|
Basic facts about schizophrenia |
|
|
Schizophrenia is: |
|
- A brain disease with concrete and specific symptoms due to physical and biochemical changes in the brain
- An illness that strikes young people in their prime - age of onset is usually between 16 and 25
- Almost always treatable with medication
- More common than most people think, affecting 1 in 100 people worldwide - that's about 300,000 Canadians, including over 40,000 of our British Columbia
neighbours
|
|
Schizophrenia is not: |
|
- A "split personality"
- Caused by childhood trauma, bad parenting, or poverty
- The result of any action or personal failure by the individual
Signs and Symptoms:
- Strange posturing
- Bizarre behaviour
- Agitation
- Fear of people
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- Inappropriate laughter
- Severe sleep disturbances
- Deterioration in personal hygiene
- Memory and concentration problems
- Social withdrawal and isolation
- Emerging unusual beliefs
- Loss of motivation or energy
- Unusual or uncharacteristic behaviour
- Changes in perception
|
|
|
|
More information on schizophrenia
Expert Consensus Treatment Guide for
Schizophrenia
A guide for patients and families on the
illness.
Basic Facts
About Schizophrenia
An abridged
version of an introductory booklet prepared
by the BC Schizophrenia Society provincial office. |
|
|
Further details
For further details on the illness and its various aspects, including early psychosis, please go to our
Information and
Links pages. For books on schizophrenia, see our
bibliography.
|
|
|
|
back to the top |
| |
|
|
2010 North Shore Schizophrenia Society.