May is Mental Health Awareness Month – Mental Health Post a Day in May – May 10th – Schizophrenia

This one is close to home. My adopted brother GP is schizophrenic. A rare case of childhood schizophrenia. My mother was in denial. Or maybe she just couldn’t deal. We didn’t find out his diagnosis until after she died. A lot of unanswered questions were finally answered. This one is a cruel disease.

My Loud Whispers of Hope

Schizophrenia

• Schizophrenia a serious mental illness that can be disabling without care.
• About 1% of Americans have it.
• People with the condition may hear voices, see imaginary sights, or believe other people control their thoughts.
• These sensations can frighten the person and lead to erratic behavior.
• Although there is no cure, treatment can usually manage the most serious symptoms.
• It is not the same as multiple personality disorder.

Symptoms

• Hallucinations: hearing or seeing imaginary things
• Delusions: wildly false beliefs
• Paranoia: the fear that others are plotting against you
• Some signs, such as lack of enjoyment in everyday life and withdrawal from social activities, may mimic depression.

Who Gets Schizophrenia

• Anyone can.
• It’s equally common among men and women and among ethnic groups.
• Symptoms usually start between ages 16 and 30.
• It tends to begin earlier in men than in women.
• Schizophrenia rarely starts during childhood or after age 45.
• People…

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