Delusions of grandeur are false beliefs held by an individual in which they believe with full conviction that they are a celebrity, person of high rank, omnipotent, and/or a powerful entity – despite significant evidence to the contrary. Imagine waking up one day thinking that you’re the president of the United States, despite the fact …
Many people lack understanding of the mental illness that is schizophrenia. When most people think of schizophrenia, they think of split personalities – which is something completely different. Those who are familiar with the illness know that it is characterized by “positive symptoms” such as hallucinations and delusions, “negative symptoms” such as avolition, depression, apathy, …
A recent discovery has shown that the serious mental illness that is schizophrenia is actually a group of 8 distinct genetic disorders. Although genetic research has been difficult for those involved in the field of mental health, it is the future of all medicine and humanity. Simply altering neurotransmitters with drugs is a short term …
Latuda (Lurasidone) is a new atypical antipsychotic drug that is approved for the treatment of depressive episodes in bipolar disorder (type 1) as well as schizophrenia. It is considered a relatively new drug as it was just approved in 2013 to treat depressive episodes for people with bipolar I disorder. This drug is somewhat unique …
The symptoms that people experience during schizophrenia can vary depending on the subtype of the illness. There are 5 types of schizophrenia as recognized by the DSM (Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and although many have similar general symptoms, there are various features that can distinguish one subtype from the others. A diagnosis …
Undifferentiated schizophrenia is characterized by general symptoms of schizophrenia that do not fit a specific classification or diagnosis of another subtype. People may exhibit the traditional “positive” and “negative” symptoms, but they may fluctuate over a period of time. This type of schizophrenia can be particularly challenging to diagnose with confidence because someone needs to …
Residual schizophrenia is one of the 5 types of schizophrenia that is characterized by a long-term history of negative symptoms (i.e. psychomotor slowing), with very infrequent or rare occurrences of positive symptoms. To meet the criteria for diagnosis, the person must have experienced positive symptoms (e.g. hallucinations/delusions/etc.) at some point. With that said, the person …