Schizophrenia

[davidbanner99@]

Currently re-reading essays on Schizophrenia. There's a fair bit of biology involved too. Here's a summary:
Schizophrenia proper is distinguished by its process characteristic. It tends to pass through stages. It mostly surfaces around age 20. Prior to that, in cbildhood there are less evident, general symptoms of irritability and nervousness.
The main symptoms are autism, withdrawel, lack of emotional vitality and cold remoteness, lack of purposefulness and difficulty connecting. Symptoms then progress towards a fragmentation of co-ordination between thought, emotions and intention. The personality dis-associates and enters into conflict. The psychotic symptoms tend to be based on hallucination, such as smells and audible voices. Also paranoia and delusion may gain strength.
I don't think the psychotic symptoms need be permanent. They may arise at times but the sufferer may gain better control.
The key factor is disassociation. Schizophrenics process information by a focus on one aspect of an object at a time, rather than a collective appraisal. They generalise poorly and tend to focus on one aspect at a time. Schizophrenics may have jumpy thoughts that appear not to connect in a solid line of reasoning.
In my view, the major problem is that diagnosis and support may fail to materialise so the person affected suffers a worsening condition due to stress and social exclusion.
Without proper psychology being made available, serious issues can arise. At present, society seems far more preoccupied with more basic concerns and psychology is playing a lesser role.

[davidbanner99@]

Former Dallas star Lucy says
"Tilton described how growing up, she knew nothing about her real father and had never even seen a picture of him.

Her mother was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic when Tilton was only 5. She was sent away to live with relatives in Nebraska and Illinois.

“When I was around 6 1/2, [my mother’s] twin sister took me to see her, and she was in a straitjacket,” said Tilton. “When she was released, she got an apartment in Hollywood and I was sent back to live with her. She held down a job as a secretary for an insurance company, but she battled mental illness her whole life. She would think that the CIA was monitoring her through her coffee cup."

Schizophrenic delusion is often caused by hallucination. Charlene's mother probably heard voices that came from the cup and then concluded she was being monitered by the CIA. In such cases, the mind creates a certain inner reality that substitutes genuine reality. Plus, given hallucinations are frightening, this destabilises rational reason and creates withdrawel.