You have probably heard about this popular mental disorder, which is portrayed in many media, not only in newspapers and TV news, but also in movies, TV shows, and books.
What have you learned about schizophrenia from the media and other entertainment sources?
In most cases, schizophrenia is a disorder defined by a split in the patient\’s personality. The affected person is paranoid, aggressive, unable to perceive reality, and most often has multiple separate personalities living in the body (especially the mind) that overlap and alternate “onstage” with one another through narratives, sometimes contradicting, sometimes agreeing. The result, however, is almost always the same. It is a murderous combination of multiple entities in one person\’s head, and that person is forced to do terrible things.

So what is the truth? What do we need to know about schizophrenia?
– This mental illness can take many forms. It is not necessarily full of delusions and hallucinations. [Schizophrenia is not a split personality. It is another mental disorder that occurs very rarely in real life.
– What is true, however, is that the patient is not in contact with reality. Or rather, they are adapting reality to the form suggested by the perceptual disturbances they experience, especially the hallucinations and delusions already mentioned. They experience various types of intrusive thoughts, which are persistent and affect their lives to such an extent that it is almost impossible for them to function “normally.”
– Schizophrenia is hereditary. Each may inherit a predisposition, a neurological set-up, or something in the brain that may predispose one to this disease.
– The first signs are observed in adolescence or young adulthood. It is characterized by a distancing from society and becoming a bit of an oddball. For example, they may have very unusual hobbies, be uninterested in things that their peers are interested in, be unsociable, or, in short, be a bit out of place.

– The delusional form of this disorder often involves delusions that plant the idea in the patient\’s brain that someone/something is persecuting them. This persistent thought tends to trigger an exaggerated and realistic fantasy, in which all events around them are combined into an absurd narrative of being persecuted and having to escape the situation. This is why schizophrenics are dangerous. Not because they are intentionally trying to hurt someone, but because they are unable to calmly recognize their surroundings, and their attempts to get out of dangerous situations, such as being persecuted, can get out of hand and lead to aggressive behavior – both toward themselves and others.