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What Schizophrenia feel like- Author; Marco Castellani-

Unraveling the Myths: Discover 15 Facts about Schizophrenia

There have been so many myths surrounding schizophrenia over the years. A story is told how a girl was believed to be demon possessed and thus subjected to so much torture in an attempt to cure her of the demons. Later it was found out that she was just schizophrenic and with medication, she could get better. Which she did eventually. This disease, although treatable, is a serious mental disorder where the people affected by it interpret reality abnormally. It typically results to some serious combination of hallucinations, delusions and disordered way of thinking. Their behaviours impairs daily functioning and be quite disabling. People suffering from Schizophrenia often requires lifelong treatment and early treatment usually plays a huge role in putting the symptoms under control before serious complications develop. With medication, this illness can be controlled and even help improve the long term outlook of patients. So what are some of the factual things about Schizophrenia?

1. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population worldwide

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This chronic disease affects about 1% of the population worldwide, meaning that it is not a very common disease. It affects a small number of people thus being a rare one.

2. It is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental and brain chemistry factor

An illustration depicting schizophrenia- Author; BruceBlaus-

In other words, there is no single and specific cause of Schizophrenia. It is likely that even different individuals develop this disorder for different reasons. Thus, cases differ for different patients.

3. Schizophrenia occurs typically in late adolescence or early adulthood

Adolescents in Ohio- Author; Leifern-

Many of the people with Schizophrenia actually develop it in their late adolescence or early adulthood. The interesting thing is that it affects men and women differently such that for the male patients, Schizophrenia typically starts showing in their late teens or early 20s. This is because their brain start going through vast changes in the late adolescence thus making them vulnerable to psychotic disorders like Schizophrenia. For women, it starts developing a bit later, in their late 20s and early 30s. This is when their brain start experiencing crucial changes thus vulnerable to such psychotic disorder like Schizophrenia.

4. Antipsychotic medication is the primary treatment for Schizophrenia

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These medications can help reduce symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. They have proven to be about effective in that they keep the patients in check and help calm the chaos in their mind. If a Schizophrenic patient doesn’t take these medications, they can easily be a danger to themselves.

5. It can be treated through cognitive behavioural therapy and family therapy

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Schizophrenia does not rely on medication only to be treated. It can be treated with a combination of medication and therapy which includes cognitive and family therapy. It has been said to actually work.

6. Research into Schizophrenia is still ongoing

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So we can’t really say that there is an absolute cure to Schizophrenia or even what causes it. Research into its causes and treatment is still ongoing and there is still so much to learn about it. Including what exactly causes it and why it affects some people and not some.

7. Its name come from Greek words that mean ‘split mind’

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The name ‘Schizophrenia’ was coined by a Swiss psychiatrist known as Paul Bleuler. It was adopted in 1910 after the dissociation of many mental functions he was seeing in his patients. The word come from the Greek words, skhizein which means ‘to split’ and phren which means ‘mind.’ Put together, we get ‘split mind.’ Before a name was given to this condition, patients who showcased symptoms of it were thought to be having dementia. However, when Paul realized that the patients are capable of improving and don’t really have mental deterioration, he made the conclusion that dementia is not the problem.

8. Schizophrenia has nothing to do with split personality despite the origin of its name

Personality disorder depiction- Image by StockSnap from

As much as we are saying its name basically mean ‘split mind,’ it is important to realize that a split personality or multiple personality disorder, has absolutely nothing to do with it. This is because people diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder usually alternate between two or more identities and each of these identities usually have their own unique and distinctive character trait. Schizophrenia however, is characterized by hallucinations (auditory and visual), amnesia and even difficulty in telling what’s real and what’s not. This has nothing to do with split personalities which unfortunately is what most people believe Schizophrenia to be all about.

9. Cognitive impairment is common for people with Schizophrenia

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Cognitive impairment is also common in individuals with schizophrenia, particularly in areas such as attention and memory. The patients usually have a difficult time telling apart what is real and what is not. With medication however, this is very easily controlled and patients end up having an opportunity to live a normal life.

10. People suffering from Schizophrenia experience a lot of stigma

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Unfortunately, people with Schizophrenia still experience stigma and human rights violation both in the mental institutions they are admitted to and their community settings. This is according to a report that was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) while advocating for the stigmatization of this condition to stop. It ends up affecting their relationships with their friends and family and this contributes to discrimination that ends up limiting their access to general health care, education, housing and employment.

11. Contrary to common belief, most schizophrenia patients are not violent

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Many of the Schizophrenia patients are not violent contrary to common belief that they should be avoided at all cost. In fact many of these patients the risk lies more on self harm. For those who are violent towards others, it is usually because they have gone without treatment for so long. Thus as advocated by many medical institutions, it is very important to help people who are showing some of these symptoms  and ensure that they get treatment as soon as possible.

12. Genetics is one major factor that contributes to development of Schizophrenia

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Sometimes Schizophrenia runs in the family although just because one family member has it, it doesn’t mean that it is a guarantee that other members of the family will also have it. Studies have shown that many different genes may end up increasing  a person’s potential of developing Schizophrenia but you can’t really pin point one single gene as the cause of the disorder by itself.

13. It is characterized with persistent delusions

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Schizophrenia is a bit of a nightmare because the patients constantly have persistent delusions. They keep on hearing voices in their heads that seem so real. They also tend to see things that are not really there and thus end up being in constant fear. To someone who does not understand the disease, they always seem very crazy but really it’s just something that is beyond them.

14. People with Schizophrenia around the world don’t receive proper mental health care

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Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who have Schizophrenia more often than not do not receive proper mental health care. According to WHO for example, 50% of the people in mental hospitals have been diagnosed with Schizophrenia but only 31.3% receive specialist mental healthcare. What this means is that most resources for mental health services are quite inefficiently being spent on care for the patients. It is quite an unfortunate situation of things and it is quite commendable that an organization like WHO is advocating for this to change.

15. There is a special programme that takes care of people with Schizophrenia

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Even though it is noted that most patients with Schizophrenia are often neglected, fortunately there is a programme known as Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) that is designed and dedicated to patients of Schizophrenia who are likely to experience many hospitalizations and homelessness.  This programme is usually delivered by a team of health professionals who are working together so as to provide care to patients in the community. It has proven to  be a good programme that takes care of their basic needs and medication.