Wednesday, February 6, 2013

OCD Schizophrenia - The Fact Behind Differences and Similarities


Expert Author Sigmond Powell
Schizophrenia and Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are not alike. Yes, you've read it right. They are two different things but often co-occur with one another. Statistics show that approximately 15 out of 100 people who suffer from OCD also have schizophrenia.
What really is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a grave mental sickness characterized by a gradual breakdown in a man's process of thinking and emotional awareness. This is believed to be influenced by risk factors such as heredity, depression, environment, drug addiction and a remarkable increase of dopamine levels in the brain. Signs and symptoms are typically manifested during childhood and young adulthood which include hallucinations, paranoid delusions, disorganized speech and catatonia. These in turn result in a person's both social and occupational dysfunction. Schizophrenia is being classified by health professionals into paranoid type, disorganized type, catatonic type, undifferentiated type, residual type, according to the individual's existing and presenting signs and symptoms. People who suffer from schizophrenia often have big troubles in establishing and maintaining both personal and public relationships. If the situation happens to get worse, hospitalization is often necessary.
OCD and Schizophrenia: Compared
While these two disorders equally affect both males and females they are often mistaken and interchanged, OCD as schizophrenia or schizophrenia as OCD. This is because obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia have a lot of things in common and their manifesting signs and symptoms often overlap, same as with the concerned pharmacotherapy and the brain area being affected by both disorder. It is important to note, however, that many clinical studies show that those who suffer from OCD are less likely to develop schizophrenia, although those with schizophrenia are more likely to develop OCD.
In some cases, symptoms of OCD and schizophrenia may overlap adding to the difficulty of exploring and finding out the clear relationship between these two disorders. However, one significant manifestation of schizophrenia is the presence of delusions. Delusions are truly false irrational thoughts or beliefs contained by the sufferer even with the presence of strong evidences that suggests those are incorrect. While obsessions in OCD are usually associated with ideas of contamination, sexual impulses, symmetry or asymmetry, and hoarding things, delusions on the other hand are typically related to illogical thoughts of being a super hero with special powers and ideology associated with persecution wherein the individual with schizophrenia believes that whatever is happening around has always have something to do with him or her.
As it is difficult to diagnose the illness ourselves, it is much advisable to consult experts. Seeking help from a respected psychologist or psychiatrist would be better. They are the ones most eligible in finding natural, traditional, and modern techniques in the course treatment of OCD Schizophrenia.
The author is a psychology teacher for 15 long years and have had taught many about this field. She believes that despite technological advancements, we should not set aside natural ways of healing. To know more about natural and safe alternatives for addressing OCD SCHIZOPHRENIA, CLICK HERE.

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