Schizophrenia : The Most Serious of Psychotic Disorders

Abstract

With headlines such as “Ex-mental patient kills family� and “Accused tried to hijack plane ‘to get rid of devil�, the media and some authors alike have painted an image that people with schizophrenia are prone to violence. Schizophrenia is also often described as a deliberating disease, that it deteriorates progressively. Are these really so? With the award-winning movie, “A Beautiful Mind� acted by Russell Crowe and showcased in recent years, some attention has been given to the disorder which could hardly be pronounced by people at one time. In developing countries such as Malaysia, psychiatric disorders are increasingly becoming important diseases as these countries undergo rapid urbanisation. A currently ongoing IRPA research project, that seeks to study the socioeconomic impact on three major psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia), states that the government has made the improvement of psychiatric services and mental health programmes a priority in the overall health sector reform (Syed Mohamed Aljunid, 2004). Therefore it is high time a paper on Schizophrenia such as this should be presented. In this paper, the psychotic disorder, schizophrenia is described in some details while attempting to paint a better picture of the disorder. The details include a brief history, the symptoms, the sub-types of schizophrenia, how it is assessed, some statistical facts about schizophrenia, the causes (as explained by the Stress-Vulnerability model) and hence the current treatment and some suggestions on prevention. Can this be any clue to perhaps how the situation for schizophrenia patients in Malaysia is like: the Malaysian Psychiatric Association and Mental Health Foundation have organized a testimony-writing competition for “schizophrenia patients who are moving forward�. With sponsorship from the international pharmaceutical company, Lilly, it is awarding 8 winners in Malaysia with a total scholarship award of RM27,000. Would you say there are many schizophrenia patients who are functioning normally out there or would you still hold to the perception that schizophrenia is a deliberating disease?