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Celebrity living with the illness - Actress, Megan Fox, spoke for the first time about her struggle with schizophrenia in 2009. At the time, she stated that she suffered from auditory hallucinations, paranoia and social dysfunction.

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Schizophrenia - People suffering from schizophrenia behave inappropriately in social contexts and cannot differentiate reality from their own internal world.

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Age - The illness usually manifests in adolescence or early adulthood.

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Population - Schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 people with 40 new cases per 100,000 people arising per year.

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Gender - Schizophrenia affects women and men equally.

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Men - The illness generally appears earlier in men, between 20 and 25 years of age.

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Women - On average, the illness appears between 25 and 30 years of age in women.

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Symptoms: delusions - A patient will experience false ideas and beliefs and accept them as real. They may think they are being followed or observed by hidden cameras, neighbors or people they pass on the street. It is also common for them to feel that people around them are trying to hurt them.

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Symptoms: hallucinations - The person may experience false perceptions, such as hearing voices or seeing things that aren't really there.

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Symptoms: disturbed thought processes - Thoughts can become confusing, unorganized or disconnected, making the patient's speech difficult to understand.

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Symptoms: disturbed affect - Many patients are unable to react emotionally to situations, seeming indifferent and expressionless.

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Symptoms: lack of motivation - The patient loses their will to do anything, becoming unanimated and apathetic. It becomes harder for them to complete their daily tasks.

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Other symptoms - Concentrating is very difficult for people with schizophrenia.

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Other symptoms - Motor skills are also affected.

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Other symptoms - Being extremely suspicious of everyone and everything around them is another symptom of the illness.

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More symptoms - Indifference, mood swings and social isolation are just a few more of the symptoms that can appear with schizophrenia.

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Causes - No one knows for sure what causes schizophrenia. However, genetics has been found to play a role in whether or not a person will develop the illness.

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Genetics - This mental illness is a challenge for researchers because it is still unknown how schizophrenia is passed on genetically.

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Environmental factors - External factors that affect the developing nervous system of a fetus seem to have some influence in the manifestation of the disorder.

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Brain - Some patients have been found to have altered brain chemistry or even physical abnormalities in certain regions of the brain.

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Neurotransmitters - Biochemical alterations of certain neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine, seem to be related to the illness.

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Two ways to approach treatment - The treatment of schizophrenia involves addressing the symptoms of the disorder with medication, as well as reintegrating the patient into society through psychotherapy treatment.

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Specific remedies - A psychiatrist will prescribe anti-psychotic or neuroleptic medications.

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Psychosocial - Psychological treatment is necessary to reintegrate the patient into society and ensure that they have healthy relationships with friends and family.

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Psychological treatment - Patients generally need psychotherapy, occupational therapy and other interventions to help them deal with the difficulties of daily life.

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Family - Family members are the most important allies to a person with schizophrenia. It's important that they are educated about the illness and understand the associated symptoms and attitudes in order to best support their loved one.

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Support and understanding -

It's important to be supportive, understanding and patient throughout treatment and even after. Hostile and critical attitudes or overprotective behavior will only harm the person.

See also: Everyday things you didn’t realize are harming your mental health

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