Schizophrenia

Women's Mental Health Home > Mental Health Conditions > Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is the most chronic (long-lasting) and disabling of mental health disorders. People with schizophrenia do not have multiple personalities — it is a disorder that causes symptoms of psychosis, such as:

hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing things that don't exist)
delusions (bizarre thoughts of being persecuted, cheated, poisoned, or harassed or thoughts that are not based on truth or fact)
disordered thinking
social withdrawal

Although equal numbers of men and women are affected with this disorder, women with schizophrenia may have more depressive symptoms, paranoia and auditory hallucinations (hearing voices or things that don't exist) than do men.

Some people with schizophrenia have only one psychotic episode. Others have many episodes during a lifetime, but lead relatively normal lives during the interim periods. Treatments such as medications, when used regularly and as prescribed, can help reduce and control many symptoms. But, people with chronic schizophrenia, a continuous or recurring pattern of illness, continue to suffer symptoms throughout their lives.

[Return to Top]

Additional Resources

Publications

Schizophrenia - This fact sheet provides a very brief but easy to understand explanation of the symptoms, treatment, and diagnosis of schizophrenia.
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/ken98-0052/default.asp
Schizophrenia - This publication provides an overview of schizophrenia including the signs, symptoms, treatment options, and where to go for help.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/schizophreniamenu.cfm
Work-Site Accommodation Ideas for Persons with Psychiatric Impairments - This report contains basic information about common limitations, useful questions to consider, and accommodation possibilities for people who have psychiatric disabilities.
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/media/Psychiatric.html
Patients & Families (Copyright © NARSAD) - This web site contains links to brochures for patients and their families who were just diagnosed with schizophrenia.
http://www.narsad.org/dc/patients_families/
Schizoaffective Disorder (Copyright © MHA) - This publication presents general information on symptoms and methods of treatment for schizoaffective disorder: a mixture of mood disorders and schizophrenia.
http://mentalhealthamerica.net/index.cfm?objectid=C7DF97FD-1372-4D20-C8F0FBF1C871E040...
Schizophrenia: Newer Medicines (Copyright © AAFP) - This on-line publication provides information on schizophrenia, how it is treated, and new drugs for treatment. Schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling illness that may be caused by abnormal amounts of certain chemicals in the brain.
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/mentalhealth/treatment/266.html...
Schizophrenia: What You Need to Know (Copyright © MHA) - This fact sheet provides information on the causes, symptoms and treatments of schizophrenia.
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/information/get-info/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-what-you-need-to-kno...

Organizations

= Indicates Federal Resources

[Return to Top]