How Many People In The Us Have Schizophrenia

Symptoms Of Dissociation In Ssds

Several studies examined symptoms of dissociation in schizophrenia spectrum patients through the Dissociative Experiences Scale , which is the most commonly used instrument for measuring dissociation. The questionnaire contains 28 items describing dissociative experiences. The respondent is asked to state how often they had each experience ranging from 0% to 100% of the time, resulting in mean scores ranging from 0 to 100. Mean scores for healthy controls ranged between 4.38 and 14.86, whereas mean scores of patients with a DD ranged between 24.9 for depersonalization disorder and 57.06 for multiple personality disorder .

Schizophrenia Facts Show That Patients Are Commonly Misdiagnosed With Schizophrenia

A review of 43 cases of those diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder provides some shocking data. Namely, the misdiagnosis occurred in more than half of the cases. The study concluded that 51% received a different diagnosis. Astoundingly, 43% werent diagnosed with any psychotic disorder in the follow-up period.

Whats The Difference Between Dissociative Identity Disorder And Schizophrenia

Sometimes, people confuse dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, and schizophrenia. Schizophrenia does mean split mind, but the name was meant to describe the split from reality that you experience during an episode of psychosis, as well as changes in thoughts, emotions, and other functions. Dissociative identity disorder, on the other hand, does cause a split or fragmented understanding of a persons sense of themselves.

Dissociative identity disorder is really more about fragmented identities than many different personalities that develop on their own. Most people see different parts of their being as part of the whole person. For people who experience DID, identity fragments may have very different characteristics, including their own history, identity, and mannerisms. A key part of DID is dissociationfeeling detached to the world around you. People who experience DID may have many unexplainable gaps in their memory, forget information theyre already learned, or have difficulties recalling things theyve said or done. Unlike portrayals of DID on TV or in movies, DID may not be obvious to others, and it can take a lot of time to come to the diagnosis.

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% Of Schizophrenia Patients Do Not Get Appropriate Care

It is estimated that 69% of people across the world living with this disorder dont receive suitable treatment due to various reasons, the most common being lack of available healthcare. In fact, 90% of untreated schizophrenics are shown to reside in low and medium-income countries, where they do not have access to quality mental health services, according to schizophrenia statistics worldwide.

How Many People Have Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a type of severe mental disorder that can disrupt a person’s sense of self, perception, and language. In many cases, it also includes delusions, hearing voices, or other psychotic experiences. Schizophrenia can also hinder a person’s ability to function by disrupting their studies or causing them to lose the skill that helped them make a living. Today, there are many effective treatments available, letting those with the condition live productive lives where they are fully integrated into society.

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Reviewing The Facts About Schizophrenia

To dispel myths about schizophrenia, it is critical to understand the frequency and seriousness of this mental health condition.

Close to 3.5 million people in the United States live with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, making it one of the top 15 leading causes of disability.

Most people who have schizophrenia do not receive the care they require. They are less likely to seek the medical care they need compared to people with other mental health issues.

People with schizophrenia often also have physical illnesses, making the life expectancy of a person with schizophrenia about 20% lower than the general population.

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are not uncommon. Schizophrenia is also commonly associated with the metabolic syndrome that can cause type 2 diabetes and insulin insensitivity.

In addition, close to half of all people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia also struggle with a secondary mental health issue.

Mental illness can lead to significant financial problems. However, people diagnosed with schizophrenia face an even higher financial burden.

Between one-third and one-half of all adults who are homeless in the U.S. have been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

People with schizophrenia are also at greater risk of being involved in the criminal justice system and are more likely to be unable to work, or to struggle with other social problems.

Public Opinion / Perception Of Schizophrenia

Worldwide, people diagnosed with schizophrenia face stigma and discrimination. The stigma associated with schizophrenia can delay a diagnosis as many people may hesitate to discuss their symptoms even with a healthcare provider. Although this stigma has been challenged in the U.S., it still exists in much of the rest of the world. Families may attempt to keep the diagnosis of a loved ones schizophrenia secret. In developed nations like the U.S., however, a clearer understanding of the illness and its symptoms has reduced the stigma. Given the rate of homelessness among this population, however, more support must be allocated to this segment of the population.

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Skip Spence 1946 1999

Musician and Singer Songwriter

Age of Diagnosis: 23

Individual History: Alexander Lee Skip Spence was a Canadian-born American musician and singer-songwriter. He began his career as a guitarist in an early line-up of Quicksilver Messenger Service, and was the drummer on Jefferson Airplanes debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off. He was one of the co-founders of Moby Grape, and played guitar with the group until 1969. He released one solo album, Oar, and then withdrew from the music industry. His career was plagued by drug addiction and mental health problems. In the late 1960s, Spence became delusional after taking too much acid. He was found marching around his hotel room with an axe, bashing down doors and claiming he was the anti-Christ. At that point he was taken to Bellvue Hospital where he was formally diagnosed as schizophrenic. Spence died in 1999 from lung cancer, two days before his 53rd birthday.

Did Is Sometimes Misdiagnosed

Healthcare professionals sometimes misdiagnose DID as schizophrenia.

It can be incredibly difficult to get a correct diagnosis of DID. According to research from 2016, of U.S. clinicians were able to accurately diagnose DID in an individual.

The clinicians misdiagnosed the condition as:

• Schizophrenia Medication

Theres a lot of incorrect info out there about . Some of it is spread by movies or TV shows. Or sometimes, people use stereotypes when talking about this mental illness.

is a serious mental disorder that affects your ability to think and act clearly. When you have schizophrenia, your brain often tells you youre seeing things or hearing voices that arent there. This makes it hard to tell whats real and what isnt. It also affects how well you think, make decisions, and manage your emotions.

Around 1% of people in the U.S. have schizophrenia. It affects men and women equally. Women tend to get schizophrenia in their 20s or 30s. Men tend to get it in their late to early 20s. Its rare in kids younger than 12. And it usually doesnt appear for the first time in adults over 40.

If you get schizophrenia, you might have:

• , or false beliefs that dont change, even when youre given new ideas and facts
• A hard time remembering things
• Disordered thoughts
• , or hearing voices, seeing things, or smelling things others cant
• Lack of emotion in your face or voice
• Problems focusing
• Trouble understanding information and making decisions

Get the real story behind some common myths.

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Schizophrenia Myths And Facts

• Schizophrenia is not caused by bad parenting, childhood trauma, poverty, street drugs or alcohol
• Schizophrenia is not contagious
• Schizophrenia is very different from dissociative disorder
• Schizophrenia is no ones fault
• People who experience schizophrenia have a higher risk of suicide. In one study, 20-40% of people with schizophrenia attempted suicide and 5% of people with schizophrenia completed suicide, so all talk of suicide should be taken seriously

What Are The Symptoms

Mental health professionals classify most schizophrenia symptoms as either positive or negative. Other symptoms involve cognition and inappropriate motor behaviors.

• Positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions, both of which can often be managed with medications. They arent considered positive because they are helpful or healthy, but rather because they appear because certain regions of the brain are activated.
• Negative symptoms appear to stem from diminished activation of certain parts of the brain, and dont usually respond as well to medical therapy as positive symptoms. Negative symptoms include those that interfere with normal, healthy functioning. They include problems interacting with other people and little desire to form social connections, as well as the inability to show emotions and feel pleasure and rewards.
• Cognition challenges associated with schizophrenia include confusion and disorganized speech. Thinking and verbal skills can become impaired, so, for example, an answer to a question may not make sense to the person asking the question.
• Abnormal behaviors and motor skills problems can range from agitation and impatience to silliness and other childlike traits. A persons body language may not match their words, while in other situations, someone with schizophrenia may not be able to formulate an answer or may be moving excessively, so communication and focus become even greater challenges.

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Who Does It Affect

Schizophrenia affects about 1% of Canadiansthats about 40,000 people in British Columbia. While scientists are still working hard to figure out what causes schizophrenia, we do know that it affects:

• Young people: Schizophrenia usually first shows up between the ages of 18 and 25 in men and between 25 and 35 in women.
• Men and women: Schizophrenia affects men and women equally as often. Men usually start to experience symptoms at an earlier age than women.
• Families: Schizophrenia seems to run in families. If a close family member experiences schizophrenia, you may experience an increased risk of schizophrenia. However, its important to remember that there is much more to schizophrenia than your genesgenes are one of several risk factors.

There Is More Than One Type Of Schizophrenia

While many are quick to use the label schizophrenic, not all cases of schizophrenia are the same. Among important schizophrenia facts, people often dont realize that there are five different types of schizophrenia, each with its own unique set of symptoms.

Paranoid Schizophrenia

Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common type of schizophrenia worldwide. While the American Psychiatric Association has determined that paranoia is a symptom of schizophrenia, meaning paranoid schizophrenia isnt a separate condition, the term is still used today.

Symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia can include:

• Hallucinations
• Disorganized speech

Disorganized Schizophrenia

Disorganized schizophrenia is a type of schizophrenia in which a person doesnt experience hallucinations or delusions. People with disorganized schizophrenia often experience chaotic behavior or speech.

Common symptoms of disorganized schizophrenia include:

• Speech disturbances
• Trouble performing daily tasks or activities
• Not displaying or expressing emotions in the same way other people might
• Inappropriate behavior or emotions

Catatonic Schizophrenia

Catatonic schizophrenia is a very rare subtype of schizophrenia. This is thanks, in part, to improved treatment methods. People with this type of schizophrenia will experience periods in which they flip between decreased and excessive motor activity.

Symptoms of catatonic schizophrenia include:

• Mutism
• Stupor
• Unusual posture

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia

Residual Schizophrenia

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Could There Be Racial Disparities In The Diagnosis Of Schizophrenia

Another unfortunate reality: Some symptoms of schizophrenia, such as psychosis, overlap other mental health conditions including bipolar disorder.

When people present with psychotic symptoms, the clinicians obligation is to first eliminate all other possible causes of symptoms before concluding that schizophrenia is correct since schizophrenia is a diagnosis of exclusion, says Stephen Strakowsi, MD, also a co-author of the 2018 review article. A psychiatrist, he is also Vice Dean of Research and Associate Vice President of Regional Mental Health at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.

But what weve learned in our work is that when African Americans show up for evaluation, their psychotic symptoms are overemphasized, he says, with less of an emphasis on mood disorders, thus skewing the diagnosis to schizophrenia.

You have to go through excluding all other causes of psychosis, from substance use to trauma, to mood disorders and depression and kind of eliminate them, Herlands adds. So, if youre undervaluing and not adequately assessing the presence of these mood symptoms, it can be easy to go to the next rung on the diagnostic ladder and over-diagnose schizophrenia.

Severe depression is sometimes overlooked as well.

According to a 2019 article in Rutgers Today, other factors cited by the researchers include genetics, poverty, and discrimination, as well as symptoms caused by infections and malnutrition early in life.

Positive Symptoms Of Schizophrenia Include:

• Hallucinations sensory errors where a person thinks they hear, see, smell, taste or feel things that are not present
• Delusions strong beliefs about people or things which are unrealistic or not supported by facts
• Thought problems different from delusions, thought disorders involve a person being very disorganized, stopping their train of thought or making up new words
• Movement issues repeating specific movement or not moving at all for long periods

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia include losing some feelings and interest the person previously had.

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Could I Have Schizophrenia

While schizophrenia looks different from person to person, it always causes changes in your abilities and personality. Because it is so different in each person, you may experience some or all of the symptoms below.

• Im hearing voices other people tell me they cant hear
• Im seeing things that other people tell me they cant see
• My thoughts take a long time to form, come too fast together, or dont form at all
• Im convinced Im being followed
• I feel immune to any kind of danger I believe I can save the world
• I sometimes feel like Im not actually in my body, that Im floating
• I used to like being around other people, but now Id rather just be by myself
• I want to end my life or harm myself
• Im having trouble remembering things, concentrating and making decisions
• Im getting confused easily

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms its important to talk to your doctor. People who experience schizophrenia often experience symptoms of anxiety and depression, too.

A look at the terms

Below are the definitions of a few words that you might hear associated with schizophrenia.

How Is Did Different From Schizophrenia

There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding both and . Many people inaccurately believe that people with schizophrenia have split personalities. This isnt the case.

This isnt even technically true of DID. The Sidran Institute says that, although these personalities may feel or appear different, Theyre all manifestations of a single, whole person.

While some symptoms do overlap between DID and schizophrenia, they are different in important ways, including their causes, treatments, and age of onset.

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Schizophrenia Statistics By State Show That California Has The Most Adults With This Condition

With 335,242 adults diagnosed with schizophrenia, California has the highest incidence. The 2017 Census data also shows that Texas is second with 230,324 cases and Florida comes third with 184,607. On the other hand, Wyoming has the lowest prevalence rate of schizophrenia only 4,871 cases in 2017. Sadly, 1,948 of those cases were untreated.

Statistical Prevalence Of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is not a terribly common disease but it can be a serious and chronic one. Worldwide about 1 percent of the population is diagnosed with schizophrenia, and approximately 1.2% of Americans have the disorder. About 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia this year around the world. In the United States, this means about 100,000 people will be diagnosed, which translates to 7.2 people per 1,000 or about 21,000 people within a city of 3 million who are likely to be suffering from schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia can affect people throughout the lifespan although new instances of the illness are most likely to occur in early adulthood. It is relatively rare for children and older adults to develop schizophrenia, but it does happen. More commonly the incidence of new cases of schizophrenia increases in the teen years, reaching a peak of vulnerability between the ages of 16 and 25 years. Men and women show different patterns of susceptibility for developing schizophrenic symptoms. Males reach a single peak of vulnerability for developing schizophrenia between the ages of 18 and 25 years. In contrast, female vulnerability peaks twice first between 25 and 30 years, and then again around 40 years of age.

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Nonadherence Rates Range From 265% To 588% Of The Population

People living with schizophrenia consistently show low adherence to their medication. That could affect the development of the disease and the rate of schizophrenia hospitalization, statistics show. According to one study, the most common reason for not taking the medication is a lack of awareness. In fact, 55% of respondents stated that they dont take medication because they dont believe theyre sick.

Family Education And Support

Educational programs for family members, significant others, and friends offer instruction about schizophrenia symptoms and treatments, and strategies for assisting the person with the illness. Increasing key supporters understanding of psychotic symptoms, treatment options, and the course of recovery can lessen their distress, bolster coping and empowerment, and strengthen their capacity to offer effective assistance. Family-based services may be provided on an individual basis or through multi-family workshops and support groups. For more information about family-based services in your area, you can visit the family education and support groups page on the National Alliance on Mental Illness website.

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