New therapies help people with schizophrenia – but access is woefully inadequate

Misunderstandings about schizophrenia are widespread, including the idea that it causes people to swing between extreme behaviors or personalities.

For example, someone might suddenly desire an expensive item they cannot afford, then dismiss the idea entirely.

These casual descriptions are inaccurate and oversimplify the condition.

As a professor of psychology studying schizophrenia, the author notes that even health officials and policymakers often hold these flawed views.

Schizophrenia is not about mood swings but involves persistent challenges with thinking, memory, and social interactions.

The disorder was first described in 1899 by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, who called it dementia praecox (early-onset dementia) and identified symptoms like hearing voices or holding unusual beliefs.

Today, schizophrenia is diagnosed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM), which remains based on many of Kraepelin’s original observations.