Studies say that about 1 percent of the population will be diagnosed with schizophrenia sometime during their life. This means that schizophrenia is quite a widespread illness. Schizophrenia is a life-long illness, and it is usually diagnosed in late adolescence or early adulthood.People that have schizophrenia may hear voices that others don't hear, may believe that other persons want to harm them, are reading their thoughts, or other weird things. These experiences are terrifying, and they cause fear, withdrawal, and agitation.Usually, schizophrenic people are not violent, they rather prefer to be left alone. They can sit for hours without moving, or when the talk to someone, they may not make sense.

It was seen that for many persons, the debut of schizophrenia starts with a period of anxiety, depression, withdrawal from friends, sleep problems, and this is called a "prodromal" period. This period will last about six months to 2 years, and after that, schizophrenia's first psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions will appear. This person will see, hear, smell or feel something that no one else does, and these are the hallucinations, and the delusions are false personal beliefs that aren't part of the person's culture.Statistics say that these psychotic symptoms usually appear in men in their late teens and early 20s, and in women in their mid-20s to early 30s. Scientists believe that schizophrenia is a result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors, but there is no definitive test that can be used to diagnose schizophrenia, and also, it cannot be predicted if someone has the probability to develop this illness.Schizophrenia is diagnosed after the psychiatrist talks with the patient and his family, but there is hope that the researchers will develop a brain-imaging or blood test to diagnose a patient who has schizophrenia.Treatment is very important, and it must include antipsychotic medications, but also therapy and vocational rehabilitation. It is also important for the patient to have a support system, which may include family members, a job counselor and medical professionals.A lot of those who follow treatment are able to establish positive and meaningful lives with families, and work, some full time, and others part time.

It is known that schizophrenia is a long-lasting disease, and also, many of the patients do not have families, or jobs because of this illness. However, many of the patients with schizophrenia will get better if they are getting really good care, but those who abuse drugs and/or alcohol will get much worse. There are some patients that don't want to admit they are ill, and avoid working with treaters.It is very important that the treatment to be started as early as possible, because that will keep the brain healthier and make things better for the patient.