Schizophrenia
What causes schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a disease of the brain. Two neurotransmitters, serotonin and dopamine, play key roles in the onset of schizophrenia in the brain. Evidence and research indicates an over-excess of dopamine and abnormalities in serotonin activity are responsible for the onset of schizophrenia.
Generally, people with schizophrenia first fall ill between the ages of 20 and 39. It is during this time, known also as the risk period that the symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions are most severe, and they tend to diminish with age. It is important to note that schizophrenia as a disease does not discriminate between race, culture, social class or sex.
When do I know I have schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia may occur gradually, as with a "gradual onset", or with rapid or sudden onset. In other words, schizophrenia may slowly creep up on you or it may strike you quickly. An acute eposode in which a number of symptoms will occur, will include delusions, hallucinations, distorted thinking and an altered sense of self.
Positive Symptoms
Positive symptoms are those symptoms which are present but should not be. They include hallucinations, paranoia, hostility, suspiciousness, persecution among family and friends, uncontrollable thoughts, hearing voices imperceptible to others, anxiety, guilt, and restlessness.
Often a person with schizophrenia will see something or hear something that is imperceptible to others. There is yet no known cause of these improbable symptoms. The person with schizophrenia is convinced he or she has seen or heard something inaudible or invisible to others. This may include morbid, grotesque or otherwise unusual visual hallucinations. It can also include a misrendering of the auditory cues around him or her, as if the voices speaking, which are not percieved as unusual by others, are saying something mean, nasty or dangerous. It can also include hearing voices or sounds which to others are not there at all.
These positive symptoms of schizophrenia must be taken seriously as if the person with schizophrenia is actually hearing or seeing them.
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms include characteristics of the person that are absent, but otherwise would be if the person were not suffering from schizophrenia. This may include a loss of emotional feeling. The patient feels detached and withdrawn, and may appear emotionless or may react inappropriately to hearing bad or otherwise distressing news. Also, the patient may appear ambivalent in certain decision-making situations. The patient may not know what to do because he or she is experiencing conflicting feelings. Loss of confidence may accompany feelings of guilt, especially if the afflicted person feels regret or anguish over some of his or her behavior during a particularly acute episode. This especially can affect the self-esteem of the patient, as he or she may have experienced a great deal of apathy toward normal daily functioning, as if he or she does not have the central drive mechanism that others have. A return to social responsibilites such as work and recreational and social activities are key to regaining the confidence lost at the onset of the illness. Other negative symptoms include "black or white" thinking, unnatural movement or lack of spontaneous movement, irrational stereotyped thinking, and a complete lack of physical movement, as though the patient were in a trance.
Many of these negative symptoms involve the temporary loss of abilites, skills and talents normally associated with regular daily functioning. Therefore the early diagnosis and effective treatment of these negative symptoms, in the treatment of schizophrenia in the patient in general, is key to regaining the ability to live a normal, daily life. Presenting a detailed personal history is the most important information in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, so it is important that the patient keep aware of the negative symptoms as well as the positive. The assistance of co-workers, family and friends is key to understanding how schizophrenia has affected the life of the patient, as he or she may not know until it is too late that he or she is behaving irregularly.
What can I do to treat schizophrenia?
The journey to recovery is long and fraught for some people who do not recieve appropriate and timely treatment for their illness, but for others it can be a simple matter of finding the right medication and sticking to it on a daily basis. Social therapy, i.e. support groups and day treatment programs, is important although it does not work for everyone. Many people with schizophrenia are hospitalized at first and then medical support can take place outside of the hospital setting or on an outpatient basis.
Family counselling is important as family members and close friends may not know exactly what schizophrenia is (having seen it's gross misrepresentation in the media as multiple personality disorder.) They may not know why exactly the patient is acting in bizarre, unusual or atypical ways. Education is the key to the family's involvement in the patient's recovery.
One of the most familiar barriers for patients with schizophrenia to recover is non-compliance. Put simply, this is when the patient refuses to participate in his/her own recovery. Intervention from family, doctors or others may help in some cases, but most likely the patient will have to learn for him/her own self why it is important to stick to an effective treatment plan.
It is important to find the right information about the drugs used to treat schizophrenia. Most conventional drugs will help treat the positive symptoms, but not the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
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