Abnormal Psychology: Mental DisordersSchizophreniaSchizophrenia is a disorder that can affect anyone. It is the biggest disorder that affects teenagers. When someone is affected by the disorder, it is not only that person who must learn to cope with it, the patients' families must learn to cope with it too. There are many possible causes of the disorder, and many doctors believe there is more than one cause. For many years, the root cause was thought to be a chemical imbalance in the brain. It could be an imbalance in the number of neurotransmitters and/or an imbalance in the amount of dopamine. Stress is not thought to directly cause schizophrenia, but it often worsens existing symptoms. some doctors believe that schizophrenia could be the result of a slow-acting virus since symptoms can be delayed for many years after the first infection. Another possible cause of the disorder is a genetic predisposition. This has yet to be proven, but is considered a probable cause as children who have a parent affected by the disease are ten times more likely to develop the disease than children who have abnormal parents. If both parents have the disease, the probability of their children having the disease rises to forty times that of a child with normal parents. Sometimes just as important as finding out what causes a disease is finding what doesn't cause a disease. It is said that schizophrenia is not caused by an overbearing mother and/or a passive father, is not caused by childhood experiences, poverty, or is not caused by a sense of guilt or failure. People suffering from schizophrenia can be divided into three equal groups: those who have only one episode in their entire life, those who have continuous episodes but live a normal life with each other, and a third group who have endless symptoms. The symptoms that define an episode of schizophrenia can generally be described as a deterioration from a previous level of functioning. The number one symptom of schizophrenia is the inability to separate the real from the unreal. As stress begins to build and symptoms worsen, there is often a decline in work performance along with a decline in relationships with others. Since these symptoms might start very mildly, it is especially the family... middle of paper... a great emotional strain for those who suffer from them, with many side effects of their own. The first thing that needs to be done to help a person with an eating disorder is to talk to them about it. It is not uncommon for them to initially become angry because their secret is exposed, but they must be forced to seek professional help. While there are many different mental disorders and illnesses, they all seem to have some things in common. Uncertainty of cause appears to be the case with many disorders. Some doctors feel strongly one way, while others think there is an entirely different cause. Over time, what is believed to be the causes of a disorder often change due to new research being done every day. Until the causes of disorders are discovered, there will always be speculation about how to best treat patients with a particular disorder. It also varies if one doctor says a certain type of treatment helps and another doctor says the exact same treatment is useless or even harmful, as is the case with ECT. Until researchers better understand the brain, the treatment of disorders found there will always be a matter of debate.