What is "schizophrenia"?

What is "schizophrenia"?

Christopher Reist (Academic Psychiatrist, Co-Author of “Psychiatry”) gives expert video advice on: What are the most common dangers associated with schizophrenia?; How will a psychiatrist determine whether I suffer from schizophrenia?; What are the common treatments for schizophrenia? and more...

Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder that affects approximately 1 percent of the population worldwide. Schizophrenia has a devastating effect on a person's functioning and the World Health Organization has ranked it in the top ten cases of disability among all medical disorders. Schizophrenia typically has it's onset in late adolescence or early adulthood. Schizophrenia is characterized by problems with thinking, problems with managing emotions, difficulties interpreting reality correctly and difficulties stringing thoughts and ideas together in a logical and coherent manner. Most patients with schizophrenia suffer chronically over their lifetime. They typically have a pattern of remission and relapse. In fact, patients with schizophrenia don't always owe their condition to bad parenting or have split personalities, nor do they always have a particular predisposition to violence. It is really important that we all have a good understanding of this common and devastating illness, schizophrenia.