SCHIZOPHRENIA DISORDER

Schizophrenia, is a severe mental disorder that affects the way you think, feel, and behave. Many people with schizophrenia suffer a departure from reality that causes them to hear voices that aren’t there or see things that aren’t there. This disorder can even impact the ability to keep up with school, hold down a job, or form personal connections with friends and family.  

some of the most common risk factors include:

Genetics, having a close relative with schizophrenia, and chemical imbalances in the brain

Scientists also believe environmental factors, such as exposure to viruses, malnutrition before birth, or birth complications, also raise your risk of schizophrenia. 

Symptoms of schizophrenia typically start between ages 16 and 30. Most people don’t develop this disorder after the age of 45.  As with any illness, the severity, duration and frequency of symptoms can vary. Not taking medications as prescribed, the use of alcohol or illicit drugs, and stressful situations tend to increase symptoms. Symptoms fall into three major categories:

Positive symptoms: Positive symptoms are characterized by psychotic thoughts or behaviors, including:

Hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that do not exist)

Delusions (untrue beliefs)

Difficulty organizing thoughts

Strange body movements

Negative symptoms: Negative symptoms make it difficult to show emotions and to function properly. The most common symptoms include: 

Impaired emotional expression (affective flattening),

Decrease in speech output

Difficulty completing activities

Reducing desire to have social contact

Minimized feelings of pleasure

Depression

Feeling withdrawn

Disorganized symptoms: Confused and disordered thinking and speech, trouble with logical thinking, and sometimes bizarre behavior or abnormal movements.

Treatment and Management

At Lifeway Mental Health, the provider typically recommends a combination of counseling and medication to relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia. Some of the most common treatments include: 

Counselling or cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that treats problems and increases happiness by changing dysfunctional behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. This type of psychotherapy helps patients identify negative or harmful thoughts and use strategies to overcome them and change their actions. The primary goal of CBT is to provide patients with real solutions. Also, family support is particularly important to their health and well-being

Medication Most experts advise taking antipsychotic medication every day to avoid psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and delusions.