What Is Schizophrenia?
- Schizophrenia is a complex psychological condition that is frequently misunderstood.
- It’s a difficult situation in which a person can lose touch with reality.
- Schizophrenia causes a person’s emotions, perceptions, and thinking to become impaired.
- Its late diagnosis and poor treatment compliance frequently result in long-term consequences.
- Patients with schizophrenia are incapable of carrying out daily tasks such as caring for themselves, finding work, paying bills, settling into a relationship, or maintaining cleanliness.
- It affects about 1% of the population, and it is usually diagnosed in early adulthood.
- This psychotic condition is three times more common in men than in women and typically manifests initially between the age of twenties and thirty-five.
- Genetics plays a significant role in the etiology of schizophrenia. There is a greater risk of developing Schizophrenia if there is a family history, with a 50% risk for identical twins.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
The symptoms of schizophrenia are complex, just like the disorder itself, and not everyone will show any indicators. Experts identified positive and negative symptoms as the two primary kinds of indications. They also included cognitive symptoms in the list of symptoms, which are a part of the psychotic disorder’s diagnosis.
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
- Positive symptoms are those aspects of the condition in which patients believe things that aren’t true or engage in behaviors that lead to separation from reality.
- These include hallucinations, delusions, bizarre behavior and breakdown of the thought process.
Hallucinations
Seeing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and hearing things without an actual environmental stimulus are all examples of hallucination.
Delusions
Delusions are beliefs that exist in the absence of any evidence to support them, and which are not extant in the person’s cultural and religious background. The most common types of delusions are paranoid, persecutory, grandiose, and bizarre.
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative symptoms are those that a person should be able to recognize but is unable to do so. These signs and symptoms include.
- Lack of motivation and enthusiasm in daily activities
- The inability to have an enjoyable experience
- Experiencing social retreat and a lack of desire to interact with others
- Having a “flat affect,” which indicates a restricted expression of emotions through facial expressions and body language.
Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Cognitive symptoms are those signs that have a significant impact on a schizophrenia patient’s ability to work or retain a job because they impair memory, attention, and concentration.
- People with schizophrenia tend to develop significant problems with retaining information.
- They may struggle to apply knowledge and follow instructions.
- Impairment of attention and concentration are also commonly seen.
Experts note modest to marked changes in cognitive ability while analyzing or performing neurological testing, which aids in the diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders.
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders
- Schizophrenia is a term that refers to a group of psychotic disorders that fall under the category of spectrum disorders.
- These symptoms are comparable to those of schizophrenia.
- The sole variation is the length of psychotic episodes and whether other mood disorders accompany them.
The following are some examples of other psychotic disorders:
Schizophreniform Disorder
Schizophrenia-like symptoms characterize schizophrenic disorder that lasts for a period of fewer than six months. If the period exceeds six months, it is more likely to develop full-blown schizophrenia.
- Because it contains deviant thought patterns and dysregulated mood, schizoaffective disorder is a mix of schizophrenia and mood disorders.
- Bipolar disorder, Major depressive disorder, Mania, and Psychosis are all mood disorders that are a part of this illness.
- DSM 5 distinguishes schizoaffective disorder from psychotic depression and psychotic bipolar disorder because the psychosis lasts for at least two weeks.
- Depression and mania symptoms frequently last for more than half of the time.
- The disorder’s further diagnosis is based on two psychotic episodes.
- Delusional disorder is a psychotic disorder in which a patient has at least one delusional episode but does not meet the criteria for schizophrenia.
- By omitting hallucinations, deviant thought patterns, mood problems, and “flat affect,” this psychotic state solely contains delusions.
- Aside from functional disability, people with this illness are social and do not exhibit strange behaviors.
- It’s easiest to diagnose when a person has delusional episodes for at least a month that aren’t caused by a prescription, drug, or physical condition.
A psychotic episode that occurs suddenly and lasts less than a month, followed by complete remission. It’s probable that the patient will have another psychotic episode in the future.
Schizophrenia Subtypes
- When the DSM 5 was published in 2013, the five subtypes of schizophrenia were officially established.
- Experts did not see the symptoms of these subtypes as reliable or valid in detecting schizophrenia in clinical practice.
- As a result, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has phased out the diagnosis of these subgroups.
- Even today, some mental health experts use these subtypes to not only diagnose schizophrenia, but also to create a treatment plan that is specific to the needs of their patients.
By omitting slurred speech, disordered actions, and any flat or improper effect, a patient with paranoia experiences delusional episodes and auditory hallucinations.
- Psychotic disorders are assumed to cause catatonia, which is motor impairment.
- Individuals with schizophrenia, for example, engage in repeated movements, imitate noises, and engage in compulsive behaviors.
- Catatonia is not recognized as an illness in the DSM 5, but they are used to diagnosing other psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and depression.
- It doesn’t have any positive symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, muddled speech, or catatonia/disordered behavior.
- Only the negative symptoms and traits of schizophrenia are present in this subtype, but they are milder.
Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a persistent neuropsychiatric disorder that a variety of circumstances can cause. While the specific etiology of schizophrenia is yet unknown, genetic, environmental, and neurological variables are among those being examined and studied.
Role of Genes
If a person has a relative with schizophrenia, they are more likely to get the illness than someone who does not have a family history of the disorder. Incidence rates, or the number of people who develop schizophrenia after being exposed to it in the general population, are startlingly high.
- Identical twins have a 50% prevalence rate.
- Persons with two schizophrenia parents have a 40% prevalence rate.
- Intimate/fraternal twins have a 12%–15% prevalence rate.
- People with one schizophrenic parent have a 12% prevalence rate
- People with schizophrenic non-twin siblings have an 8% prevalence rate.
- Instead, everyone has a one percent chance of developing schizophrenia
Environmental Stressors
The role of environmental stressors in the development of schizophrenia is unknown, but some psychosocial factors, such as separation/divorce, abuse, or neglect, can play a massive role in emotional disturbance.
Neurological Variables
Neurotransmitters, as per the study, play a key role in the development of schizophrenia. The research of neurotransmitters and schizophrenia is especially notable because most of the drug treatments for schizophrenia involve controlling these neurochemicals.
Schizophrenia Treatment
- Schizophrenia is a long-term neuropsychiatric condition, but with proper treatment, patients can readily manage their symptoms.
- It also avoids relapse and hospitalization with appropriate therapy.
- Schizophrenia has varied effects on different people.
- As a result, doctors recommend therapies that are specifically tailored to individual requirements.
Some possible treatment possibilities include:
- Oral Antipsychotics are the gold standard treatment for schizophrenia. In the case of non-compliance or patient preference, long-acting injectable forms of antipsychotics are also available that can last from two weeks to six months in duration.
- Counseling can assist patients in understanding coping methods that they can use in an emergency.
- Psychosocial support includes family participation, assistance with social skills learning, stress management, spotting warning signs, and extending the remission phase.
Anyone who cares for someone with schizophrenia can help by learning how to recognize the signs of an episode, urging the individual to stick to their treatment regimen, and supporting them throughout their journey. In the event that you require assistance, you can speak with mental health specialists who are trained to assist you with schizophrenia.
