“Schi-Schi-Schi-Schizophrenia. Renia. Hear us talk-we know who you are. Know –know-know- who you are. You are not-not-not-you. We-are-here. Not-Not –in your-head-head-head…here”

“Schi-Schi-Schi-Schizophrenia. Renia. It’s me- me- It’s me”

“It’s me”

*Cue Jumpscare*

You are hearing sounds. Your vision is blurry. Blurry. You cannot concentrate on what you are doing. Sounds that tell you to do something. You feel like you are being watched constantly or living between different dimensions. One you can sense, and one which you exist in and know that you are within, but not sense. The feeling of thinking you are not doing what you think you are doing currently.

Did you know that every two in one people are schizophrenic? Take a second to think about that…no, really, do.

You also cannot smile at the right time. Or cry at the right time. You cannot maintain or commit to something. You can also have “speech problems” or madness. You basically have a split between reality and the other side in your brain, that constantly keep merging. Like a lucid dream. It is a serious brain issue and can affect all ages, and sometimes, although rarely, children. People would make no sense when they talk.

Other symptoms would be talking in a dull tone, like Donald Trump, or having a Kanye West style face constantly. People would believe they are in danger or that people on the radio or TV are talking to them,  addressing them personally even though it is intended for everyone. They would also talk very little, even when they are not supposed to. It should not be confused with being an introvert or neurotic, and those are completely different things. Their sudden changes in motion can be erratic or mad. It should also not be confused with Autism. It is worse than that.

There are two kinds of symptoms: positive and negative. It is classed as a psychotic illness and it is scary. Although I am not schizophrenic, I did experience some of its symptoms when I suffered from sleep paralysis, and that is why I know firsthand how horrific it is. As I said, schizophrenia is like the world between worlds. It is a mixture of autism and neurosis but with an extra special package of hallucinations. Oh jeez…thanks. Just what we need.

With the positive symptoms, they occur if you have an imbalance in your dopamine levels. This happy hormone is needed when your neurons transmit messages in the chemicals. An imbalance of this hormone leads to defects, especially in the emotive parts of your brain. You become stuck between two worlds. Schizophrenic people also tend to have thinner grey matter, and so are not exactly complex. This shows that it is no less physical than cancer or Alzheimer’s. Drugs have been used in an attempt to regulate the happy hormones, but their molecular mechanisms are still yet to be understood.

Here is a difference between positive and negative symptoms:

Positive scale

• Delusions
• Conceptual disorganization
• Hallucinations
• Hyperactivity
• Grandiosity
• Suspiciousness/persecution
• Hostility

Negative

• Blunted affect
• Emotional withdrawal
• Poor rapport
• Passive/apathetic social withdrawal
• Difficulty in abstract thinking
• Lack of spontaneity and flow of conversation
• Stereotyped thinking

Schizophrenic people hear voices because of over activity in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which leads to simple, ambient sound waves being over amplified and changed in a way that becomes creepy. Also, the corpus calloseum (the part of the brain that connects the two halves of the brain and relays info back and forth), is thicker and longer, making it difficult for information to pass through. Hollow muscle holes start to appear in them, called ventricles. In short words, you are almost in split personality. But are not.

Although no cure has been found, some treatments involve trying to balance out the chemical composition of the hormones. The scary fact is that it exists. So don’t discriminate. This is not madness. This is a true mental and physical disease, and hopefully something that can be treated somehow, some day and soon.

If you want to suggest any ideas for further science articles for Sci-No-Fi (no matter what they are) leave me a comment at one of my pictures on Instagram @RABpoetry. Yeah I am a poet too. For the next article, I’m thinking (to write) about HACKING YOUR BRAINS!!!! DUN DUN DUN!!! YOU MIGHT JUST BE ABLE TO EXCEL IN THE SUBJECT OR TALENT YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO MASTER! Unfortunately, I cannot perform miracles and we all know it won’t work on Miley Cyrus so don’t expect the impossible. Until next time, science fans!

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