contact with reality along with major personality derangements. Schizophrenia affects an estimated one percent of the population Schizophrenia is a complex disorder characterized by a constellation of distinctive and predictable symptoms that are most commonly associated with the disease. It is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man. Schizophrenia is not a spilt personality, a rare and very different disorder. Schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness are expensive diseases. A recent study found that the cost of schizophrenia alone was comparable to the cost of arthritis or coronary artery disease (D.J. Kupfer and F.E. Bloom, eds., Psychopharmacology: The Fourth Generation of Progress, 1995): schizophrenia costs $33 billion per year; arthritis costs $38 billion per year; and coronary artery disease costs $43 billion per year. The costs included both direct costs of treatment as well as indirect costs such as lost productivity.
             Schizophrenia usually begins by the individual having a "psychotic episode" (serious onset of symptoms) the symptoms are divided into two main categories, positive and negative. Positive does not mean good but rather indicates an excess of normal functions. The positive symptoms include: Delusions (a phenomenon that the persons culture would regard as totally implausible), and hallucinations (a sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of true perception but occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.) The person may also "slip off track" form the one topic to another in a way that makes no sense (derailment). They may make up strange words, or use words in ways that make no sense (called word salad). The person may also have bizarre or disorganized behaviors. Examples include difficulty performing simple activities of daily living, wearing multiple raincoats on clear hot days, or having trouble with hygiene. The...