PSYC1030 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Auditory Hallucination, Avolition
PSYC1030 Lecture Ten: Schizophrenia
• In Western nations, one in five people have a mental illness once in their life, varying
on age, gender, and cultural background, either short illnesses or episodic illness from
which they will never fully recover
• Only half of the people who experience a mental illness receive any kind of
intervention, evidence-based or otherwise
• The stigma around mental illness is a serious drawback to helping people with
illnesses
Schizophrenia
• Worldwide the prevalence rate for schizophrenia is estimated to be between 0.5% and
1%
• Often referred to the prototypical psychotic disorder because it is the most common
psychotic disorder, and because the illness disturbs all five symptom domains
• Is one of the highest impact disorders due to the experience on the individual with the
illness and their family members and friends as well, as well as the economic cost as
well, in terms of the amount of money the illness costs the community
• Although the occurrence of schizophrenia is similar between males and females, there
is a difference in the age ranges, most common between ages 15 and 35 years
(uncommon to develop before 10 and after 40 if it occurs after 40, it's called onset
schizophrenia). Men tend to develop the illness earlier in the lives, typically 21.
Females tend to develop it a bit later, typically around 27
• The lifetime risk for suicide for people with schizophrenia is approximately 5%, the risk
factors including
-being male
-being younger
-high level of education
And later in life:
-family history of suicide
-comorbid substance use
• Illness related factors associated with suicide include:
-depressive symptoms
-prior suicide attempts
• People with schizophrenia, on average, tend to die much earlier than expected, with up
to 40% of premature deaths being caused by suicide or unnatural deaths
• This illness is also across different cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds
• However, there is some evidence that lower socioeconomic status is a social factor
associated with the illness
• People with mental illnesses are often stigmatised and discriminated against by
society, more specifically and brutally in the past. With minimal scientific knowledge
about psychosis, people experiencing any symptoms would have been classified as
"insane" or "feebleminded"
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• Today when it comes to mental illnesses, the two most commonly used diagnostic
systems are
-the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and
-the International Classification of Disease (ICD)
• In the current DSM (DSM-5) Schizophrenia belongs to the Schizophrenia Spectrum and
Other Psychotic Disorders category. There is criterion that a person must check to be
diagnosed with schizophrenia, they include: symptoms, dysfunction, duration,
exclusive of other possible causes of the presentation (e.g. substance use or other
mental health issues)
• In order to check the symptoms criteria, one must have made the symptoms of
schizophrenia for a six-month period or longer, with at least one month of active
symptoms. The five main symptoms are:
-delusions
-hallucinations
-disorganised speech
-grossly disorganised or catatonic behaviour
-negative symptoms
An individual doesn’t necessarily need to show all these symptoms, just two or more
of them.
• The symptoms of psychotic disorders are typically though as and referred to as
negative symptoms and positive symptoms
• Positive symptoms are the behaviours or experiences that make up these symptoms
are happening too much
• Negative symptoms are behaviours or experiences that are essentially deficit, not
occurring the desired amount
Delusions
• Delusions are considered to be a positive symptom, and related to thought, specifically
related to the content of thought
• Thought can be broken down into content and form
• Delusions involve people having false belief, so the content of their thoughts is
inaccurate or false. Their false thoughts are not explained by their religious or cultural
beliefs
• Delusions are false beliefs that a person holds despite all evidence to the contrary, and
it is futile to try and persuade someone with a delusion that they are incorrect, it can
seem antagonistic to them
• There are several types of delusion
-delusion of persecution: a paranoia that someone is out to get them; watching them,
following them, inserted a microchip into their brains to monitor their thoughts
-delusions of grandeur: a person believes that they possess qualities or attributes that
make them superior to others; money, fame, intellect, special relationship with
someone in a position of power. They really think they are famous or achieved
something really phenomenal
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