Schizophrenia

 

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental disorder that affects the way a person thinks, acts, expresses his emotions, sees realities, interacts with others. Although schizophrenia is not as common as other major mental illnesses, it can be extremely incurable and disabling. People with schizophrenia often have problems doing well in the community, at work, at school, and in relationships. They may feel intimidated and withdrawn, and they may seem to lose contact with the facts. This lifelong disease cannot be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment. Contrary to popular belief, schizophrenia is not a disorder or a personality disorder. Schizophrenia involves psychosis, a type of mental illness in which a person is unable to express reality in thought. At times, people with mental health problems lose contact with the facts. The world may appear to be riddled with thoughts, images, and sounds. Their behavior can be very strange and shocking. A sudden change in personality and behavior, which occurs when people with it close contact with reality, is called a psychotic episode. The severity of schizophrenia varies from person to person. Some people have only one episode of psychotic, while others have many episodes during their lifetime but live a relatively normal life. Still, others may have difficulty functioning over time, with little improvement between fully developed brain units. Symptoms of schizophrenia appear to worsen and improve in cycles known as relapse and relief.

What Are the Early Symptoms of Schizophrenia? This condition usually shows its first symptoms in men in their teens or early 20s. It mainly affects women in their late teens and early 30s. The time when symptoms begin even before complete psychosis is called the prodromal period. It can take days, weeks, or even years. It can be difficult to spot it because there is usually no specific cause. You can recognize only the subtle changes in behavior, especially among youths. These include changes in grades, public withdrawal and the problem with concentration, anger burns, and sleep difficulties.

Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia; In this case, the word positive does not mean good. Mention additional thoughts or actions that are not based on truth. They are sometimes called psychotic symptoms and can include: Myths; these are false, mixed, and sometimes bizarre beliefs that are not based on fact and that one refuses to give up, even when exposed to facts. For example, a person with faults may believe that people hear their thoughts, that they are God or the devil, or that people put thoughts in their head or plot against it. Hallucinations; involve a false sense. Hearing voices is the most common sight in people with schizophrenia. Words may refer to a person's behavior, insulting him, or giving instructions. The most common types include hallucinations, peculiar odors, having a funny taste in your mouth, and feeling sensations in your skin even though nothing is affecting your body. Catatonia; in this case, the person may stop talking, and his body may be repaired in one place for a very long time.

Uncommon Symptoms of Schizophrenia; these are good signs that a person is not able to think clearly or respond expectedly. Examples include: talking about silly sentences or silly words, making it difficult for someone to communicate or catch a conversation. Immediate switching from one thought to another without any obvious or meaningful communication between you slowly moving, inability to make decisions, excessive writing but without explanation, forgetting or losing things, repeated movements or touches, such as slow walking or walking in circles, having problems making sense of everyday sight, sounds, and emotions.

Psychiatric Symptoms of Schizophrenia; Someone will have a problem: understanding information and using it to make decisions (a doctor may call this executive inefficiency), focus or attention, applying their knowledge immediately after reading it (this is called working memory), recognizing that they have these problems.

Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia; The word "negative" here does not mean "evil." It marks a general lack of behavior in people with schizophrenia. Symptoms of schizophrenia include Lack of emotion or limited range of emotions, withdrawal from family, friends, and community, less power, to say the least, lack of motivation, loss of happiness or interest in life, and bad habits of cleanliness and grooming.

What Causes Schizophrenia? The exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown. But like cancer and diabetes, schizophrenia is a real biological disorder. Researchers have identified several factors that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, including Heredity: Schizophrenia can run in families, which means a greater chance of developing schizophrenia may be passed from parents to their children. Brain chemicals and circuits: People with schizophrenia may be unable to control brain chemicals called neurotransmitters that control certain pathways, or "regions," of nerve cells that affect thinking and behavior. Brain abnormalities: Studies have found abnormal brain structures in people with schizophrenia. But this does not apply to all people with schizophrenia. It can affect people who do not have the disease. Environment: Things like bacterial infections, exposure to toxins such as marijuana, or stressful situations can trigger schizophrenia in people whose genes make them more susceptible to the disease. Schizophrenia is most commonly seen when the body undergoes hormonal and physical changes, such as those that occur during adolescence and adolescence.

Who Gets Schizophrenia? Anyone can get schizophrenia. It affects people all over the world, from all races and cultures. Although it can occur at any age, schizophrenia usually occurs in adolescence or early 20s. The disease affects men and women equally, although symptoms often appear early in men. The more symptoms begin, the more likely the illness is. Children over the age of 5 can have schizophrenia, but it is less common before puberty.

How Is Schizophrenia Diagnosed? If symptoms of schizophrenia are present, the doctor will take a complete medical history and sometimes a physical examination. Although there are no laboratory tests to directly diagnose schizophrenia, the doctor may use a variety of tests, and perhaps blood tests or brain imaging studies, to rule out another physical illness or intoxication (drug-induced psychosis) as a cause of symptoms. If the doctor does not find another valid cause for the symptoms of schizophrenia, he or she may refer the person to a psychiatrist or psychiatrist, a mental health professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating mental illness. Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interviews and diagnostic tools to diagnose a person with dementia. The therapist supports his or her diagnosis in the individual and family symptom symptoms and his or her observation of the person's mood and behavior. A person is diagnosed with schizophrenia if they have at least two of these symptoms for at least 6 months: deception, hallucinations, informal speech, and informal or catatonic behavior.

Negative symptoms; One of the signs should be deception, hallucinations, and informal speech. Within 6 months, a person should have a month of active symptoms. (There may be a little too effective treatment.) Symptoms should adversely affect the community or work, and they cannot be caused by any other condition.

How Is Schizophrenia Treated? The goal of treating schizophrenia is to alleviate the symptoms and reduce the chances of relapse, or recurrence of symptoms. Treatment for schizophrenia may include Medications: The main drugs used to treat schizophrenia are called antipsychotics. These drugs do not cure schizophrenia but help relieve the most disturbing symptoms, including delusions, hallucinations, and cognitive problems. Specialized Integrated Care (CSC): This is a team approach to treating schizophrenia when the first symptoms appear. It includes medicine and treatment and social services, employment, and educational interventions. The family is involved as much as possible. Early treatment is the key to helping patients live normal life. Psychiatry: Although medications can help alleviate the symptoms of schizophrenia, a variety of psychotherapy can help with behavioral, psychological, social, and occupational disorders associated with illness. With treatment, patients can also learn to control their symptoms, identify warning signs of relapse, and come up with a plan to prevent a recurrence. Psychosocial therapies include Rehabilitation; focusing on community skills and job training to help people with schizophrenia work in the community and live as independently as possible. Mental rehabilitation; includes learning strategies to solve problems by processing information. She often uses computer-based exercises, training, and exercises to strengthen mental skills that include attention, memory, planning, and coordination. Individual psychotherapy can help a person better understand their illness, and learn coping skills. Family therapy, can help families deal with a loved one with schizophrenia, enabling them to better help their loved one. Hospitalization: Many people with schizophrenia may be treated as outpatients. But hospitalization may be the best option for people: with severe symptoms, they may injure themselves or others and those who can take care of themselves at home. 

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): In this procedure, electrodes are connected to the human head. While asleep under general anesthesia, doctors send a small electric shock to the brain. The course of ECT treatment usually involves 2-3 treatments per week for a few weeks. The treatment of each shock causes a controlled seizure. A series of treatments over time lead to the development of emotions and thinking. Scientists do not fully understand how ECT and controlled seizures cause relief, but some researchers think that ECT-induced seizures may affect the release of neurotransmitters in the brain. ECT is less proven to help with schizophrenia than depression or depression, so it is less commonly used when emotional symptoms are not present. It can be helpful when medication is no longer effective, or if severe depression or catatonia makes treatment more difficult. Research: Researchers are looking at a process called deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat schizophrenia. Surgeons are equipped with electrodes that activate certain areas of the brain that are believed to control thinking and vision. DBS is an established treatment for severe Parkinson's disease and significant seizures, but it is still being tested for the treatment of dementia.

Samina Zaheer (Health Tips, Health Care)