Schizophrenia

• Genetic Factors: a predisposition to schizophrenia means that any children or relation to someone with schizophrenia has an increased chance of developing schizophrenia.
  
• Biochemical Factors: unbalanced chemicals in the brain are thought to have an affect on a person that develops schizophrenia. The chemical that is out of balance is known as 'dopamine'. Reasons for this chemical imbalance are unknown, but it is believed that it may be due to a genetic predisposition.
  
• Family Relationships: at present there is no evidence that suggests family relationships have anything to do with whether a person develops schizophrenia or not, and more often than not a person with schizophrenia may just be sensitive to tension amongst family because of memories and relapses.
  
• Environment: it has been recognised that stressful incidents coincide with the onset of schizophrenia, but it seems more likely that the illness causes the people affected to become more sensitive, therefore causing stressful events ie. relationship breakdown or unemployment. These stressful events then trigger the schizophrenia.
  
• Drug Use: usage of drugs, especially Cannabis and LSD are more than likely to cause a relapse in schizophrenia.

• Delusions: these can be false beliefs of persecution, guilt or grandeur or being under outside control. People with schizophrenia can often think that they have special powers or gifts or they may think that people are plotting against them. Sometimes they hide or withdraw to avoid these delusions.
  
• Hallucinations: these most commonly involve hearing voices. Other experiences have shown that people with schizophrenia can often hallucinate things that involve seeing, feeling, tasting and smelling.
  
• Thought Disorder: this is where the person suffering from schizophrenia is difficult to follow in conversation, ie: jumping from one topic to another with no logical connection. The person with schizophrenia may think that their mind is being interfered with by someone else.

• Loss of Drive: this is where a person with schizophrenia finds everyday activities tiring and cannot perform as usual.
  
• Blunted Expression of Emotions: the ability to express emotions is lost and the person lacks a response to emotions ie. happy and sad occasions.
  
• Social Withdrawal: this can be caused by a number of factors, including the fear that they may be hurt by someone else or an inability to interact with other people in social circumstances.
  
• Thinking Difficulties: abilities to plan, organise, concentrate and their memory may be affected by schizophrenia, which in turn makes everyday activities, communication and the ability to reason harder.

Treatment

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