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