Background
Schizophrenia is a complex form of mental illness that affects how a person behaves. The stigma that has been associated with schizophrenia has caused it to be one of the most feared and poorly understood forms of mental illness.

What Is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a puzzling and serious brain disorder. It varies in its symptoms severity and duration from person to person and interferes with an individual's ability to think and feel. People with schizophrenia have a difficult time distinguishing between what is fantasy and what is real. People may experience unusual thoughts, hallucinations and difficulty expressing themselves clearly. Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia has nothing to do with a "split personality".

How Many People Are Affected?
·approximately 46,000 people in Ontario have schizophrenia today
·1 in 100 people will develop schizophrenia during their lifetime
·schizophrenia usually effects young adults between the ages of 15 - 25

What Causes Schizophrenia?
The exact cause of schizophrenia remains a mystery though most experts in the area believe that people may inherit a susceptibility to develop the illness. Schizophrenia is thought to be due to a problem in brain development which is most likely genetic in origin.

What Are the Symptoms?
Schizophrenia may start slowly, over a period of months or years. The symptoms of the initial stage usually persist for at least 6 months and may include:
·losing the ability to relax, concentrate or sleep
·being moody or withdrawn
·shutting long term friends out of one's life
·work or school begins to suffer
·personal appearance declines

Three Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Once schizophrenia has taken hold it tends to appear in cycles of remissions and relapses. People with schizophrenia may experience one or all three of the following symptoms:

Delusions: False beliefs that have no basis or reality - an individual may think that they are Napoleon, or that someone is spying on them.
Hallucinations: Hearing voices that comment on their behavior - less often they will see or feel things that are not there.
Thought Disorder: The tendency to jump randomly in conversation from one unrelated topic to another - sometimes rhymes or sounds are substituted for words.

Due to these bizarre behavior patterns, schizophrenia has been thought of as a violent mental illness, however the incidence of violence is extremely low, and if it does occur, the violence often stems from fear.

What Are the Treatments?
Medications are the foundation for the successful treatment of schizophrenia. However, there is not yet a diagnosed cure. Research on schizophrenia continues with the main thrust placed on discovering why the chemical process of the brain fails to function properly.

Research into brain chemistry is progressing so quickly there is every reason to be optimistic that more effective treatment will soon be available.

Medication together with community support, love and understanding from friends and family may allow many individuals with schizophrenia to function in their community. Supportive psychotherapy is the basis of rehabilitation programs. Whatever the recommended treatment from a trained professional, it is important to be well informed.