Schizophrenia is a general term that’s used for several mental ailments, including multiple personality disorder, catatonia, and psychosis. One common factor is that the condition impairs the person’s brain, which impacts their life. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, treatments exist that can help schizophrenia sufferers manage their condition.
People who have schizophrenia interpret reality abnormally. Some schizophrenics have delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking, abnormal motor behavior, and an inability to perform normal daily functioning. This might include such things as keeping up with personal hygiene or everyday activities, experiencing normal emotions or pleasure, and social involvement. Oftentimes, a schizophrenic cannot focus their thoughts or remember things. Sometimes they cannot think through problems and come up with solutions.
What exactly causes schizophrenia is still a mystery, but the condition is considered a brain disease. Researchers think schizophrenia could be caused by a combination of brain chemistry, environmental factors, and genetics. Schizophrenia is also frequently associated with significant distress and impairment of the person’s important areas of life. The distress and impairment may have happened in the person’s personal, family, or social area of their life. Alternatively, the distress may have occurred in the person’s educational or occupational sphere.
While the cause of schizophrenia is not known, certain risk factors are known. One risk factor is if the sufferer’s mother was malnourished or exposed to certain toxins or viruses during pregnancy. Another risk factor is a family history of schizophrenia. Taking psychoactive or psychotropic drugs as a teenager is also a risk factor. Early diagnosis and treatment are possible when people know more about these risk factors.
Schizophrenia symptoms typically start when a person is in their 20s – early to mid-20s for men and late 20s for women. The condition is more difficult to recognize in teenagers, but symptoms can still be present. A teenager with schizophrenia may lack motivation and experience depression. Irritability, sleeping difficulties, and social withdrawal are other symptoms seen in teenagers with the condition.
Left untreated, the person can develop problems in every area of their life. The person may have an anxiety disorder and/or be obsessive-compulsive (OCD). They may be depressed and/or abuse drugs, nicotine, and/or alcohol. Though uncommon, aggressive behavior can develop. They may develop an inability to attend school or go to work. Schizophrenics are two to three times more likely to die early than other people are, typically from a metabolic, cardiovascular, or infectious disease.
However, treatment can bring relief and hope. Treatments include medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychosocial rehabilitation, psychoeducation, and family interventions. Governmental housing, supported employment, or assisted living should also be made available to individuals with schizophrenia.