| Understanding Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects a person's
ability to think and function well. Perceptions, feelings, and behavior
become impaired, making it difficult for the person to manage emotions,
make decisions, and relate to other people.
One way to think of the illness is as an out-of-control switching
system in the brain. The processes that produce appropriate thoughts
and actions in most people become jumbled in the brain of a person
with schizophrenia. Because the brain is often overloaded, people
with schizophrenia can experience the following symptoms:
- Hallucinations: seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, or smelling
things that others do not
- Delusions: belief in ideas that are obviously false
- Oversensitivity or undersensitivity to the stimuli around them,
because the brain has trouble sorting out information
- Inappropriate emotions, such as laughing at sad news
More than 2 million Americans (about 1 percent of the population)
suffer from schizophrenia – which is no small number when
you consider that it also affects millions of families who know
what it means to care for a family member with the illness. Symptoms
usually start in the late teens or early to mid-twenties. Schizophrenia
does not discriminate – it affects men and women with equal
frequency, regardless of geographic location and economic status.
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Staying Connected
Despite its prevalence, many families are reluctant to talk about
the illness for fear of being stigmatized. Some become socially
isolated, keeping to themselves and trying to handle everything
on their own. To assist in the overall treatment, it is important
that both you and your friend or relative remain connected with
friends and family and the healthcare team.
To best help your friend or relative you need to have access to
the latest treatment information. By connecting with other families
living with mental illnesses you will not feel so isolated and you
can also share the challenge of caring for someone with schizophrenia.
There are counseling services and other support services available
to help guide you through the treatment process and there are various
organizations that offer information and support to patients and
families living with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
Please visit our resource center to access some
of these services.
To learn more about schizophrenia, visit the following Web
sites:
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, NAMI is a nonprofit,
grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers,
families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such
as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, panic and anxiety disorders.
With more than one thousand local affiliates and fifty state organizations
NAMI provides education and support, combat stigma, support increased
funding for research, and advocate for adequate health insurance,
housing, rehabilitation, and jobs for people with mental illnesses
and their families.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The NIMH is a Federal agency whose mission is to reduce the burden
of mental illness through research. The agency utilizes powerful
scientific tools to achieve better understanding, treatment, and
eventually, prevention of mental illnesses that affect millions
of Americans. This Web site provides comprehensive information on
mental illnesses and the available treatment options.
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA)
The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) is the country's
oldest and largest nonprofit organization addressing all aspects
of mental health and mental illness. With more than 340 affiliates
nationwide, NMHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans,
especially the 54 million individuals with mental disorders, through
advocacy, education, research and service.
Schizophrenia.com
Schizophrenia.com is a not-for-profit resource center that provides
information, support and education to patients, caregivers and family
members, whose lives have been impacted by schizophrenia. The site
is run by volunteers whose lives have been impacted by the disease
(patients and caregivers).
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