Schizophrenia Lifestyle
Christie Pamphile
Miami Dade College

Schizophrenia Lifestyle
I chose Schizophrenia because people have the mindset of thinking they’re crazy when that isn’t the case. Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that shouldn’t be taken lightly. “People with schizophrenia have a higher risk of medical illness than does the general population”(Connolly, Kelly, p.125). Many people suffering from Schizophrenia have learned to live their lives normally by taking slower steps. What people fail to realize is that living with this disorder isn’t an easy task. According to Champagne (2012), Schizophrenia is one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses (Living with Schizophrenia, para.1). In today’s society, those associated with schizophrenia tend to be labeled based on their appearances such as a homeless man or woman, dirt under their fingernails, talking amongst themselves, locked in hospitals with bars on the windows, and one of the most common being violence. The misconceptions of schizophrenia are entirely false. The majority of people with schizophrenia reside with family, group homes, or on their own. This paper is a modest attempt to comprehend the lifestyle of schizophrenia, schizophrenia symptoms, and the facts as well as the statistics of schizophrenia. People living with schizophrenia have difficult time seeing a collection of object as a group. DeAngelis (2010) explained if they’re looking at face, for instance, they’ll perceive the hands, the dial and the numbers as separate forms, but it’s hard for them to process the watch face as a whole. The symptom of schizophrenia varies, ranging from positive, negative or cognitive symptoms. Positive symptoms are people dealing with hallucinations, such as hearing voices, paranoid delusions, and exaggerated or distorted perceptions, beliefs and behaviors. Negative symptoms signify a loss or decrease in the ability to initiate plans, speak, express emotion or find pleasure (“Schizophrenia”, n.d.). Someone with schizophrenia may act in an extremely paranoid manner. For instance, purchasing multiple locks for their doors at home, always checking behind them as they are walking in public, refusing to talk on the phone. Without prior knowledge, these behaviors may seem irrational or illogical. But to someone with schizophrenia, these behaviors may display a reasonable reaction to their false beliefs that others are out to get them or lock them up. Lastly, a cognitive symptom indicates confused and disordered speech, problems with memory, trouble with logical thinking, and difficulty paying attention and making decisions (“Schizophrenia”, n.d.). This is where family plays an important role for the person going through schizophrenia. Helping that person finds the right treatment, cope with symptoms, and navigate the road to recovery (Smith & Seagal, 2014). Some may find the task to be frustrating or challenging because they don’t know how to control a situation where someone they love has caught a schizophrenia crisis. One must remember not