schizophrenia

noun

Etymology: From German Schizophrenie (coined by Eugen Bleuler), from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) + φρήν (phrḗn, “mind, heart, diaphragm”) + English -ia. A combination of schizo- + -phrenia.

1. A psychiatric diagnosis denoting a persistent, often chronic, mental illness characterised by abnormal perception, thinking, behavior and emotion, often marked by delusions.

   “Increasing data suggests that regular marijuana use in adolescence may also be a risk factor for developing very serious psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia.”

   “In 1995, 2% of schizophrenia diagnoses in the country were associated with cannabis use disorder. In 2000, it increased to around 4%. Since 2010, that figure increased to 8%, the study found.”

2. A condition in which a person is supposed to have several distinct personalities; dissociative identity disorder.

   “You have enough money to afford schizophrenia for a while. Especially if the personality B dreams up things that personality A makes practical, financially advantageous use of.”

3. Any condition in which disparate or mutually exclusive activities coexist; a lack of decision between options.

   “[O]ne can understand how the cultural disorientation which beset the African Continent has confused Africa's political behaviour, creating a political schizophrenia that made nation-building impossible.”

   “Nevertheless, a certain amount of schizophrenia pertains to the study of World Englishes as New Englishes, for while new Englishes are regarded as valid varieties in their own right, the description and delineation of them in linguistic terms is conducted through the gaze of native-speaker norms.”