Understanding Schizophrenia and Treatment Options

What is schizophrenia? It’s a complex biochemical brain disorder, and is one of the more serious mental health illnesses that can afflict a person. Fortunately, however, it is not especially common – it is believed to affect only around 1% of adults globally. It is characterized by the sufferer’s perception of reality being severely impaired, and them having delusions, hallucinations, social withdrawal, and disturbed thinking. Schizophrenia can affect anyone of any age, but schizophrenia symptoms usually onset in a person’s late teen years or early adulthood.

Schizophrenia is diagnosed by blood tests, imagine studies of the brain, and psychological evaluations, but it is no longer classified into subtypes (paranoid / hebephrenic / catatonic / childhood / schizoaffective) like it used to be by physicians. We’ll look at schizophrenia causes here, as well as what are the most standard schizophrenia symptoms and treatment options for this debilitating mental illness.

Schizophrenia Causes

The signs of schizophrenia are pronounced and nearly impossible to ignore, but it’s best to start here with a discussion of schizophrenia causes. The exact cause or causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, but the medical community believes that genes, individual brain development, and life events can all play parts in it. Some believe that schizophrenia is the combination of a number of different mental illnesses coming together as one, and it’s known that females often develop it later in life than males.

Genetic inheritance can also be one of the schizophrenia causes. Researchers state that a person has a 10% greater risk of developing it if one of their parents had / have schizophrenia. Some researchers believe that that trauma and viral infections before birth may also be reasons that a person develops schizophrenia later in life.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter chemical that is believed to be most at fault when it comes chemical brain imbalances leading to schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia Symptoms

Before acute schizophrenia symptoms are first observed, sufferers often become bad tempered, unfocused, and anxious. There are different stages to developing schizophrenia. In the beginning sufferers may frequently express that they feel that things around them are different or strange, even though nothing is out of the ordinary or amiss. They may then experience changes in mood, motivation, and the ability to complete tasks.

There are four categories of standard schizophrenia symptoms:

1. Positive symptoms – also known as psychotic symptoms, and include the hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenia
2. Negative symptoms – elements that are taken from the individual, examples being absence of facial expressions or lack of motivation
3. Cognitive symptoms – anything related to impairment of the individual’s thought process. Short attention span or inability to concentrate are examples
4. Emotional symptoms – negative symptoms that are usually numbed emotions, emotional disconnection, or inability to express feelings in instances where previously there was no difficulty

From there the individual may move in major schizophrenia symptoms if they do receive some type of psychological and / or medication treatment. These symptoms are:

• Delusions, with examples being false beliefs, delusions of persecution or grandeur, feelings that others are trying to control them, or believing they have extraordinary abilities or powers
• Hallucinations, with examples being hearing voices and seeing, smelling, feeling, or suspecting things that are not there
• Thought instability – sufferers may erratically jump from one subject to another for no logical reason, and they may be hard to follow or it may be hard to make sense of what they’re saying
• Catatonia (aka catatonic excitement) – excessive and peculiar motor behaviors and can also include decreased motor activity and engagement
• Catatonic stupor – dramatic reduction in activity where patients cannot speak, move, or respond to interaction prompts

Other general schizophrenia symptoms that can been seen in any progression stage of the illness include lack of motivation (avolition), poor expression of emotions, social withdrawal, unawareness or denial of illness (and particularly as it relates to taking needed medications), and cognitive (thinking) difficulties

Certain drugs can promote increased severity of schizophrenia symptoms, and marijuana and LSD most notably. Certain stimulant prescription drugs can further a sufferer’s psychosis if experienced.

Schizophrenia Treatment

Treatment for schizophrenia is essential if a person suffering from it is to regain any measure of normalcy in their life. Antipsychotic medications like Risperdal (Risperidone), Zyprexa (Olanzapine), and Seroquel (Quetiapine) can help reduce severity of hallucinations and delusions. Medication must continue to be take after the person’s schizophrenia symptoms have gone. This is very important to ensure that a relapse and returning signs of schizophrenia does not occur.

Support from friends and family is absolutely essential for schizophrenia sufferers, especially in the early stages of the illness. Counselling and support are also often very helpful, and eating better, getting regular exercise, building healthy sleep habits, and involving yourself in hobbies and activities you enjoy are also beneficial for schizophrenia sufferers provide they take their medication as directed. Doing so and NOT discontinuing the medication unless instructed to do so by a physician is of paramount importance

Lastly, occupational therapy can be helpful if schizophrenia is affecting your performance or productivity at work but again this is conditional on medication being taken as directed with a long-term maintenance focus.