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Most people think Dr. Jekyll- Mr. Hyde displays a good picture of what schizophrenia
is. They are however, wrong, schizophrenia is not a switch in character.
Schizophrenia in one sentence is defined as a chronic, severe, and disabling
brain disease that can be characterized by hallucinations, illusions, delusions,
and disorder thinking that comes from various sources. |
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Approximately
1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their
lifetime—more than 2 million Americans suffer from the
illness in a given year. |
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Although schizophrenia
affects men and women with equal frequency, the disorder often
appears earlier in men, usually in the late teens or early twenties,
than in women, who are generally affected in the twenties to
early thirties. |
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People with schizophrenia
often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices
not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading
their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm
them. Their speech and behavior can be so disorganized that
they may be incomprehensible or frightening to others. |
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Available treatments
can relieve many symptoms, but most people with schizophrenia
continue to suffer from some symptoms throughout their lives.
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It has been estimated
that no more than one in five individuals recover completely.
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Children over
the age of five can develop schizophrenia, but it is very rare
before adolescence. Although some people who later develop schizophrenia
may have seemed different from other children at an early age,
the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia—hallucinations
and delusions—are extremely uncommon before adolescence.
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