Can Somebody Tell Me Everything I Need To Know About Schizophrenia?

Hmmm... I'm a Texas chick, too. ^_^

Schizophrenia has a lot of different symptoms. The name literally means "split" (schiz) "mind" (phren). It is not the same thing as a split personality. It is debatable on whether split personalities even truly exist or not or if they are just a sever form of dissociation, but that is another story (that I'd be happy to tell you about, too.) The main symptoms of schizophrenia are disorganized thinking, delusions, hallucinations (auditory and visual), and paranoia. The most common type of schizophrenia is paranoid schizophrenia. People suffering from paranoid schizophrenia often think that someone is "out to get them." They may think that they are a part of a government conspiracy and that the government is after them, that there are cameras everywhere watching them, that everyone can read their thoughts, etc. Schizophrenics are usually not violent (only about 1- 2% are). It affects about 2% of people in the nation, and for unknown reasons, it mostly affects women. It can be mild or so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized in an institution. It's a degenerative disease, so it requires constant therapy and medications to prevent attacks and to keep it from getting worse. If you'd like, you can go to www.mayoclinic.com to learn more.

That is incorrect, it does not mostly affect women

I'm adding to the above info. No single cause of the disease is known; genetic, biochemical, psychologic, interpersonal and sociocultural factors are usually involved.