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Writer's pictureMannat Barhey
4 min read

Understanding Schizophrenia: Unraveling the Complexities of a Multifaceted Disorder

Do you ever feel as though you have a distinct perspective? Perhaps you are the only one who can hear sounds, voices, and whispers in your ears? These are only some of the inquiries that could be presented to a schizophrenia patient. Since schizophrenia has such an immense impact on a person's physical health as well as their overall life, it is considered one of the most serious conditions in the world.


Due to the concept that someone can truly have a divided mind, the phrase itself is taken from the Greek language and means "Split, Mind." People with this condition have abnormal ways of understanding the world. They lack reality and are incapable of thinking rationally. This implies that they might not exhibit any emotion, may not speak nor move, and that they might observe or hear events that aren't taking place. The most common type of schizophrenia, paranoid schizophrenia, includes delusions of grandeur, persecution, hallucinations, and other things. Catatonic Schizophrenia is when you become unaware of your surroundings, struggle to connect to reality, and experience symptoms like a coma (no movement, talking, or responding), schizophrenia is regarded as one of the most hazardous forms. Disorganized Schizophrenia affects speech and causes hallucinations. It may sometimes be difficult to distinguish the schizophrenia subgroup in situations so some may be referred to as the undifferentiated type.


How is a frequently asked question. How does one contract this illness? According to classification by scientists, synaptic pruning is a significant factor. In our brain, synaptic pruning affects our neurons. If a gene is inherited, the synapses—connections that form between neurons—might degenerate. Our neurons can communicate with one another by transmitting electrical or chemical impulses across synapse junctions. Brain dysfunction may occur from an abnormal gene that destroys these connections. Around the time they reach their toddler years, children go through a stage of synaptogenesis. Synaptogenesis is essential for a child's early development since it helps with memory development, learning skills, and many other things. Synaptic pruning, the brain's mechanism of getting rid of synapses it no longer requires, happens continuously throughout our lives. However, when the brain begins to over-prune, important synapses are lost, which causes problems. Test results revealed that schizophrenia patients often have significantly less synapses visible in the brain than a healthy brain as shown in the image below.



In addition to biological causes, the environment, daily activities, and psychological influences may also contribute to the disease's development. It has been demonstrated that extreme amounts of stress or trauma, as well as abuse, neglect, and many other traumatic events, can accumulate to develop schizophrenia. An imbalance of the body's antioxidants or free radicals (such the hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical, and nitric oxide radical) causes oxidative stress. They can gradually harm the tissues, cells, and organs of your body. Our brain needs oxygen to carry out vital tasks that power both it and the body. Damage to brain cells and structures can result from free radicals generated during oxidative stress.


Schizophrenia often has highly noticeable symptoms. By taking over one's head, it integrates into one's life. For most people, communication may be difficult. effectively responding to individuals or talking on topics irrelevant to the discourse. Many people tend to hear voices and sounds, see things physically that aren't there, and mix reality with delusions. Since it's difficult to focus on duties in daily life, some people could be unresponsive or struggle with basic coordination. Moreover, facial expression loss, disregard for others, hygiene avoidance, and a lack of speech or movement are likely. For just these reasons, this disease is exceedingly important. Schizophrenia affects the brain, which means it has a significant impact on every aspect of your life. Similar to computers, when one item goes wrong in our brains, many more follow or function gradually deteriorates.


Even though this illness may affect every part of a patient's life, many people with it go on to lead fulfilling lives. The World Health Organisation estimates that there are roughly 24 million people worldwide who have schizophrenia, or one in every 300 people. Although schizophrenia does not have a known cure, many people choose to better their lives by turning to therapy, medications, lifestyle modifications, and support. It takes a lot of effort to get through it, no matter how complicated a sickness it may be thought to be.


“As well as being one of the worst things that can happen to a human being, schizophrenia can also be one of the richest learning and humanizing experiences life offers.” - Mark Vonnegut


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