The word Schizophrenia whose origination lies in the Greek roots: schizo (split) and phrene (mind), is used to describe a kind of mental disorder in which a person goes through nebulous thoughts and lose track of reality.

Schizophrenia in 2000B.C.

The history of Schizophrenia ages back to around 2000 B.C., when little was known about mental disorders. The only way to cure mental disorder was to drive the evil spirit out of the body as people believed that the evil spirit is the cause of this. There were many ways of exorcism, in some cases patients were made to listen to strange music, believing that this would drive out the evil spirit, while in other cases holes were drilled into the skull of the patient, providing spirits a way to escape from the patient’s brain.

Schizophrenia as understood by the Egyptians

A mention of mental disorders and their symptoms is there in The Book of Heart, an Egyptian book. The Egyptians conceived that heart and brain are linked to each other. Hence, according to them if a person is suffering from some kind of mental disorder, it was a validation of the fact that he has certain heart ailments. All the people suffering from Schizophrenia were considered mad and dangerous, in spite of the display of their normal human characteristics at all other times. The only refuges for them were the mental homes. Such brutality and misconception existed till science evolved and scientists, researchers and clinicians came up with a logical and apt explanation for the condition.

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Evolution in the understanding of Schizophrenia

Initial efforts to understand and record atypical mental behaviors were made in the seventeenth century. Later in 1887, Emile Kraepelin, who was a German psychiatrist, classified different kinds of mental disorders and defined them by one term: dementia praecox. In the nineteenth century the awareness of people towards diseases and their causes increased tremendously. This century saw an explosion of discoveries in the field of medical science. In 1908, a Swiss psychiatrist named Eugen Bleuler gave these mental disorders a name of Schizophrenia. The definition and symptoms of Schizophrenia that we are using today was put up by another German psychiatrist,Kurt Schneider, in 1957.

Regardless of the progression in medical science, there were few people who were unable to accept the logic and explanation of science and for their benefit continued to commit cruelty towards human race, one such example is the case of World War II. During the World War II Schizophrenia was identified to be a genetic disorder and in order to prevent transmission of the condition from one generation to another and practice selective procreation, mentally disturbed people were killed.

Despite of such pathetic examples in the history of Schizophrenia, psychiatrists, doctors and scientists have never given up hope and have worked day and night for advancement in the understanding of Schizophrenia. Many misconceptions about Schizophrenia have become clear. Slowly, the general public is able to sympathize and understand the challenges of people with Schizophrenia, therefore reducing the need for brutal treatments and asylum lodging. To help treat and relieve their mental disorder, you need to spend time, show care and affection with proper medication.