Beautiful Mind, A

For most people who have it, schizophrenia is a lifelong condition. Statistics show about 1 in 100 people could develop it.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 2 million Americans suffer from schizophrenia in any given year. Of those people, only one in five recovers completely. Remission, when it occurs, follows a lengthy treatment time.

What are the symptoms of this sometimes inherited condition and at what age, typically, do they occur? Onset (which is not always quickly recognized or treated) often begins in the late teens or early twenties. Symptoms impair the patient's ability to function:

Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and social withdrawal. Most people with schizophrenia continue to suffer chronically or episodically throughout their lives. Even between bouts of active illness, lost opportunities for careers and relationships, stigma, residual symptoms, and medication side effects often plague those with the illness. One of every 10 people with schizophrenia eventually commits suicide. (Fact Sheet from the National Institute of Mental Health)