Purpose statement: to educate my audience the myths, causes, and impacts of schizophrenia
How our societies treat people with psychological disorders amongst us is a cause of worry. In the Bible teachings, the Bible specifies that we should all love each other and treat others with just. As most of us presume, a psychological disorder is not a curse but a medical condition that can be managed. One of the most common psychological that we have or seen or at least heard about is schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a major mental condition characterized by a combination of unusual behaviors such as hallucinations, delusion, and abnormal thinking. To some extent, these symptoms can be extremely severe to levels that can make us be frightened of these people (Rudorfer et al. 1710). However, it is of paramount salience we understand them and accept them. We should note that with appropriate treatment, supporting patients with schizophrenia can lead to a fulfilling life.
- Let’s talk about the common misconceptions that we have about schizophrenia.
- Most of us believe that the disorder is a split in the personality of an individual. I am afraid that is, however, not right as it is instead a split from reality.
- In our communities, schizophrenia patients are also thought to be dangerous and harmful (Gandal et al. 5). This myth is not true though sometimes, they can be violent due to hallucinations and delusion.
- It is believed that schizophrenia patients cannot be cured as it is a curse. These patients cannot be cursed, and they can lead fulfilling lives if they receive the necessary management.
- Maybe if we discuss the causes of schizophrenia, we will understand how this disorder develops and change the perspective we have towards the patients. There are no defined causes of schizophrenia, but there are specific risk factors associated with the condition. They include
- The genetic composition of an individual is a significant cause. The genes of schizophrenia tend to run in families, and that is why you will mostly find more than one patient in one family.
- Defective mental development can also increase the risk of developing the condition. If the brain develops in a manner that results in structural differences, the chances of one having psychiatric disorders are increased.
- Chemical alterations in the brain lead to the development of schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters are a combination of chemicals in the brain used in relaying impulses to the brain for interpretation (Hoffman et al. 13). When these chemicals are affected in the composition or levels, their ability to function well is affected, leading to the development of schizophrenia.
- Exposure to severe childhood trauma affects the mental development of the child leading to schizophrenia. If one experiences abuse and neglect at tender ages, they develop hallucinations and delusions that worsen with time resulting in schizophrenia.
- Schizophrenia has caused devastating effects on both the patients and their families. Such effects include the following:
- The patient is disorganized in his activities, be it physical or emotional.
- The condition causes them to lack proper motor behavior, speech, memory recollection, and muscle coordination (Sass et al. 725). In some events, they will turn violent due to the inability to control their temper and behavior.
- The family is also significantly impacted when one of their members is sick. The family is emotionally and psychologically tortured because of how society views them. The family is thought to be cursed and mostly rejected. This causes a feeling of loneliness and worthlessness in the community.
In conclusion, I could like to encourage us all to embrace that in society we will be having different people affected or infected in various ways. These conditions are not curses or punishments from God but a medical condition that can be managed. Therefore, lets all rise in solidarity and defend every person with any psychological disorder and support them manage their conditions. Encouraging and offering their families emotional support is salient in solving anxiety and depression.
Works Cited
Gandal, Michael J., et al. “Transcriptome-Wide isoform-level dysregulation in ASD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.” Science, vol. 362, no. 6420, 2018, pp 1-6.
Hoffman, Gabriel E., et al. “CommonMind Consortium provides transcriptomic and epigenomic data for Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder.” Scientific Data, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019, pp 1-14.
Rudorfer, Douglas M., et al. “Genomic dissection of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, including 28 sub phenotypes.” Cell, vol. 173, no. 7, 2018, pp 1705-1715.
Sass, Louis, et al. “Varieties of self disorder: a bio-pheno-social model of schizophrenia.” Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 44 no. 4, 2018, pp 720-727.