What is schizophrenia? What if you lived your life in constant fear of voices in your head, feeling like someone was plotting to harm you, or had difficulty interacting with the people around you? These are some of the common problems that people with schizophrenia face in their lives. Imagine if you were a parent and thought your child was just acting out, but all the signs led to a much broader diagnosis. In order to visualize ourselves or others around us living with schizophrenia; we must first define the meaning of schizophrenia. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2009) (cited in Regier et al, 1993), "schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history and affects approximately 1 percent of Americans suffer from this disease” (pp. 85-94). The NIMH (2009) also describes schizophrenia as: “A disorder in which people may hear voices that others do not hear. They may believe that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the condition and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they speak. They can sit for hours without moving or speaking. Sometimes people with schizophrenia seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they really think” (p.1). I can't imagine living with schizophrenia because it really takes a toll on your mental well-being. Now that we have a better overview of schizophrenia, I will discuss the etiology and incidence of schizophrenia.Etiology and incidence of schizophreniaAccording to Kyziridis (2005), signs of schizophrenia can be traced in written records up to 'during the time of Pharaonic Egypt... ... middle of paper ......row WE, Rae DS, Manderscheid RW, Locke BZ, Goodwin FK. America's de facto mental health and addiction service system. Prospective one-year epidemiological prevalence rates of disorders and services in the catchment area. Archives of General Psychiatry. February 1993;50(2):85-94.Viertiö, S. (2011). Functional limitations and quality of life in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. 1-103. Retrieved April 25, 2014. Voruganti, LP, Whatham, J., Bard, E., Parker, G., Babbey, C., Ryan, J. and... MacCrimmon, DJ (2006). Going beyond: An adventure and leisure-based group intervention promotes well-being and weight loss in schizophrenia. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(9), 575-580. Walker, E., Kestler, L., Bollini, A. and Hochman, K.M. (2004). Schizophrenia: etiology and evolution. Annual Review of Psychology, 55(1), 401-430. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141950