schizo.

Schizophrenia is a chronic and debilitating mental illness. The disease can cause you to withdraw from the people and activities in the world around you and retreat into a world of delusions and fantasies. Schizophrenia is the most common and destructive kind of psychosis, which is an impairment of thinking in which your interpretation of reality can be severely abnormal. Psychosis is a symptom of a disordered brain. Researchers haven't figured out the cause or …

…as a result of a serious medical illness or from the effects of medication. Schizophrenia may affect up to 1 percent of the population worldwide, including more than 2.7 million Americans, occurring equally in men and women. The disorder is rare in children. There's no cure for the illness, but your doctor often can successfully manage schizophrenia — especially when an early diagnosis occurs. Fortunately, newer medications are making this poorly understood disorder more manageable than ever before.