other people).
*** Cognitive impairment refers to difficulty in concentrating, remembering, organizing, planning and problem solving.
If someone has experienced the above symptoms, it is recommended to see or take the patient to a doctor. Schizophrenia can be a devastating disorder and medical care is vital and most importantly a person diagnosed with psychosis can be legally hospitalized against his or her will especially if that person that needs care is violent, threatening to commit suicide or threatening to harm other people.