Schizophrenia: Treatment, Symptoms & Coping Techniques

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that tampers the ability of a person to think, behave and feel. People with schizophrenia lose touch with reality. The symptoms of the condition can be disabling. Fortunately, schizophrenia is quite rare compared to other mental disorders.

Schizophrenia’s symptoms may include hallucinations, distorted thoughts, paranoia and a constant feeling of fright. Psychiatrists evaluate patient’s symptoms, testing their mental ability on different levels while studying their family and medical history, before prescribing medication or psychotherapy for their treatment.

In most cases, schizophrenia patients can lead normal lives, provided they receive treatment regularly.

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder in which the ability of a person to think, act and express is compromised. He/ she loses hold of reality and how it relates to others.

Such patients have trouble functioning at school, at work, in relationships and society, in general. Schizophrenia can leave its patients withdrawn and frightened. The condition doesn’t have a cure making it a life-long condition, but the adversity of its symptoms can be controlled, which can help in allowing the patients to live a healthy routine life.

Unlike popular belief, the condition is not a multiple or split personality disorder. Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness called psychosis which prevents its sufferer from differentiating between reality and imagination.

To a Schizophrenia patient, the world seems like a confusing place. To them, all the images, sounds and thoughts are just a vast a jumble of chaos.

Psychotic Episode

A sudden change in a patient’s behavior or personality when they encounter a schizophrenia attack, that eventually leads to them losing the touch with reality is called a psychotic episode.

When the disorder is active, it can be characterized by a series of episodes during which the patient cannot distinguish between unreal and real experiences. As the disease progresses, these episodes can become frequent and severe that may or may not last much longer.

Signs & Symptoms

Patients suffering from schizophrenia usually start showing symptoms between the ages of 16 to 30. In some rare cases, children can also develop schizophrenia too.

The schizophrenia symptoms fall into three categories:

· Positive

· Negative

· Cognitive

Positive Symptoms

Positive symptoms include psychotic behaviors that are generally not seen in normal healthy people. Patients with positive symptoms tend to lose touch with some or all aspects of reality. Positive symptoms may include:

· Delusions

· Hallucinations

· Movement disorders (agitated movements)

· Thought disorders (dysfunctional or unusual ways of thinking)

Negative Symptoms

They usually involve disruptions in normal behaviors and emotions. Symptoms may include:

· Reduced Speaking

· Difficulty in starting and then sustaining activities

· Reduced or lost feelings of pleasure in day-to-day life

· Flat Affect (reduced or limited expression of emotions via voice tone or facial expression)

Cognitive Symptoms

In some patients, schizophrenia’s cognitive symptoms can be very subtle, while for others, they can be severe. Patients may lose their memory or find changes in their memory and other aspects of their thinking ability.

Its symptoms may include:

· Trouble paying attention or focusing

· Problems with remembering information or altered memory

· Poor executive functioning (patient loses his/ her ability of understanding information and using it for making decisions)

Risk Factors

Several factors may contribute to a patient’s risk of developing schizophrenia.

Genes & Environment

Years of research has shown that schizophrenia can sometimes run in the family. However, there are several patients with the disease who don’t have anyone or just one or two people in the family with the disorder. Conversely, there are several people whose family members might have schizophrenia, but they never develop it.

Scientists believe that some genes may have a higher risk of schizophrenia; however, no single gene is responsible for causing the disorder by itself. Genetic information cannot help in predicting a person’s risk of developing schizophrenia.

Scientists have found that interactions between genes and other aspects of the patients’ environment cause the schizophrenia to develop, which may involve:

· Malnutrition before birth

· Problems during birth

· Psychosocial factors

· Exposure to viruses

Different Brain Structure & Chemistry

According to research an imbalance in the complex structure or interrelated chemical compositions in the brain which may affect the neurotransmitters (substances used by brain cells for communicating with each other) glutamate and dopamine, and possibly others, causing the brain to give a reaction can play a role in developing schizophrenia.

Brain development problems occurring before birth may also lead to faulty nerve connections. The human brain experiences major changes during puberty; these changes can also trigger some psychotic symptoms in people who are sensitive or vulnerable because of brain differences or genetics.

Use of alcohol, cigarettes and illicit drugs can also increase the severity of symptoms in a schizophrenic patient.

Treatments and Therapies

The causes of the disease still remain unknown, and schizophrenia doesn’t have a permanent cure, its treatment focuses on managing or eliminating the symptoms.

Anti-psychotics

Antipsychotic Medications are prescribed to patients for regular use, and usually, one pill or a certain quantity of the liquid form should be taken daily. Some antipsychotics are also taken in the form of injections that should be taken one or two times a month.

Some patients might also get side effects from the medicines. However, in most cases, these side effects go after a couple of days. Patients should closely work with their doctors for finding the best medication or a combination of medicines, and the right dosage that can help them recover.

Psycho-social Treatments

These treatments usually start when the doctors have found a suitable medicine for the patient. Psychiatrists help patients by teaching them coping skills for addressing the everyday challenges caused because of schizophrenia that helps people in pursuing their life goals or live like a normal individual, and attend a school or go to work. Individuals participating in regular psychosocial treatment are less likely to experience psychotic episodes or have relapses that can lead them to the hospital doors.

Patients can find some of the best psychiatrists in India and receive treatment facilities at an affordable price.

Coordinated Specialty Care in India

This treatment requires integration of medicines, psychosocial therapies, family involvement, case management, and supported education, that all help in reducing the symptoms of the disease while improving the quality of patient’s life.

The Psychiatry Hospitals in India ensure to help patients achieve full recovery after their initial Schizophrenia episode providing proper treatment care during the disorder’s earliest stages.

Indian psychiatrists specialize in reducing the likelihood of patients developing a long-term disability, which patients with schizophrenia often experience. They work with these patients and train them to cope with the disease, helping them lead independent and productive lives.

Helping Someone with Schizophrenia

Caring for or supporting someone you love while they are suffering through schizophrenia can be very hard. It is frustrating to interact with someone who doesn’t understand reality.

Tips to take care of schizophrenia patients:

· Help them get treatment on time while encouraging them to follow the doctor’s instructions and stay in treatment

· Remember that their hallucinations or beliefs seem real to them, so avoid acting on anything they say

· Tell them that what they believe in can be true while telling them that they have the right to see things in their own way

· Be supportive, respectful and kind with them without tolerating inappropriate or dangerous behavior

· Encourage them to join support groups