Schizophrenia by Daniel Cheung

What is Schizophrenia?

siddharth_karunanathan — 2024-11-26 15:38:08 UTC

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that makes it hard for someone to tell the difference between what is real and what is not. People with schizophrenia may hear voices that aren't there, see things that others can’t see, or believe things that are not true (like thinking someone is trying to harm them). They may also have trouble thinking clearly or concentrating, and might act in strange ways. Schizophrenia can make everyday life very difficult.

What psychological approach would match schizophrenia?

siddharth_karunanathan — 2024-11-26 15:40:36 UTC

Abnormal psychology is about studying mental health issues that are different from normal behavior. Schizophrenia is an example of this because it causes unusual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that interfere with a person's ability to live a normal life. This approach helps us learn about the symptoms of schizophrenia, how to diagnose it, and the best ways to treat it. It also helps us understand why someone with schizophrenia may have difficulty with things like work or relationships.

Sigmund Freud and How His Work Doesn't Help

siddharth_karunanathan — 2024-11-26 15:43:04 UTC

Sigmund Freud’s theory focuses on unconscious thoughts, and childhood experiences as the causes of mental health problems. However, schizophrenia is more about brain chemistry and genetics, not just childhood experiences. Freud's ideas don't explain the biological causes of schizophrenia, so his theories aren't very useful for understanding this disorder.

Personal Reflection - Sidd

siddharth_karunanathan — 2024-11-26 15:49:12 UTC

I found out that learning about schizophrenia has helped me realize that mental health issues aren't just about what someone does, but also about what happens in the brain. Schizophrenia is a disorder that affects how people think, feel, and see the world, and it can be really tough to manage. It’s important to understand the problems causes of this disorder, and that treatment often involves medication to help balance brain chemicals. This has made me see how much science and research can help people with mental health problems.

Biological Factors In Schizophrenia

danielcheung2_1 — 2024-11-26 15:54:41 UTC

Examining Schizophrenia using biological factors is the best option due to multiple factors. Biological factors play a key role in the onset of Schizophrenia. It also plays a key role in the development and treatment of Schizophrenia.

Genetic Factors:

Genetics is a significant component of Schizophrenia. Studies may suggest that people who have a past family member with Schizophrenia may develop a higher risk of development of the disorder. Usually the chances of developing schizophrenia for the general population is 1% but it rises around 10% for individuals with a close biological family member who share this disorder.

Brain Structure:

Neuroimaging studies suggest those who usually are diagnosed with schizophrenia also have abnormalities in specific parts of the brain. There were cases of underdevelopment in the prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes or enlarged ventricles.

Neurochemical Factors:

One of the cornerstones of treatment and one of the most important factors that affect schizophrenia. The role of neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine. A recent hypothesis states that the overactivity of dopamine transmission in certain brain parts can cause the key symptoms of schizophrenia. This includes hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medication that primarily target dopamine receptors are able to help mediate this factor.

Elyn Sak's Work To Schizophrenia

danielcheung2_1 — 2024-11-26 16:11:15 UTC

Elyn Sak is a distinguished professor of psychology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences USC Gould of Law and the director for Sak's institute to mental health. She has also been affected and treated by this disorder. In her book The Center Cannot Hold she highlights how factors such as brain chemistry and genetics play a role in symptoms and treatment. She also speaks about how these factors helped her find better treatment to solve her hallucinations and delusions in her intense accounts of what happened. She also speaks about neurobiology and how it plays a large portion of Schizophrenia. She speaks about how her treatment targets dopamine receptors in her brain to mediate her symptoms. Her studies perfectly align with the biological perspective of psychology and her ideas is where I got most of my points about how using biological factors is the best way to examine schizophrenia.

How The Psychodynamic Perspective Does Not Help With Understanding Schizophrenia

danielcheung2_1 — 2024-11-26 16:36:15 UTC

Psychodynamic Theories focuses on unconscious conflicts of the brain. This perspective would primarily be useful for treating generalized anxiety disorder and depression but unfortunately not schizophrenia. It lacks the ability to produce sufficient empirical evidence that is relevant to schizophrenia. It also is unable to place emphasis on biological factors and thus cannot prove how the onset of schizprenia can be started.