Schizophrenia is sometimes called Youth's Greatest Disabler because it strikes individuals between the ages of 16 and 25, a time when young people are away from home at college and face rigorous demands on their intellectual and social abilities. Often, in those predisposed to the disease, the vulnerability and tension associated with being on their own for the first time triggers the first psychotic episode of the illness, characterized by a loss or decline of normal functioning in society.
Schizophrenia is a lifelong infirmity.
And much like alcoholics, schizophrenics have a chronic condition. It affects one in 100 individuals, said Dr. Paul Grayson, director of the New York University Counseling Service. Nature, Not Nurture Schizophrenia is primarily a neurochemical imbalance and is not caused by childhood trauma, bad parenting or poverty. Although the disease manifests itself in late adolescence and in one's early 20's, college students are not necessarily at risk unless they have a genetic susceptability. Stress cannot cause schizophrenia, but it can trigger a psychotic episode.