Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown in thinking and poor emotional responses. Common symptoms include delusions, such as paranoia; hearing voices or noises that are not there; disordered thinking; an absence of emotion and a lack of motivation. Schizophrenia causes significant social and occupational problems. Symptoms usually begin in young adults. Diagnosis is based on observed behavior. Factors such as genetics, early environment, psychological and social processes appear to be important contributing factors. Some recreational and prescription medications seem to cause or worsen symptoms. Schizophrenia does not suggest a “split personality” or “multiple personality disorder,” the condition with which it is often confused in society. Rather, the word means a “division of mental functions,” reflecting the progression of the disease. The mainstay of treatment is antipsychotic medication, which primarily attenuates the activity of dopamine receptors. Therapy, vocational training and social reintegration are also essential to treatment. In more serious cases, where there is a risk for oneself or others, compulsory hospitalization is necessary. People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations, delusions, and confused thinking and speech. These can range from loss of the general idea, to sentences whose meaning is only vaguely related, to incomprehensible speech. Social withdrawal, disordered clothing and hygiene, and loss of enthusiasm and judgment are all common in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is frequently labeled in terms of positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are those that most individuals do not normally experience, but which occur in people with schizophrenia. They can include delusions, disordered thoughts and speech, a...... middle of paper ... so what he had, like many, I believe what the ancients said, but now, after my research, although I am not qualified to make a diagnosis, I believe he suffered from schizophrenia. I also believe that if we as a family had been more educated about mental illness, we could have helped him. In conclusion, people with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia are at a much higher risk of being victims of violent and non-violent acts. crime. Schizophrenia has been associated with a higher rate of violent acts, although this is mainly due to higher rates of drug use. Media coverage of violent acts committed by people with schizophrenia reinforces the public's perception of an association between schizophrenia and violence. Prevalence of perceiving people with psychosis as violent has more than doubled since 1950s, meta-analysis finds..