Schizophrenia?!?

Can somebody please explain it in SIMPLE terms? please?

Schizophrenia is not a simple disorder and is not a single disorder but a spectrum of disorders. It affects some 1% of the human population. There is no definitive evidence the disorders are genetic. It is not "split personality" or multiple personalities. Science does not know the cause(s) of the disorders and the treatment usually is necessary for a lifetime. The symptoms vary for the different subtypes and the best way to understand the disorders is to familiarize oneself with them.

This can be done by googling "schizophrenia" or better "DSM-IV TR" which will give you access to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, 3rd revision, of the American Psychiatric Association. This manual contains the criteria used by psychiatrists to diagnose the various disorders. All diagnoses are subjective in nature. There is no blood, urine or MRI etc. test that can be used to diagnose them. Self diagnosis or diagnosis of another by a non-professional is usuallyt wrong.

Good luck in understanding this altogether too often misunderstood disease, good mental health, peace and Love!

A condition suffered by a great number of the population on earth.

or see the following link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophren...

when people hear voices and they cannot tell the difference between the voices and reality.

A mental illness that can cause hallucinations and hearing voices. It can cause a person to behave erratically, as if he is a different person at times.
It is most often hereditary.
It is NOT multiple personalities (otherwise known as Disassociated Identity Disorder) as some have suggested. That is caused by psychological trauma. It is VERY different from schizophrenia but people often mistake them as being the same.

Schizophrenia is NOT mutliple personalities.

Schizophrenia is a psychotic illness lasting at least 6 months in length and characterized by at least two of the following: hallucinations, delusions, grossly disorganized speech, grossly disorganized behavior or prominent negative symptoms (affective flattening, alogia, or avolition). You only need one criteria if the delusions are bizarre (aliens are living in my basement, radio transmitter in my teeth), voices are talking back and forth or voices are doing a running commentary on your behavior. These symptoms have to cause dysfunction in your life.

In simple terms, schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness in which people have difficulty with their ability to perceive reality. They may see/hear things that are not really there, they may believe strange things despite evidence to the contrary (think they have transmitter in their teeth despite x-ray proving not), and think in ways that you would believe to be confused, irrational and illogical. There are different types of schizophrenia depending on what symptoms are most prominent. Generally speaking, symptoms of schizophrenia present first between the ages of 17-35 with men getting ill, on average, earlier than women. About 1% of the population is effected and there are various theories, including possible viral exposure at birth or genetic transmission, for why it occurs. The predominant theory at this time is that it is a brain illness caused by relative excesses or deficiencies (depending on the part of the brain) of a neurotransmitter called dopamine. Treatment at this time is predominantly medication, a group called antipsychotics. Many people do not believe they have a problem and thus are not compliant, causing them to get sick repeatedly despite improvements in symptoms while on meds. Despite popular misconceptions people with schizophrenia are not more violent than the general population though their illness is such that they have a higher rate of suicide that the average person.

Not every person who has problems with perception of reality has schizophrenia. Medical problems, substance intoxication and other mental illness can have symptoms like schizophrenia and have to be ruled out before that diagnosis can be made. For that reason, people that are suspected to have that illness should be seen by a psychiatrist.

i know a lot of people with it , you hear voices in your head all the time , some good some bad you need to see a Dr for it and get on meds its a chemical imbalance of the brain, i know a lot of people that have it and you wouldn't know once your adjusted on the right med, there young and old, all of them are living a full an productive life, some are woman with children and men , the meds work on both sexes , a good show to watch for schizophrenia, is< a brilliant mind.> Russell crow plays in it,,,

A person who hallucinates (seeing things and hearing voices) ...telling them cruel things usually..they might also have paranoia and think that FBI or CIA is after them..usually they can't tell what's reality and what's fantasy...unless they get on medication which suppresses the symptoms....you should see a movie called "A Beautiful Mind" you can actually experience what it's like to have that illness..b/c the movie is seen though a schizophrenic's eyes.

1. schizophrenia is not multiple personalities.

I have it it's like hearing voices, auditory sometimes visual hallucinations also tactile and smelling hallucinations.

Those hallucinations can go so far that you cant make the difference anymore between reality and hallucination, you go like in another world.

There's other things to it like strange coincidences (for example you have something in mind and then you see it on TV) that happen A LOT.

Voices are usually very negative, hateful.

And what also happens is that you think you have an "open head". Nomore privacy = everybody else can hear your thoughts.

multiple personality's with the dominant one usually being the most sane.

Several personalities. If you think you have it or someone close has it, you should visit a doctor for advice.

multiple personality disorder

usually its said a personality does not know about other personality and takes over you

a new personality is developed usually in case of a shock