Mental Health and Mental Disorder (schizophrenia)

Mental Health and Mental Disorder

 A research based article from Skill Hut - Where Minds Work

The report of Brandon Ortiz1, Herald-Leader Staff Writer, describes one extreme case of schizophrenia, where he has described that Mary Moses had tried to kill herself and her husband in 1995, for which she has been in jail. But psychiatrists have diagnosed her attitude is controlled by 9 different personalities and even at 52, Moses adores cat. This clearly indicates that Moses have got Schizophrenia.

The Scourge

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports 4502 people worldwide are suffering from some sort of mental disorder and 873, 0002 people are committing suicide every year. Who says mental illness are common through out the world due to "staggering economics and social costs". But the statement of caution is that nearly two thirds of such people do not go for treatment. Data provided by Schizophrenia.com is even more scaring. They say this dreaded scourge takes away 3000 individuals every year only in USA in the form of suicide and 11,00,000 people with Schizophrenia are behind the bars.

Schizophrenia - The Definition

Medical Researchers are yet to come out with a clear and distinctive definition of the term "Schizophrenia". But a thorough research has found evidences that Schizophrenia is a severe problem in brain's internal communication system. Eugen Bleuler, one Swiss Psychiatrist first named this as schizophrenia. Apathy, Impatience, Hallucinations or Delusions, thought anomalies, Decreased movement or speech are the symptoms of schizophrenia. How does one become aware about one's mental illness? Distortion of previous incident, thought process, feelings, attitude with close relations, interpersonal behavior, self-negligent, lack of concentration in study, work etc. Very rarely schizophrenia is associated with violence.

As per Internet Mental Health3, stalwarts like Sir Isaac Newton, Abraham Lincoln, John Keats, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, King George II, Winston Churchill and so many to name.

Dr. Thomas Szasz defined it nicely, "If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia."

A Beautiful Mind - a movie on the Nobel Prize winner John Forbes Nash, Jr. showed the conflicts, where Nash was diagnosed as a patient of paranoid schizophrenia, which Nash says, "my ideas about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did. So I took them seriously."

In The Broken Brain: The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry, Dr. Nancy Andreasen states, "The current evidence concerning the causes of schizophrenia is a mosaic. It is quite clear that multiple factors are involved. These include changes in the chemistry of the brain, changes in the structure of the brain, and genetic factors. Viral infections and head injuries may also play a role.... finally, schizophrenia is probably a group of related diseases, some of which are caused by one factor and some by another." (p. 222).

Confused Thinking or Bad Parenting?

The root cause of schizophrenia may be "confused thinking", "weak personalities", and "bad parenting". The complete sets of reasons are yet to be confirmed by the psychiatrists. But analysis and researches have shown that it may come from heredity, various social and psychological factors. The desperation of human beings to achieve unrealistic milestones irrespective of his potential leads to the additional tension and pressure on every individual. The number of schizophrenia patients is getting increased by leaps and bounds as the body and mind of individuals fail to succumb this additional socio-economic pressure.

What are the treatments?

There are several treatments associated with this age-old disease. But before applying any of the therapy, the reasons are to be found out - rather a considerable amount of time and effort must be spent to analyze which factor has prompted the patient to such a behavior. An early stage diagnosis and close observations by the family members can cure him fully. American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has come up with certain alternative methods.

A good job in today's highly competitive world, which assists the person to employ himself like other normal professionals

A lot of cases have been observed, where the patient has been imparted professional trainings to improve their potentiality to belong to the society as per his stature

Even family counseling and cordial behavior from the other family and close members

Cognitive Interventions - the patient may cope with the disorders and even with the limitations of some cognitive functions, the patient may run his life. This return to normal life even with certain lacuna may get cured in the long run.

Assertive community treatment - a 24x7 treatment team dedicated for community service

Antipsychotic medications - which treats the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. This is a highly established methodology and widely used treatment. It works both for acute symptoms as well as prevents relapses. But certain side effects have been observed like Parkinsonism, Akathisia, Dystonia etc.

The ancient history talks of Quackery, as a method of treatment, which does not have supportive evidence of cure.

Electroshock was first introduced in 1930 for schizophrenia treatment. The theory was to pass electricity through the brain to change his mental state. But some patients responded to the treatment but the result was for quiet short-term.

Lobotomy, the brain surgery is another method for treatment of schizophrenia

Transcranial Magnetic Simulation used to induce magnetic fields in the brain by electromagnetic induction through external electrodes. But the caution is this method should be applied only after careful study of cortex and recording responses of the nerves.

Jungian Therapy gives access to inner-self by free association and dream analysis for improvisation theough self-analysis and self-realization with the help of spirituality.

Some psychiatrists were in the quest of new methodologies for treatment of the patient of schizophrenia. They have started using Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT), which had primarily aimed at disorders like anxiety and depression

Some forums like "Say No to Psychiatry" have emerged, where they are strictly canvassing against the established modes of treatment for schizophrenia. They want to prove that Antipsychotic drugs and Electroshocks may have some immediate effect but may become more adverse in the long-term, where a lot of side-effects can eventually destroy the physique of the patient. Rather a time taking procedure for recovery like analyzing the actual root cause of the disease and treatment though long-term personal dealings are much more helpful.

One study4 regarding the effect of voice among DSM-IV category of schizophrenia patients and non-patient was made. The result clearly showed that the hallucinations patient could "exhibit higher levels of positive and negative interpretations of voices, in comparison to non-patients."

The advance technology has evolved the scanning of brain, which even can show the condition of each cell at the time of hallucination resulting more accurate diagnosis.

Mental illness? Szasz spells differently

Some psychiatrists like Doctor Thomas Szasz, Professor Emeritus have opposed the "mental illness" strongly. They have rejected the conventional methodologies of psychiatry for more than thirty years and started implementation and institutionalization the effect of social and family reasons for this scourge. He had believed that "mental illness" is nothing but a "myth", which today is referred as "Myth of mental illness". They argued against the biological origin for schizophrenia. They had strongly voiced that behavioral abnormalities cannot be classified as an illness like other physical disorders. Szasz has even compared psychiatric with political system, where he has blamed the psychiatrics for convicting patients and taking away the power of freedom from their behavior.

This is also for information that Dr. Szasz had received his certification in Psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1951. Thomas Szasz receives the Rollo May Award for 1998 from the American Psychological Association.

The Medical Models of Dr. Szasz became has become popular all over the world and people of the third world respects him as a true pioneer and the countries like Germany, Soviet, Cuba, India, China have got excellent results by implementing this model.

One can find how Dr. AI Siebert could cure Molly from Acute Paranoid schizophrenia just by cordial behaviors and interviews in The Journal of Humanistic Psychology, vol. 40, winter, 2000. pp. 34-58.

A series of such incidents have raised a serious question regarding the established psychiatric practices and gave birth to the idea of exercising options for the treatment of such a dreaded scourge. A lot of psychiatrists vouched for the "myth of mental illness" methodology of treatment to be the ultimate in schizophrenia.

The controversy

Dr. Thomas Szasz had got courage to raise questions about the most fundamental principles of the prevalent methodologies of Psychiatry, which turned him also to the most controversial psychiatrist in the world. He had published more than 20 titles and 400 articles.

Dr. Szasz has blamed Modern neuroscience for their misdirected effort (!) to explain "mind" in terms of brain functions, in his famous book "The Meaning of Mind".

Patricia A. Forsdyke, Past President of the Kingston and Napanee Chapter of the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario, criticizes Dr. Szasz for diluting the seriousness of such a serious brain disease by his famous book, "The Myth of Mental Illness". According to Forsduke, a proper treatment should be invoked for this nervous disorders.

Now, controversies are there and will remain though out as a law of nature, because everything is transient in this universe and no scientist can claim that his theory is the ultimate on any particular subject. Dr. Szasz could have fueled the ignition and has given the birth of the new direction in Schizophrenia treatment. But this is not also good to flaw the all-old methodologies. We need to analyze, think and react more reasonable to situation-to-situation basis. No pre-determined obsession is welcomed.

What We Suggest

We definitely don't follow Dr. Thomas Szasz's theory 100%. We feel a proper treatment like Antipsychotic drugs should be applied to the patient in case of acute syndromes. But a social redressal system of the patient is equally important, where the patient is to be treated with passion by his family members and other relations. A good cordial behavior and the humane factor can stop the relapse ensuring a smooth life style of the victim, because we don't want him to cry like the old man of Shakespeare, "O! Let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven; Keep me in temper; I would not be mad!"

Works Cited & Bibilography

1 Report was collected from http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/13317750.htm on December 3, 2005

2 Figures have been taken from http://www.who.int/en/ - the official site of World Health Organization (WHO) on December 3, 2005.

3 Internet Mental Health - http://www.mentalhealth.com/

4 BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY 42 (11): 1315-1323 NOV 2004

THE MYTH OF MENTAL ILLNESS by Dr. Thomas Szasz

THE MEANING OF MIND by Dr. Thomas Szasz.