Schizophrenia Among Teenagers

Schizophrenia , Teens and Authority Figures

The teenage years are never easy for anyone . Teenagers always face a certain level of confusion that is associated with finding their place in the world during adolescent years . Now , this confusion is difficult enough when a teenager has the physical looks or the financial status to mask any deficiencies he or she may have , but when there is a perceived abnormality ' in association with the teenager , the confusion and the stress of adolescence becomes much worse . This is further compounded when the problems the teen experience

are rooted in a psychiatric dis . While it would seem that the difficult situation of suffering from a psychiatric disability could not possibly get any worse , often times it does get worse much worse

The reason the problem becomes even more difficult derives from the fact that oftentimes adults do not take seriously the psychological and psychiatric problems that a teenager may face . A common blow off response to teens struggling with psychological diss is to tell the teen that there is nothing wrong with him or her and then combating the teens perceived deficiencies by essentially creating a punishing and stressful environment that forces the teen to act normal Schizophrenia has long been a source of fascination , misunderstanding mystery and misery (Marohn 17

THESIS When the psychological dis is a severe condition such as schizophrenia , such a foolish response and inaction by authority figures will usually , in time , lead to a severe disaster and since such a foolish response is usually based on ignorance of the condition authority figures have a moral obligation to educate themselves about schizophrenia in to recognize it and provide the teen with proper treatment and support

Part of the problem of the inaction by authority figures to aid teens dealing with the issue of schizophrenia is because there is a lack of understanding in regards to what schizophrenia actually is

Schizophrenia is an often-misunderstood illness . Even those who have it do not confusing , terrifying experience . Add to that the normal stress of teenage life , and you have captured the essence of teenage schizophrenia : a world of fear , confusion and helplessness where no one else can join you - a world of your own (Shoemaker

Such a lack of understanding can have severe repercussions . A recent episode of A E 's American Justice chronicled the tale of a teenager who was suffering from schizophrenia induces paranoia where he repeatedly heard voices in his head . Both at school and at home , he would burst into screaming outbreaks begging the voices to stop . What was the school and parental response to his situation ? Punishment . The apparent feeling was there was nothing wrong with him and that by creating an environment of pain and punishment the psychological dis could be repressed and thus , forcing the appearance of a degree of normality , as opposed to any actual serious treatment of the affliction

Unfortunately , the consequences were disastrous as the voices in the teenager 's head eventually drove...