Schizophrenia: it is a mental disorder & can be managed

What is Schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental disorder. It needs attention!!

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder with gradual onset, characterised by differences and disturbances in the way of thinking, feeling or behaving.  Person having schizophrenia remains disconnected to the reality and this makes it difficult for the family and friends and the person himself as well. 

The onset of schizophrenia may start between 16-30 years of age. It may start showing symptoms that are far away from reality. 

People with schizophrenia find it difficult to carry out the activities of daily living and self-care. 

Schizophrenia may appear in the late adolescence or early thirties. The occurrence of schizophrenia is mostly seen more in males as compared to females. Some teenagers develop early schizophrenia symptoms which may be misconfused as adolescence traits or features.  '

Split-personality and schizophrenia are two different conditions. They may share few symptoms similar but are two different mental disorders.

Psychosis(hallucinations, delusions),changes in behaviour and speech, lack of motivation and interest in daily activities are some of the major signs and symptoms of schizophrenia. 

Early detection of Schizophrenia may yield better prognosis with treatment. It is not curable, however the symptoms can be managed with medications and psychological therapies. 

Schizophrenia affects both physical and mental well-being of a person. It causes severe disability if not diagnosed or treated properly. It needs prompt attention and support of family members along with adequate treatment by a psychiatrist and psychologist. 

What are the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia? 

Schizophrenia may go unnoticed in many people until it disturbs the life of the person and his family. Psychotic episodes may be initially seen which then progress further causing severe symptoms of schizophrenia. 

The main symptoms of schizophrenia are as below:

Psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, changes in thought and changes in speech are seen in schizophrenia

Psychotic symptoms:

• Hallucinations: The person starts imagining the things or objects or situations that are actually not present in reality. For example, hearing some voices, etc. it can be related to sight, smell or touch, too. 
• Delusions: The person develops a fixed strong false feeling/belief related to person, object or situation that has no connection to reality. Delusions drive them away from seeing reality. For examples, a minister wants to talk to me, I am going to be a king or have super power, somebody is planning to harm me, etc. these are the few phrases that can be heard from people having schizophrenia. 
• Changes in the thought pattern: jumping from one thought to another, instability in thinking, disorganised speech due to thought disorder. He may sound unusual or irrelevant most of the times.  
• Changes in motor functions: the person may use repetitive movements or steps that look quite abnormal. They continue to repeat the same movement patter over and again. 

Changes in the cognitive function: 

• Difficulty concentrating on things at work and home
• Impaired memory or difficult to remember common things or happenings
• lack of decision making and problem solving ability
• confused or unable to do something in a correct manner as instructed
• Difficulty in paying attention to minute details

Negative symptoms:

• loss of interest in social gatherings or parties
• lack of expression or emotional block
• Feeling extremely sad or happy at unusual occasions
• Feeling slowness and devoid of energy. Sometimes a person may remain confined to no movement stage which is termed as catatonia. 
• Lack of interest in daily activities of self care
• Walks slowly as if there is no strength
• Keeping distance from family and friends
• Neglects personal hygiene
• Lack of motivation 
• Lack of communication due to racing thoughts or confused and abnormal speech pattern
• Lack of insight related to disease(People with schizophrenia hardly believe they have this mental disorder and refuse from any treatment)

What are the causes of Schizophrenia? 

The exact cause of Schizophrenia is not known. Scholars and Researchers believe that genes and environmental factors may be responsible for Schizophrenia.  Experts have observed that a person's brain structure undergoes unexpected significant changes in schizophrenia. 

What are the risk factors for Schizophrenia? 

Anyone can have schizophrenia and the cause to its occurrence can not be figured out in most of the cases. However it is observed that some risk factors may cause schizophrenia:

• Family history of schizophrenia
• High use of cannabis intake
• Pregnancy complications and viral infections during pregnancy may cause damage to some part of brain or cause complications in later life to the child. 
• People who are on psychotropic agents
• People who have other mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, etc. 
• People who had psychoscocial trauma

How is schizophrenia diagnosed? 

The diagnosis of schizophrenia is done on the basis of the present symptoms, past psychiatric history, family history of psyhciatric illness, etc. Mental status Examination (MSE) is done to evaluate the mental status of the patient. Based on the test responses and scores, it can be decided whether the person has schizophrenia or not. 

What is the treatment of Schizophrenia? 

Schizophrenia is not curable but it can be treated to manage or control the symptoms effectively. This helps in elevating the quality of life and reducing the burden on person himself and his family. A person with schizophrenia can return to school, work , etc following treatment and continuing the treatment as per doctor's advice. 

Psychological treatments such as counselling, psychotherapy, cognitive and behavioral therapy, all play a major role in managing Schizophrenia. 

People with schizophrenia often feel it difficult to mingle with society as they have to face humiliation and stigma of the general public.  They feel withdrawn or rejected by the world due to lost perception of reality. Many times people do not try to understand those living with schizophrenia. They either make fun of them or neglect them. Even families try to abuse and violate their rights. 

In current times, there are lots of management and treatment easily accessible to people. However, most cases remain either undiagnosed or daignosed but not seeking medical help. And those who start treatment are seen  withdrawing from medications and treatment after their symptoms respite. 

Schizophrenia is a chronic/long term mental disorder and it can be managed effectively. Always help the people who are living with schizophrenia to cope up effectively, either as a friend or a family. People who have schizophrenia, themselves might not be aware of the condition, which is termed as lack of insight. It is the responsibility of the family and friends to land a helping hand and save them from serious disability.

Note: This blog post is for educational and informational purpose only. It is not a substitute to any medical advice or treatment. Seek your doctor's help in any case.