Summary
All the random changes in subjects and crazy ideas are typical to those who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, a disorder that affects over 2 million Americans (Mayo Clinic, 1998). Often Leann hears voices and sees people who do not exist and that is how she gets all her ideas about her or others reading minds and telling the future.

Just how we, as "normal" people, view our world through our own perspective, people with schizophrenia, have their own perspective of reality. Schizophrenics live in a world that is distorted and often is filled with hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. People with schizophrenia often seem distant, or preoccupied, when engaged in conversation. However, schizophrenics also exhibit very different kinds of behavior at odd times (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1999).NIMH, 1999

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic (1998) claim that, "Schizophrenia affects approximately 1 percent of the population worldwide, including more that 2 million Americans," In any given year, this surprising amount of people are affected. Women are usually affected with symptoms of the psychotic state in the twenties to early thirties. Some only have one psychotic episode, while others may have episodes throughout their lifetimes, but lead normal lives during the periods between episodes. However, people with "chronic" schizophrenia have a continuous or recurring pattern of the illness. They often do not fully recover their normal functioning and they usually require long-term treatment to control the symptoms (NIMH,1999).

There are five different cases of schizophrenia. These five types are Schizoaffective Disorder, Residual Schizophrenia, Paranoid Schizophrenia, Disorganized Schizophrenia, and Catatonic Schizophrenia (ZYPREXA, 2004). People with Schizoaffective disorder have not only symptoms of schizophrenia but also mood