Facts About Schizophrenia

  • It is estimated that more than 2.1 million Americans now have schizophrenia. There are more
    Americans with schizophrenia than there are residents of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
    Combined.
  • One of every hundred Americans will fall victim to schizophrenia.
  • Three-Quarters of Persons with schizophrenia develop the illness between 16 and 25 years of
    age. Initial onset before age 14 and after age 30 is unusual.
  • Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, introduced the term “schizophrenia” in 1911. In German
    the term means “splitting of the thought process.” The illness exited in earlier times under
    different names.
  • Schizophrenia is not the same as “split personality.” The illness depicted in “Three Faces of
    Eve” and “Sybil” is multiple personality disorder, or dissociative disorder – different from
    schizophrenia.
  • Perhaps the most familiar symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations and delusions.
    Three-quarters of all Schizophrenic persons have these symptoms, although not all of those who
    have them are schizophrenics. Sometimes hallucinations are found in manic depressive illness,
    organic brain disorders, or substance abuse cases.
  • Other symptoms of schizophrenia include “thought broadcasting” (in which it seems that one’s
    thoughts are being transmitted externally), “thought insertions” (in which it seems that someone
    else’s thoughts are being inserted into one’s mind), and “thought blocking” (in which it seems
    that one’s thoughts are being stopped by an external force). Altered senses of self, extreme
    confusion in thinking, and inappropriate responses to the environment can all be symptoms
    of schizophrenia.
  • To be diagnosed as having schizophrenia, one must have associated symptoms for at least six
    months.
  • The most common form of hallucinations are auditory experiences, such as “voices.” Other
    forms of hallucinations include visions that cannot be externally validated, or certain perceptions
    of touch, smell or taste.
  • Another “mistaken belief” of a patient is a paranoid delusion in which a person may feel
    that he or she is being persecuted, when there is no basis for this in reality. Examples include
    a mistaken belief that the FBI or the CIA is tapping one’s phone or that the Mafia is arranging
    for a hit man to “put one away.”
  • Sometimes persons with schizophrenia have “delusions of grandeur” in which they may believe
    that they are exalted persons, such as Jesus or Moses, or that they have been given some special
    message for humanity.
  • Studies have indicated that 25 percent of those having schizophrenia recover completely, 50
    percent are improved over a ten-year period, and 25 percent to not improve over time. This could
    be called the “rule of quarters.” Recent advances in medication treatment have decreased the
    percentage of people who previously were deemed as unimproved.
  • Scientist do not have unanimous agreement as to the cause of schizophrenia. Evidence indicates
    that the brains of persons with schizophrenia, as a group, are different than those who do not have
    the illness, and patients with schizophrenia have an overabundance of the brain chemical dopamine.
    A genetic factor is also supported by research. Additionally, many persons with schizophrenia
    claim that stressful events are a prelude to a psychotic break.
  • By far the most effective treatments to date for schizophrenia are antipsychotic medications.
    Studies indicate that these drugs are highly effective for 70 percent of patients with schizophrenia.
    Another measure is that three out of five patients with schizophrenia (60%) stayed out of the
    hospital over a long period of time when continuing to use the antipsychotic drugs, whereas those
    discontinuing the drugs had only one out of five (20%) chance of avoiding rehospitalization. In
    addition, according to one study, antipsychotic drugs are 80 to 90 percent effective in relieving
    auditory hallucinations, or voices.
  • The side effects of antipsychotic drugs are an issue that cannot be ignored. Some of these
    side effects are not serious and wear off overtime. Others are serious and permanent. Patients
    should engage their psychiatrists in frank discussions about the questions of side effects of
    medications.
  • Experts differ on the general value of psychotherapy for patients with schizophrenia. Many do
    benefit from supportive and reality-oriented “talk therapies” in conjunction with a drug regimen.
  • There is no credible support for megavitamins (such as niacin) as an effective general
    treatment for schizophrenia.
  • Support groups can be a valuable adjunct in the treatment of schizophrenia-related disorders.
  • Treatment and other economic costs due to schizophrenia are enormous, estimated between $32.5
    and $65 billion (Rice, 1990, Wyatt,1991). More hospital beds are occupied by persons with schizophrenia
    than any other illness.
  • Some persons with schizophrenia have a certain flair for creativity. Both James Joyce and
    Vincent van Gogh had schizophrenia-related symptoms in the form of auditory hallucinations. The
    list included William Blake, August Strinberg, Franz Kafka, and Friedrich Nietzche. The famous
    ballet dancer Nijinski certainly had the illness.