Schizophrenia
What is Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious neurodevelopmental disorders. It is a lifelong problem that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
People that suffer from Schizophrenia may experience impaired cognitive ability. As a result of which they may hear voices or see things that are not there in realty. Others include experiencing delusions, hallucinations, dis-organized speech or behavior. Some believe that others are reading their minds and controlling their thoughts. Some believe that other people maybe plotting to do some kind of harm to them. It can be very scary and upsetting to the person suffering with this illness and also to the people around them.
When you Converse with someone suffering from Schizophrenia you could hear strange and, unusual ideas from them. People suffering from this illness sometimes sit for or long periods of time without moving or talking. It is not unusual for Schizophrenia patients to appear to be normal until they begin speaking about what they are thinking.
Earlier, Schizophrenia used to be considered the same as the multiple personality disorder also known as split personality. This happened because some of the signs of Schizophrenia may seem similar on the surface but people suffering from the multiple personality disorder often have two or more identities that are present and these personalities take control of them.
It must be noted that people suffering with Schizophrenia may have to deal with the symptoms throughout their life but with proper treatment one could recover sufficiently and will be able to pursue their life goals in a reasonable fashion.
Signs of Schizophrenia
The signs of Schizophrenia may appear between ages 16 and 30. In rare cases children are also known to show Schizophrenia symptoms. Schizophrenia symptoms can be classified into three categories positive, negative, and cognitive.
Positive symptoms
let us look at what kind of positive symptoms Schizophrenia patient exhibits. These are called as Positive symptoms simply because the symptoms are not generally seen in healthy people and these are additional behaviors.
Hhallucinations
Hearing voices that are not real comes under this category. Other kinds include seeing, smelling, tasting, or feeling things that are not real. People who experience hallucinations may hear voices for a long time before the problem is noticed by others.
Thought disorders.
This is where a patient shows odd or logical thinking pattern. Schizophrenia patients who suffer from thought disorder usually have trouble organizing their thoughts. As a result it can be seen that they stop talking in the middle of a thought or try to make up words with no meaning.
Delusions
This is when a person believes in things that are not true in the real world. They may also believe that they are in imminent danger and that some other person is trying to hurt them. They also believe that the characters in television shows are talking directly to them.
Movement disorders
This is when a person shows abnormal body movements. People who suffer from movement disorders remain still without moving or talking for long periods of time. In some cases, they repeat same motions over and over again. Search repetitive movements are called as stereotypies.
Negative symptoms
Negative symptoms makes it difficult for the patient to function normally in the society. They may be socially withdrawn or may experience difficulty in showing emotions. Some of the other indicators include showing no expression on their faces. As an example they may never smile or frown. Some of them are observed to talk in a dull voice.
They may have trouble experiencing happiness.
They talk very little to other people even on important matters .
Cognitive symptoms
Cognitive symptoms are not easy to recognize. Most of in the symptoms are found only when specific tests are conducted on the patient. For instance people suffering from cognitive symptoms may have difficulty processing information to make certain decisions. The symptoms can only be found after specific test are carried out on the patient.
Cognitive symptoms, when exist in a Schizophrenia patient, make it hard for them to have a job or take care of themselves. Other cognitive symptoms include
after learning a new piece of information, they may have trouble using that information immediately.
they are often scene having trouble to pay attention.
Rrisk of violence
Most Schizophrenia patients are not violent. But studies show that people who suffer from Schizophrenia are more likely to harm themselves and to be harmed by others than those who do not suffer from this illness. The chances of violence increases greatly when Schizophrenia is left untreated and it gets worse over a period of time. Hence it is very important to help Schizophrenia patient and get the necessary treatment as quickly as possible.
Effect of drugs and alcohol on Schizophrenia patients
When a Schizophrenia patient also has to deal with drug abuse and alcohol issues, it creates a more Complex problem to deal with. This is because a treatment plan for Schizophrenia main get interfered by the misuse of drugs and alcohol. Also drug abuse can increase the risk of suicide, trauma in Schizophrenia patients and it also carries the potential to increase the risk of getting other mental disorders.
Causes of Schizophrenia
As research indicates there are many factors that contribute to the onset of Schizophrenia. These include
genetics
if someone in the family has Schizophrenia , does not necessarily mean that other members of the family will have it too. But it is sometimes seen that Schizophrenia runs in families.
Environment
Exposure to virus is for nutritional problems before birth, living in severe conditions such as extreme poverty, stressful surroundings has also been seen to cause Schizophrenia.
Brain structure disruptions.
Due to genetic or environmental factors there could be some disruptions in brain structures, brain function, and brain chemistry. This can cause Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia treatment.
Antipsychotic medications, antipsychotic medications are used in case of patients who exhibit psychotic symptoms. These medications may also carry some type of side effects.
When a doctor puts a patient on medication the patient should not stop taking medication without talking to a doctor. Suddenly stopping the medication can make physical symptoms words.
Psychosocial treatments.
Psychosocial treatments are designed to help patients deal with everyday challenges of Schizophrenia.
These include
- family education
- Rehabilitation
- Peer counseling
- Self-help groups
- Illness management techniques
- Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Treatment for drug and alcohol abuse