Schizophrenia is a very serious brain disorder that affects about two percent of the world's population; usually developing in a person by the time they reach twenty-five years old. It varies in its symptoms severity and extent from person to person and interferes with an individual's ability to think and feel.. People normally experience unusual thoughts, hallucinations and delusions, and difficulty expressing themselves clearly. Contrary to the associated misconceptions with schizophrenia, has nothing to do with a "split personality". The precise cause of schizophrenia remains unknown though most experts believe that people may inherit a vulnerability to develop the illness if it has a history in the family. It is also believed that certain brain abnormalities are a source of its foundation. These normally consist of chemical imbalances and/or either very high or low numbers of neurotransmitters that are present in the patient's brain. Dopamine, a chemical found in the brain, is usually abnormally high in the brain of a schizophrenia person. Schizophrenic patients face an ongoing struggle to distinguish what is their fantasy from what is real.
             Research of the symptoms along with schizophrenia was not developed until sometime into the 1950's. Up until that period of time, patients were simply labeled "mad" and spent a great portion of their lives in asylums. Symptoms that affect a person with schizophrenia most always interrupt their lives and ability to think plainly. There are two different categories of symptoms. The first is Positive Symptoms and the second is Negative Symptoms. Positive Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, unexplainable thought disorder, and an all around bizarre behavior. Negative Symptoms include blunting or flattening, a weak sense of response, and social withdrawal from the outside world and interaction with people. Hallucinations are a very evident sign of schizoph...