The military inadvertently triggers many various forms of mental illness, especially a psychological condition known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. In fact, the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs finds that one in five combat veterans will experience symptoms of PTSD either during or post service. But what happens when soldiers go into battle with preexisting conditions, like schizophrenia? The VA lists schizophrenia as one of the major preexisting psychological diseases that plagues both veterans and civilians alike- approximately one in one hundred people suffer from some type of schizophrenia. Neither PTSD nor schizophrenia should be taken lightly, especially when the two disorders overlap in terms of symptoms and consequences. In this article, learn about the different types of schizophrenia, their symptoms, and
The National Institute for Mental Health refers to schizophrenia as being a “disabling” condition that otherwise cripples the lifestyles of affected individuals. Genetics and physical chemical imbalances in the brain are the two main factors required for a person to develop any of the four types of schizophrenia. WebMD lists the four types of schizophrenia along with in-depth analyses of symptoms. The three main kinds of schizophrenia are paranoid-type, residual-type, and disorganized-type. The fourth type is known as “undifferentiated schizophrenia”, which acts as a combination of either two or even all three other types. All types of schizophrenia greatly alter an individual’s sense of reality, and can potentially inflict self-harm or injury on others. The standard symptoms of schizophrenia, according to NIMH, include “hallucinations, delusions, thought disorders, and movement disorders”.
Below if a break-down of each type of schizophrenia and its unique symptoms:
Paranoid-type involves an affected individual experiencing delusions or hallucinations. The hallucinations can influence all five of the physical senses, especially the eyes and ears. Individuals will be able to see images and hear sounds or voices that do not actually exist. Delusions can further encourage these hallucinations, especially if the delusions cause a person to feel “persecuted by a person or organization” or afraid for his or her safety. For instance, white noise such as television static can easily be interpreted by a paranoid schizophrenic as someone or something (like God or the Devil) trying to communicate with them. The emotional state of paranoid schizophrenics are generally expressed through “anger, aloofness, anxiety, and…argumentative.” One of the more famous paranoid-type schizophrenics of modern times is John Forbes Nash Jr., a mathematician who changed the face of game theory, economics, and mathematics with “Nash equilibrium” that won him a Nobel Peace Prize. The movie A Beautiful Mind, based on Nash’s life story both mentally and academically, helped bring multiple aspects of paranoid-schizophrenia into the public eye
Residual-type schizophrenia is a more complicated form of the disease, as an individual is not currently expressing the “positive symptoms” of schizophrenia, but they have had at least one previous episode involving the disease. “Positive symptoms” include delusions, hallucinations, and thought and speech impairments. Since schizophrenia has no cure, the disease can only go into remission, and this period of remission can reportedly last upwards of a few years. However, positive symptoms are likely to reemerge, especially if treatment options such as therapy and medication has been abandoned. However, it is typical of people who suffer from any type of mental illness, including schizophrenia, to stop taking their medication regularly whenever their symptoms finally subside, not understanding that the medication is what brought them to supposed “remission”. Additionally, the medication used to treat mental illness takes a physical and mental toll on an individual, which also leads patients to purposefully avoid taking their medicine.
Disorganized-type personality is perhaps the most outwardly-obvious form of schizophrenia, since it primarily deals with jumbled thoughts and/or speech. These jumbled thoughts can quickly interfere with daily living activities, says WebMD, such as carrying out conversations, as well as “showering, dressing, and preparing meals”.
Who can develop schizophrenia? The NIMH says that, for whatever reason, males are more prone to developing the disease. Additionally, symptoms of schizophrenia are not typically present at birth, but instead present themselves during anytime between young adulthood all the way through middle-age. People over the age of forty-five usually do not usually develop the disease.
Treatment methods for schizophrenia as well as how schizophrenia compares to PTSD will be discussed in Part 2 of this article under the same title.
Abigail Fazelat is a contributing writer for Operation: I.V., a non-profit organization founded by Gold Star Mother Roxann Abrams who lost her son SFC Randy Abrams to PTSD. Randy took his own life after experiencing a wartime flashback- an experience not uncommon to any combat veteran. As a result, Abrams founded Operation: I.V. as an “intravenous of help” for other Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and contemplating suicide. Fazelat has worked for the organization since October 2013 under a pseudonym.