I’ve recently learned a few things about schizophrenia in my class and I find it really interesting. I  learned that schizophrenia isn’t just hearing or seeing things but that it actually really affects people and how they live. Many people with schizophrenia who don’t get medication to treat it often end up homeless and alone. While you can be born with it, schizophrenia doesn’t develop until late teens or early twenties. People start with hallucinations, delusions or hearing voices in their heads and don’t know what is going on or what they should do. I learned that being a genuine friend to someone with schizophrenia can affect their brain chemistry in a positive way. It increases dopamine in the brain and allows them to feel important and loved which calms the storm happening in their heads. It’s important to understand people with mental illness to get them help that could affect them in better ways.