Exploring Schizophrenia Essay example -- Research Paper Mental Disorde

Exploring Schizophrenia "Schizophrenia is a cruel disease. The lives of those affected are often chronicles of constricted experiences, muted emotions, missed opportunities, unfulfilled expectations. It leads to a twilight existence, a twentieth-century underground man...It is in fact the single biggest blemish on the face of contemporary American medicine and social services; when the social history of our era is written, the plight of persons with schizophrenia will be recorded as having been a national scandal." E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Surviving Schizophrenia I personally don't know anyone with schizophrenia, or at least I don't think I do. Perhaps I don't realize that my neighbor is walking through life with a secret, like the homosexual who, afraid of society's unfounded prejudice, confusion, and doubts over issues not talked about, remains silent. For this reason, my interest in schizophrenia developed: not because I have been affected by the disorder in a direct (or even indirect) way, but precisely because I haven't. I haven't because mental disorders are not something discussed over coffee. In our society schizophrenia isn't everybody's problem, and so most are content not to think – and consequently not to do – anything about it. My concern with schizophrenia stemmed from the unknown; thus it was fitting that my search to discover facts about it steadily uncovered more gray areas. What are the causes of schizophrenia? No one knows for certain. The symptoms? They vary. What about treatments? They too have varied throughout history and current treatment differs from case to case. Faced with the frustration of unanswered queries, I began to wonder why I chose this topic. However, that is the nature of scienc... ...: Longman Publishers USA, 1997. Keefe, Richard & Philip Harvey. Understanding Schizophrenia. New York: The Free Press, 1994. Mortensen PB, Pedersen CB, Westergaard T, et al. "Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia." New England Journal of Medicine 340 (1999): 603-8. O'Brien, Patrick. The Disordered Mind. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1978. Rund, Bjorn Rishovd. How do neuroleptics affect cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia? Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 53.2 (1999): 121-125. Stephenson, Joan. "Schizophrenia researchers striving for early detection and intervention." Journal of the American Medical Association 281.20 (05/26/99): 1877. Swartzendruber, Phil. "Mainstreaming the marginalized." Printed in The Record (April 2, 1998). http://www.goshen.edu/record/1997-98/April2-1998/mainstream.html. Exploring Schizophrenia Essay example -- Research Paper Mental Disorde Exploring Schizophrenia "Schizophrenia is a cruel disease. The lives of those affected are often chronicles of constricted experiences, muted emotions, missed opportunities, unfulfilled expectations. It leads to a twilight existence, a twentieth-century underground man...It is in fact the single biggest blemish on the face of contemporary American medicine and social services; when the social history of our era is written, the plight of persons with schizophrenia will be recorded as having been a national scandal." E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., Surviving Schizophrenia I personally don't know anyone with schizophrenia, or at least I don't think I do. Perhaps I don't realize that my neighbor is walking through life with a secret, like the homosexual who, afraid of society's unfounded prejudice, confusion, and doubts over issues not talked about, remains silent. For this reason, my interest in schizophrenia developed: not because I have been affected by the disorder in a direct (or even indirect) way, but precisely because I haven't. I haven't because mental disorders are not something discussed over coffee. In our society schizophrenia isn't everybody's problem, and so most are content not to think – and consequently not to do – anything about it. My concern with schizophrenia stemmed from the unknown; thus it was fitting that my search to discover facts about it steadily uncovered more gray areas. What are the causes of schizophrenia? No one knows for certain. The symptoms? They vary. What about treatments? They too have varied throughout history and current treatment differs from case to case. Faced with the frustration of unanswered queries, I began to wonder why I chose this topic. However, that is the nature of scienc... ...: Longman Publishers USA, 1997. Keefe, Richard & Philip Harvey. Understanding Schizophrenia. New York: The Free Press, 1994. Mortensen PB, Pedersen CB, Westergaard T, et al. "Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia." New England Journal of Medicine 340 (1999): 603-8. O'Brien, Patrick. The Disordered Mind. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1978. Rund, Bjorn Rishovd. How do neuroleptics affect cognitive dysfunctions in schizophrenia? Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 53.2 (1999): 121-125. Stephenson, Joan. "Schizophrenia researchers striving for early detection and intervention." Journal of the American Medical Association 281.20 (05/26/99): 1877. Swartzendruber, Phil. "Mainstreaming the marginalized." Printed in The Record (April 2, 1998). http://www.goshen.edu/record/1997-98/April2-1998/mainstream.html.