Born With Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is when someone has delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior and weak signs of emotion and socialization. Now evidence shows, that it is extremely rare for it to be genetic. Question is, when can it be?

One of the strongest evidence for a genetic influence would have to be to locate the gene that is consistently linked with schizophrenia. Then again, if schizophrenia depended on a single gene, it would be hard for that gene to remain in 1% of the population, given the natural selection pressures against it.

So if schizophrenia has a genetic basis, but we can’t find that link and it can’t be passed down through many generations, then how is this possible? Take Jani’s family for example.

Jani is known as the world’s youngest Schizophrenic. Though people can be born with schizophrenia, they are more likely to be diagnosed around their 20s. Well unfortunately for Jani, she was diagnosed at the age of seven. She would have delusions and hallucinations of cats, dogs, rats and even kids. At the age of nine, her parents believed that it would be difficult for Jani and her brother to live together at the time, they decided to get two-one bedroom apartments across from each other in the same area. They thought it had worked so well that they decided to move back into one apartment. Overall, it seemed as a roller-coaster or to put it this way; every time they took two steps forward, they wound up taking one step back. They would have their good days and their bad days. And now Bodhi (Jani’s little brother), who was diagnosed with Autism, is going through the same slope as Jani was, even she believes that he has schizophrenia.

This brings us back to my question; now, research also says that schizophrenia can also be developed environmentally, so what do you think, does Bodhi show schizophrenic symptoms? Did he inherit the gene?  

Electroconvulsive Therapy: Helpful or Not?

Usually people with depression tend to be treated either with antidepressants or psychotherapy. But what happens if neither will work? Have you ever heard of electroconvulsive therapy, also known as ECT?

Now you might have heard of it before, but most likely from a negative point of view. Truth is, despite of its stormy history, ECT is among the safest and most effective treatments available for depression.

What they do is they place electrodes on the patient’s scalp and a finely controlled electric current is applied while the patient is under general anesthesia. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain. It might sound scary and a little painful at first, but ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It’s also very effective for patients who suffer from mania or other mental illnesses. 

Take this character for example; from the show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, rock star Derek Lord goes on a national talk show and lectures about the about the abuse of psychiatric drugs. Reason for doing so was because he himself was treated for a psychiatric disorder (depression and suicidal), but with a different method, ECT. He would explain how they would turn him over so he wouldn’t choke on his own vomit and make him develop these seizures. But when they asked him if it cured him of his suicidal thoughts, he said he never had one since.

These are the kind of risk factors that make you think, do you agree with electroconvulsive therapy, do you agree on psychiatry, would you risk your life to save it?

Fear Comes in Many Forms: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

My aunt is never afraid of a challenge; she can get on the highest roller coaster, go bungee jumping, even cliff diving. Makes me wish I could have that kind of courage. But there is one BIG thing that she could never do. Unfortunately, she had a traumatic experience with WATER as a child, and now, if she ever heard of a task that involved water; her spine would start to shiver, her breathing would become more shallow, she would also say that her heart felt like it was about to explode.  You think you know someone at first, but then they could change into a completely different person if being placed into a traumatic setting. She could be diagnosed with what is known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a typed of anxiety disorder that could occur after you've seen or experienced a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. In her case, its severeness is only minimal than compared to the most common risk factor for this disorder: WAR VETERANS.

Veterans who were diagnosed with PTSD may have witnessed people who were injured or dying, or may have been physically injured during the mission. Some of the most common symptoms of PTSD include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling anger and irritability. Take this clip for example; in the movie Stop-Loss, actor Channing Tatum plays a character of a soldier who shows the effects of PTSD. His friend/squad member finds him drunk, digging up a foxhole in his front yard and his wife with a bruise on her face. Steve (Channing Tatums character) felt like he was back at the military base and Brandon (the friend) was unable to get through to him.

The cause of PTSD is unknown. Psychological, genetic, physical, and social factors are involved. It is not known WHY traumatic events cause PTSD in some people but not others. This just gives us another reason why FEAR is our greatest weakness.