Mental illness is a broad characterization of all the diseases that affect the mind. There are many different mental illnesses that generally do not receive enough attention as others and arguably the whole array of mental illnesses do not receive enough attention as other diseases of the human body. One of these mental illnesses I would like to discuss today is schizophrenia. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, schizophrenia is a severe disorder of the mind that affects the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
Symptoms of schizophrenia are organized into three categories: Positive, Negative, and Cognitive Symptoms. Positive symptoms may appear as a good association but it is actually a misnomer. Positive symptoms are the symptoms or psychiatric behaviors that are not normally associated with a healthy person. Symptoms of this include Hallucinations and Delusions. Negative symptoms are disruptions of normal thoughts and emotions and these include reduced feelings of pleasure, reduced expression, reduction is speaking. Cognitive symptoms affect memory and thinking and these include loss of memory and trouble focusing or paying attention.
According to Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America, Schizophrenia affects around 3.5 million Americans and 1.1% of the world’s population. This may not seem like a substantial number but 1.1% of the world’s population is around 70 million people. Schizophrenia is displayed by the media either through movies, TV shows, etc., in a poor manner in thinking that everyone with schizophrenia is unfit to be in the public and are aggressive and dangerous. That is why this mental illness requires more understanding and attention to remove the stigma.
Schizophrenia and many other mental illnesses are a result of chemical imbalances in your brain. An article in the International Journal of Genetics has provided insight to the actual chemical imbalances in the schizophrenic brain. They report that the Wnt and GSK3 which are small proteins that affect many cellular functions and processes in your body. In Schizophrenia Wnt binds to its receptor called “frizzled” like a lock and key mechanism and this activated downstream processes to occur like the stimulation of GSK which targets B-catenin, which is highly involved with gene-transcription, and the creation of other proteins. When GSK is activated it tags B-catenin with a marker (otherwise known as phosphorylates), and this causes B-catenin levels to decrease.
In addition to the increased levels of GSK protein there is also a decrease in levels of the AKT protein, which stops the GSK protein from affecting B-catenin. This is caused by increase levels of the neurotransmitter Dopamine binding to D2-receptors which then affect downstream processes by inhibiting AKT. Many treatments for Schizophrenia target this process. Anti-psychotic drugs help regulate AKT levels by targeting the D-2 receptors in order to stop the inhibition of AKT. Lithium is also used as a treatment for Schizophrenia and this treatment also regulate the levels of AKT.
The causes for all of these imbalances are unclear, but they could be factors affecting individuals as early as before birth. There are cases however where drugs are the inducer of schizophrenia. A common drug associated with schizophrenia is Marijuana or Cannabis, The Elements of Behavioral Health stated that nearly half of the patients diagnosed with schizophrenia abuse drugs and alcohol.
Cannabis utilizes the CB1 receptors in the endocannibinoid system and these receptors have been found in high concentrations in the brain regions implicated in schizophrenia. When these receptors are activated they release excitatory neurotransmitters such as dopamine and stop inhibitory neurotransmitters from releasing. Also, Cannabis takes a relatively long period of time for it to be stored or catalyzed in the body indicating it has a long-term prevalence after exposure. These factors implicate the biochemical pathways that Cannabis has in its relation to schizophrenia. The long latency of the molecule, the close proximity it shares with areas of the brain related to schizophrenia, and the prevalence of dopamine all show a direct relation to schizophrenia and reveal clues to a correlated relationship between the two.
I know Marijuana is a highly controversial topic but has also gained a lot of support in recent years. I have heard many arguments promoting Marijuana and all I have to add is that I do not have a judgment on Marijuana use at all I just have an assessment. I can relate if someone enjoys unwinding after a stressful day with Marijuana, but at what point does the use get to be too much? Is it when you do it everyday? Is it when you do it twice a day? Is it when you plan your day around when you have to use again? When is it?
You can find another relationship with alcohol and alcoholism or overeating. We are all mostly aware of the long-term effects of the abuse of those and what they can do to your health. I agree that there are therapeutic effects of Marijuana such as things like cannibidiol, which can treat a variety of amount of illnesses but this part of the plant, does not include the psychoactive part of the plant called THC. Other treatments that do involve using the whole plants ingredients, which include THC I think are useful as well, but at what point do you stop using it as a treatment? Is it healthy to keep using your pain medicine consistently after you are done with surgery? Also, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety Marijuana related fatal car crashes have doubled in the state of Washington since the legalization of the drug. Of course getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol is not a good decision, does the same go for Marijuana? You can make the argument of making alcohol or tobacco illegal along the same lines of this assessment. My message to you all is at what point is enough? Is it enough when you let something control your life? Is it enough when you develop schizophrenia? When is it enough? And that question goes for anything.
Is Marijuana Worth the Risk?
