Schizophrenia's root cause is still not clear. It does have a link with some part of the brain. It is not a psychiatric disorder but a physical one, affecting the mind and the personality of the person affected. The treatment is mostly to alleviate the symptoms and manage the problem. So the knowledge of the symptoms becomes important.

There are different types of schizophrenia, each one having its own symptoms. When we talk of schizophrenia, the first that comes to mind is the paranoid personality. Everyone is plotting against or cheating them. The patient chooses a small group of family as 'us' and the rest of the world, including other members of the family, as 'them' and deludes himself into believing that 'they' are doing all they can to cause serious harm. The patient believes that he or she belongs to a top elite, and others do not like it or even understand it.

These types of delusions are reinforced by delusions and hallucinations, including the hearing of voices. The voices are a very common symptom of schizophrenia. The voices can be absolutely real to them, and any disbelief by others invites the patient's wrath.

Schizophrenia patients' thought processes are in total confusion. They lose the capacity to focus on relevant thoughts and proceed logically in sequence. All sorts of thoughts crowd them and they cannot put them in their correct order. These disorderedly thoughts are made worse by hallucinations and delusions.

In a condition known as residual schizophrenia, the patient is not suffering from the normal symptoms of schizophrenia but he loses all interest in normal living. Emotions do not move them. They appear and behave very dull and apathetic.

The schizophrenia patient also may have other symptoms, which may not be a direct consequence of the disease. Nevertheless the treatment needs to include these symptoms also. These symptoms include depression or bipolar disorder.

Treatment for schizophrenia (or to be exact, the symptoms of schizophrenia) is a multi-billion dollar business, as two million Americans are affected by it. Anti-Psychotic, anti-anxiety, anti-depressive and anti-convulsive drugs are given independently or in combination by the physician. Psychiatric care is a very important component of the treatment.