Schizophrenia is one of the most well-known and surprisingly frequent psychological disorders today. Patients suffering from this disorder have problems separating reality from fantasy or delusion Typically, the schizophrenic person starts with a little paranoia about something or someone and continues to become more and more problematic until he or she has trouble functioning in the real world due to emotional, physical, mental, or financial reasons. most people who become homeless suffer from schizophrenia because they are unable to hold a job, Nathaniel Ayes in the book The Soloist Nathaniel was a cellist who attended the Juilliard School of Music, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools. to the world, until he developed schizophrenia and was unable to continue. This book shows how a disorder like schizophrenia can turn a person's life upside down in a matter of weeks. Although the word schizophrenia is only about 100 years old, there are written records containing "illnesses" that are very similar to cases of schizophrenia dating back to ancient Egypt. Studies have examined ancient Greek and Roman literature and shown that it is very likely that the general population had some awareness of psychotic disorders, however, they had no way to diagnose or treat these disorders. At most points in history, anyone considered “abnormal,” whether due to physical, mental, or emotional issues, was treated the same. Most early physicians believed that mental disorders were caused by demonic or evil spirits that had possessed the body. So, to cure these "possessed" people, doctors used various techniques to exorcise... middle of paper... Opez did a great job of describing his interactions with Nathaniel and how strange his behavior was. One last thing I found interesting was the fact that schizophrenia is found equally in men and women, I would think one would be higher than the other because of how different we are as humans. Works CitedCorner, R. (2004). Foundations of Abnormal Psychology (4th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Heinrichs, R. (2003). Historical origins of schizophrenia. 39(4), 349-363. Lopez, S. (2008). The soloist. New York: Putman Adult. The New Oxford American Dictionary. (2005). Oxford University Press. Schizophrenia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-ps01.htmlHistory of Schizophrenia: Definitions over Time. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.psychiatric-disorders.com/articles/schizophrenia/schizophrenia-history.php