Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people abnormally perceive the facts.
Schizophrenia can cause hallucinations, delusions, and highly disordered thinking and behavior, which can impair and disable every day.

Schizophrenia 's complexity may help explain why the disease is misconcepted. Schizophrenia is not about dual personalities or multi-personality. Most schizophrenia sufferers are not dangerous or violent. We are not homeless nor live in hospitals, either. Most schizophrenia patients live with family members, in group homes or on their own.

• Symptoms:

a)Positive psychotic symptoms: Hallucinations, such as hearing voices, paranoid delusions and exaggerated or distorted perceptions, beliefs and behaviors.

b)Negative symptoms: A loss or a decrease in the ability to initiate plans, speak, express emotion or find pleasure.

c)Disorganization symptoms: Confused and disordered thinking and speech, trouble with logical thinking and sometimes bizarre behavior or abnormal movements.

d)Impaired cognition: Problems with attention, concentration, memory and declining educational performance.

• causes:

The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition.
Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode. However, it's not known why some people develop symptoms while others do not. It's more likely that different combinations of genes make people more vulnerable to the condition. However, having these genes does not necessarily mean you'll develop schizophrenia.

• Antipsychotic medications:

It can help reduce the intensity and frequency of psychotic symptoms. They are usually taken daily in pill or liquid forms. Some antipsychotic medications are given as injections once or twice a month, which some individuals find to be more convenient than daily oral doses. Patients whose symptoms do not improve with standard antipsychotic medication typically receive clozapine. People treated with clozapine must undergo routine blood testing to detect a potentially dangerous side effect that occurs in 1-2% of patients.

• Psychosocial Treatments:

Cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral skills training, supported employment.A combination of these therapies and antipsychotic medication is common. Psychosocial treatments can be helpful for teaching and improving coping skills to address the everyday challenges of schizophrenia. They can help people pursue their life goals, such as attending school, working, or forming relationships.

Left untreated, schizophrenia can result in severe problems that affect every area of life. Complications that schizophrenia may cause.
Therefore, we must maintain our physical and mental health and stay completely away from mental distractions and stress.

written by: rehab mohamed

• references:

a)https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443#:~:text=Schizophrenia%20is%20a%20serious%20mental,functioning%2C%20and%20can%20be%20disabling.

b)https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

c)https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia

d)https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/schizophrenia/causes/#:~:text=The%20exact%20causes%20of%20schizophrenia,might%20trigger%20a%20psychotic%20episode.