Schizophrenia

A severe and chronic, usually lifelong psychosis that begins during the teen or early adult years.  It is the single most common cause for admission to a mental hospital, and accounts for the largest portion of permanent patients in such institutions.  Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions (false beliefs firmly held to despite proof to the contrary), incoherence of the person’s thought process and train of associations, withdrawal from reality, difficulty planning, speaking, and expressing emotion, problems with attention and memory, and difficulty organizing thoughts.  The patient may speak in a monotone with a peculiar lack of facial expression.  Treatment includes antipsychotic drugs, psychosocial and rehabilitation interventions.  About 1/3 of patients make a complete recovery, 1/3 have recurrent episodes, and 1/3 deteriorate int chronic schizophrenia with severe disability.