Schizophrenia is a psychiatric condition that has severe effects on your physical and mental well-being. This basically interferes with the way the brain works, interfering with things like thoughts, memory, senses, and behaviours. As a result of this interference, it may be difficult to succeed in many areas of your day-to-day life. Untreated schizophrenia often disrupts your relationships, be it professional, social, or romantic. It can also make it difficult for you to think clearly, and you are likely to act in a manner that will leave you liable to get hurt or develop other diseases.
Before, psychiatrists used to mention various kinds of schizophrenia, including, such as paranoid schizophrenia and catatonic schizophrenia. However, The types were not really useful for diagnosis or treatment of schizophrenia. Experts instead now view schizophrenia as a spectrum of disorders that involve:
The cause of schizophrenia is still unknown. But like cancer and diabetes, schizophrenia is a real illness with a biological basis. Researchers have found several factors that seem to increase the risk of developing the illness.
They are:
Schizophrenia affects people in different ways, but there are some common symptoms. These include:
A person may also present before these physical symptoms manifest
To further elaborate on the major symptoms of schizophrenia:
A person with delusions holds a fixed belief about something despite the evidence.
For example, they may believe that:
Some people hear voices or see things that are not there. This is the most common type of hallucination, but any of the senses can be involved. For example, someone might also see, feel, taste, or smell things that are not really there.
A person's thinking and speech may change in seconds from one subject to another for no logical reason. Their speech may, therefore, be hard to follow.
It may also show memory problems and difficulties in understanding and using information.
There is no single test to diagnose schizophrenia. A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation can assist doctors in reaching a diagnosis. You will need an appointment with your psychiatrist or mental health professional.
You can be asked the following at your appointment:
Your doctor will perform the following:
Sometimes, few symptoms might mimic that of schizophrenia, but there might be a different underlying cause like:
Your doctor may diagnose schizophrenia if you have had at least two of the following symptoms for a 1-month period.
There's no cure for schizophrenia. Current treatments focus on reducing the severity and managing symptoms.
It's essential to get treated by a mental health professional or a psychiatrist who has experience treating people with schizophrenia. You might as well work with a social worker or a case manager, too.
The most common treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication. Hallucinations and delusions can be managed by medication.
Psychosocial intervention is another treatment option for schizophrenia. This includes individual therapy to help you cope with stress and illness. Social skills training can enhance social and communication skills.
Vocational rehabilitation can help you acquire the job skills necessary for returning to work. It can make it easier to stay employed throughout the treatment.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, family and friends can ease stress by providing a sense of belonging. There are education programs available for family members to train themselves on how to identify the symptoms and help their loved ones during their difficult moments.
Conclusion
Schizophrenia is a long-term condition that will profoundly affect a person's ability to function. The symptoms of this also cross over and affect the people in their circle.
Treatments are available that shall help a person cope with their symptoms. Added to this is the need for support from family, friends, and community services, which is of great value for people suffering from schizophrenia.
HELP CENTRE
<p>We’re Star Health. We offer the coverage that’s designed to help keep you healthy. It's the care that comes to you, and stays with you.</p>
Is schizophrenia curable?
<p>Although schizophrenia is not curable, most treated patients do reasonably well, with minimal symptoms. Various antipsychotic medications are quite effective at reducing psychotic symptoms during an acute episode of illness and help reduce the potential future acute episodes and their severity.</p>
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