Running Head: WRITING TASK 1

Writing Task

Author Name

Professor Name

Course Name

Date
 Writing Task 2

Introduction

Schizophrenia is about 0.3–0.7% affects people at some point in their lives, or in 2011 affects
around 21 million people worldwide (PubMed Central, 2013) see fig 1 shows the percentage of
people affected by Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia appears to have occurred with relative
consistency over time during the last half-century, thanks to the use of precise diagnostic
techniques and a large, representative population (Wallace, J. 2018).

Figure 1, It is to see the percentage of people affected by Schizophrenia.

(People info., 2018)

Analysis

Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic neurological brain condition that affects about 1.1 percent
of the population in the United States, or about 2.6 million people aged 18 and up (Treatment
Advocacy Center, 2018). In any given year, an estimated 40% of people with the disorder go
untreated (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2018). Schizophrenia is characterised by the following
abnormalities: hallucinations and delusions; sensory alterations; not being able to resolve and
 Writing Task 3

perceive exterior stimuli and, as a result, an inability to react properly; a change in

self-perception; as well as shifts in feelings, gestures, and actions (NIMH, 2018).

Psychiatric disorders usually appear in early adulthood or late adolescence, many cases have
been witnessed in people between the ages of 18 and 25 (WHO, 2020). The grounds for its
presence in the young adults have not been found out yet. Some surveys and their conclusions
have come up revolving this concept that mental pauses are not, as they appear, sudden, but
rather they are the consequences of a long history. In this model, psychosis are hidden in
mutational or hormonal changes in the human brain that begin ten years before symptoms are
actually visible and worsen towards a final stage of psychosis in which concepts of reality starts
to deteriorate with delusions, anxiety, auditory hallucinations, or maybe some other kind of
disorganized thinking.

In a healthy person's brain, incoming stimuli are sorted and interpreted, and then a rational
answer is given (for example, saying "thank you" after receiving a Christmas present, or fearing
the possible consequences of being late to school, and so on). A patient's inability to sort and
perceive stimuli, one of the hallmarks of schizophrenia is the inability to select acceptable
responses (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).

Negative, cognitive, and positive symptoms are three types of symptoms associated with
schizophrenia (WebMD, 2007). According to NHIM, three types of symptoms are as follows:
Mental behavior that is rare in healthy people is a positive sign. Positive signs can cause people
to "lose touch" with reality in some ways. Any of the signs include confusion, hallucinations,
disruption of movement (agitated body movements) and thought disorders (Treatment Advocacy
Center, 2008).

Negative effects are related to disruption of general feelings and attitudes. Flat affect (lack of
emotion through facial expression or tone of voice) is one of the symptoms, and feelings of
happiness are reduced in everyday life (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).
 Writing Task 4

Schizophrenic people may experience alterations in their thoughts or other aspects of their
thoughts if they have mild cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, whereas others may have
extreme symptoms Hallucinations, Delusions etc. Although there are many differences in the
function and structure of the brain in people with schizophrenia, no disorder can be examined or
assessed to include a definitive diagnosis. Without these precautions, the disorder is diagnosed
only on the basis of symptoms shown by the patient.

Before a comprehensive medical diagnosis, it is crucial that a doctor detect other sort of
problems that may mimic the disorder of schizophrenia, such as some psychiatric symptoms that
arise due to medications or other disease; Major depressive or panic episode with mental
characteristics; Confusion disorders (no hallucinations, thoughts or "flattened" feelings, or
disorganized speech) and autistic disorders or personality disorders (especially schizoid paranoid
personality, schizotypy disorders). Schizoaffective disorder is a term used to describe a condition
in which a person exhibits symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Schizophrenia is a highly treatable condition, despite the fact that there is no cure. According to
the NAMHC 2016, the success rate of schizophrenia treatment is comparable to that of heart
disease treatment (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008). Acute symptoms comprises of treatment
on intensive levels, which may also include hospitalisation, for treating serious hallucinations or
self harm, suicidal convulsions, or major drug or alcohol issues (Treatment Advocacy Center,
2008).

People suffering from schizophrenia should remain in care even after they somewhat
successfully recover from an acute episode. Roughly 80% of people reject taking medicines after
such an episode within a year, while just 30% of people who actually continue with their
prescribed medications return within the same time frame (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).
Since the causing agent of schizophrenia is unidentified, doctors concentrate on reducing the
disorder's symptoms. Antipsychotic drugs are often used to treat schizophrenia as they help
reduce the positive effects of the disease. There are no treatments available for the harmful
effects of the disease (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).
 Writing Task 5

Patients with schizophrenia are more likely to face death or commit suicide at younger age than
people without schizophrenia. Men have a 5.1 percent higher mortality rate than the rest of the
population, while women have a 5.6 percent higher risk of dying (Treatment Advocacy Center,
2008). Suicide is the biggest cause of suicide among people suffering from schizophrenia, higher
by 10% to 13% than the general public (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).

Suicide is the leading cause of death in people suffering from schizophrenia, with 10% to 13%
of those diagnosed with suicide see fig. 2 shows the percentage of leading cause of death. The
most common causes of death in these unfortunate conditions are extreme depression and
psychosis, which may arise as a result of lack of treatment. These suicide rates are much higher
than the general population, which is about 0.01 percent (Treatment Advocacy Center, 2008).
Despite the fact that people with schizophrenia drive less than the general population, have twice
the rate of road accidents. Many schizophrenic patients are killed as pedestrians by road
accidents, though the exact number is unknown.

Figure 2. See the leading cause of death

(SHMHSA, 2016)

There is evidence that schizophrenic patients are more likely to fall ill, experience heart disease,
female breast cancer, or type II (adult-onset) diabetes, both of which can lead to an increased risk
 Writing Task 6

of death (WebMD, 2007). When people with schizophrenia become sick, it is difficult for them
to describe their symptoms to doctors, who are more likely to ignore their problems as a result of
the illness. There's also proof that certain schizophrenic patients have a higher pain threshold,
which means they may or may not not show visible symptoms until the condition has advanced
far enough to require medication.

Despite the fact that it has not been well studied, being homeless increases the risk of death of
people with schizophrenia, making them vulnerable to accidents and illnesses.

Conclusion

Schizophrenia is a moderately common chronic mental condition that causes significant

impairment and carries a 10% suicide risk. Positive symptoms, cognitive impairments, and
negative symptoms affective dysregulation are among the symptom groups. Antipsychotic drugs
that target positive symptoms work well. Cognitive impairments and negative symptoms on the
other hand, are the best predictors of poor functional outcome and do not react well to current
therapies. Schizophrenia is caused by a combination of environmental and genetic causes.
 Writing Task 7

References:
Treatment Advocacy Center, (2008). Schizophrenia – Fact Sheet.
https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/25-schizophr
enia-fact-sheet

NCBI, (2019). Schizophrenia. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia

PubMed Central, (2013). Schizophrenia and periodontal disease: An oro-neural connection? A

cross-sectional epidemiological study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988648/

Wallace, J. (2018). Life expectancy in schizophrenia and years of potential life lost. National Elf
Service.
https://www.nationalelfservice.net/mental-health/schizophrenia/life-expectancy-in-schizophrenia
-and-years-of-potential-life-lost/

Treatment Advocacy Center, (2018). Schizophrenia – Fact Sheet.

https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/evidence-and-research/learn-more-about/25-schizophr
enia-fact-sheet#:%7E:text=Schizophrenia%20is%20a%20chronic%20and%20severe%20neurolo
gical%20brain%20disorder%20estimated,untreated%20in%20any%20given%20year.

NIMH, (2018). Schizophrenia. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/schizophrenia.shtml

WHO, (2020). Adolescent mental health.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

WebMD, (2007, January 1). Schizophrenia Symptoms: Positive and Negative Symptoms
Explained. https://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-symptoms
Writing Task 8