Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects 2.4 million Americans in a given year and more than 24 million people worldwide. Research suggests that men and women are at equal risk of developing the disease, which occurs at similar rates in all ethnic groups around the world. At this time, no one knows exactly what causes the disease or why it affects some and not others. Just like people who have arthritis or migraines, it’s not your fault that you have schizophrenia. No one is to blame.
Nobody knows for sure what causes schizophrenia. Research suggests that it may be caused by an imbalance of chemicals in the brain. An imbalance in these chemicals can cause messages in the brain to get mixed up. Scientists believe that schizophrenia, like many other illnesses, results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
The symptoms vary from person to person. Some may have many symptoms, while you may only have a few. Generally, symptoms fall into 2 categories. They are called positive symptoms and negative symptoms