[H2O] Schizophrenia - Printable Version

When I lived in Texas, I had a neighbor. Actually, I had numerous neighbors, but this one neighbor, this one neighbor stuck out. He was 13, I was 6. He was one of the nicest kids I ever knew. My parents always said to be careful around him but I never knew why. I ended up finding out 8 years later, me being 14, that he had schizophrenia. I never noticed anything weird with him, mainly because I was inexperienced in life, but also because he took medication for it. Well my brother, who was the same age as him, kept in contact with the boy, who was named Jeremy, for years. I thought it was neat of him to keep in contact with Jeremy, even though we were over 1,000 miles apart from each other. Then, I noticed that I hadn't heard of Jeremy in a couple months, maybe a year. I decided to ask my mom what happened to him. Then she started to cry and say, "Nathaniel, Jeremy tried committing suicide multiple times, and he attacked his mother with a knife. They had to take him away." That is the last I ever heard of Jeremy. Ever since then I was fascinated with schizophrenia. I wanted to know what it did, and why. Over the next few paragraphs I will talk about schizophrenia and describe how one obtains it, and how it affects one's mind.

What causes Schizophrenia? While scientists are not 100% sure on what causes it, they believe it is a corrupted genetic code in the brain of the individual. Scientists have discovered that if a relative, whether it be a grandfather, mother, father, etc. anyone in that family chain has a higher chance of getting Schizophrenia. So, if you think about it, Schizophrenia is a genetic disorder that is passed down through family members. While it is not in all members, it is in some family members.

Imagine hearing voices, seeing things that don't exist, getting thought of murdering loved ones in gruesome ways. This is what a schizophrenic person has to battle with every single day. Scientists have created multiple medicines to help battle schizophrenia. One of the best so far is called, Clozaril. It is by far the most effective medicine used today. It treats hallucinations, psychotic symptoms, and helps the user realize what reality is, pretty much a reality check in pill form. Even though the medicine helps the users maintain mental stability, users will still have random spurts of being psychotic.

Why does a schizophrenic person get thoughts of killing people? Why do they hear voices? Also, why do they see imaginary people? Well, let me explain one question at a time. The reason a schizophrenic thinks about gruesome ways of killing people for no reason is because they build bitter thoughts and emotions towards someone for no reason. This disorder attacks grey-matter(greyish nervous tissue containing cell bodies as well as fibers; forms the cerebral cortex consisting of unmyelinated neurons.) in the brain and doesn't let the two sides of the brain communicate properly. These attacks on the brain attack the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The prefrontal cortex controls: verbal memory, attention, reasoning, aggression and meaningful speech. Once the prefrontal cortex is attacked, symptoms of aggression, hatred, and spite start to appear out of no where. This leads on to my next point, voice and visuals. The reason they see and hear things, is because the disorder attacks the brain, disabling it's ability to keep imagination out of the real world. It causes them to see things that are not really there, and here voices that aren't really there. Now, I find this creepy, but, how the voices usually start, is actually comforting. The voices in the Beginning cheer you on, congratulate you. The voices earn your trust. Then as the disorder spreads, the voices and illusions you saw, turn on you, and start to attack you. Spewing sinister thoughts and ideas into your mind. This is one of the scariest things once you think about it. Life is a living hell for a schizophrenic.

Even though scientists are working around the clock to find a cure for schizophrenia, they still haven't found one. When will they find a cure? Hopefully sometime soon. I would like to dedicate this to Jeremy, my neighbor and friend who, tragically, had this disorder. Thank you all for reading. https://www.imhro.org/get-involved/International Mental Health Research Organization is a research organization that tries to discover cures and medicines for mental diseases/disorders. I am not begging you, but feel free to donate to this charity. I have and I am glad I have. All donations, 100%, go to Research.

Thank you for reading my topic. I hope you enjoyed it.

Citations
http://www.schizophrenia.com/New/Dec2002/hallucinateDec02.htm
http://www.schizophrenia.com/disease.htm
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/mental-health-medications/what-medications-are-used-to-treat-schizophrenia.shtml