Реферат: Schizophrenia A Life Destroyer Essay Research Paper
similar-acting antipsychotic medications have been developed. These drugs work by
blocking binding sites of dopamine, which is a main factor in schizophrenia. Chlorpromazine
was first used as an antihistamine. Then, it was found to calm hyperactive schizophrenic patients
out of withdrawal and reduced major symptoms of the disease. A lot of false medication was
used before the discovery of chlorpromazine. An insulin coma, as one example, was used to
relieve most symptoms by overloading the patient?s body with insulin. This helped some
patients, because it calmed them down, but killed most of them.
Electroconvulsive therapy, where brief pulses of electronegativity are passed through the
brain, was also used. It was thought that using this type of treatment, symptoms could be reduced
or eliminated, but it did neither. This only helped the severely depressed and only calmed them
for a little while. Doctors also attempted a frontal lobotomy, which was a surgical removal of the
front parts of the brain. A frontal lobotomy was done because it was thought that the front part of
the brain was responsible for schizophrenia. This did nothing but make a quieter patient. These
practices were commonly used to try to suppress the main symptoms of schizophrenia. Mainly,
these practices did nothing but torture the patient and make him or her suffer extremely. (Young
67-68) Many schizophrenics will carry on conversations with voices or people who are not really
there. The voices may tell them what to do and how to harm themselves or others. This puts the
patient at a huge risk for committing suicide. The medication that is prescribed to them attempts
to stop the voices or other symptoms. In turn, most schizophrenics would experience severely
painful side effects. These side effects included constipation, drowsiness, dry mouth and blurred
vision, which would most like diminish after a few weeks. Other side effects that is less likely to
diminish included restlessness, slurred speech, trembling of hands and feet, muscle rigidity in the
neck and head. Most patients experienced a tremendous amount of weight gain and could not
lose the extra pounds, while some also experienced sun sensitivity and fainting.
The next story is one case of schizophrenia. It shows what a typical schizophrenic would
go through in life. The ending is like most schizophrenics, where the stress becomes too much
and the patient attempts to escape it by killing themselves. Eighteen to fifty-five percent of
people living with schizophrenia attempt suicide, with more than ten percent of a success rate
(Bathen pg. 14). Many schizophrenics cannot cope with the stresses of everyday life and feel that