1. Disclaimer
This is a project for an High School AP
Psychology Course. This is a fictionalized
account of having a psychological
ailment. For questions about this blog
project or its content, please email the
teacher, Laura Astorian:
laura.astorian@cobbk12.org
3. Introduction
• Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized
by a breakdown of thought processes and by
impaired emotional responses.
• This means that I have trouble functioning
socially because I have voices in my head that tell
me what to do and they influence my thinking.
• I am taking medications like Clozapine and they
help me, but the voices in my head keep telling
me to discard them.
4. History of Schizophrenia
• The causes of Schizophrenia are still widely
unknown.
• Schizophrenia was actually first identified in
1887, but can be traced back to thousands of
years ago, which means that it has been
recurring throughout history.
• The word schizophrenia comes from Greek
roots, schizo meaning split and phrenia
meaning mind, to describe the fragmented
thinking of people with the disorder.
5. Information on Schizophrenia
• The symptoms of
Schizophrenia usually begin
between 15 and 25 years old
for males, with females
develop it later (around age
30).
• It is rare for a person to
develop Schizophrenia before
10 years of age and after 40
years of age.
• Schizophrenia occurs in all
societies regardless of class,
color, religion, culture, etc.
6. Information (Continued)
• Rates of schizophrenia are similar from country to country, between
.5 and 1 percent of the population.
7. Causes of Schizophrenia
• The leading theory of what
causes Schizophrenia is that it is a
result of genetic predisposition
with an environmental exposure,
and or stress during pregnancy to
trigger the disorder.
• Studies have shown that drugs
such as marijuana and cannabis
can also lead to Schizophrenia
8. Treatment of Schizophrenia
• In the early 1900’s, Adrenaline, ECT,
and insulin comas were used to treat
Schizophrenia.
• After the 1950’s, antipsychotic
medications such as Clozapine and
Zyprexa were used to treat
Schizophrenia.
9. Treatment (Continued)
• Antipsychotic medications effectively control hallucinations,
delusions, and confusions that schizophrenics face, as they normalize
the biochemical imbalances in the brain.
10. Prognosis with Treatment
• A person afflicted with Schizophrenia must take their antipsychotic
medication on a regular basis
• After 10 years of treatment, 25% of Schizophrenics completely
recover.
11. Prognosis (Continued)
• After 10 Years:
25% are relatively independent
25% have improved their functioning capabilites
Overall, at least 75% of the people find their conditions to improve with
medication!
12. Life with Schizophrenia
• I can never find peace because the voice in my head always tell me
that something is wrong.
13. Life with Schizophrenia
• The medications help a great deal, as they dull the voices in my head.
Without the voices telling me what to do, I can function somewhat
properly.
17. Life with Schizophrenia
• I feel that everyone is plotting against me, even my family sometimes
seems like they’re trying to trick me .
18. Life with Schizophrenia
• I’m glad I don’t have to undergo electric shock therapy, as if I were
born 50 years ago, that would have been the norm for people like me.
19. How I became Schizophrenic
• I was undergoing a lot of stress from work and school and started
becoming paranoid, and soon heard voices in my head. I even hear
them today.
20. Will there be a cure?
• I truly hope that there will be a cure to my illness. I cannot stand the
thought of having to listen to evil voices all day.
