Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a condition that has been recognized throughout history, but which has not been greatly understood by either the medical community or the public until recent decades. Involving strange beliefs (such as the conviction that aliens are reading your mind, that someone is controlling their thoughts or plotting to do them harm) and symptoms (hallucinations, hearing voices, speaking in ways that make no sense cognitively, sitting absolutely still for hours on end), schizophrenia can be a debilitating mental condition. However, there are new and evolving theories on the causes of schizophrenia.
Genetics and Environment
Schizophrenia is partially a genetic disorder. While medical science hasn't been able to pinpoint the genes responsible, the perspective that schizophrenia is at least somewhat a failing of genetics is backed up by tests that have been performed on families and on twin siblings. The other half of the equation, though, is a potential schizophrenic's environment. If a person who is genetically predisposed to the condition experiences a hostile environment with a great deal of stressors, then that stress interacts with his or her genetics and causes the person to develop schizophrenia.
Treatment
Treatment has also learned to incorporate the psychosocial aspects of the cause of schizophrenia. Even if patients are helped by antipsychotic medication, they are also asked to undergo psychosocial counseling and therapy. Teaching schizophrenics to communicate better, to manage stress and to organize themselves can help them move on and deal with the residual effects of their condition. By treating the causes of social and psychological stress in patients, and helping them to cope with those causes, they can be better prepared to deal with schizophrenia.
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