Health

Schizophrenia – A Complete Guide to Understand the Chronic Mental Disorder

Clare Louise

People with mental disorders face human rights violations and do not enjoy their social life. As per WHO, schizophrenia affects 1 in 300 people worldwide. It also mentions that they die 2 to 3 times earlier than normal people due to physical weakness.

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that relates to psychosis. It affects your ability to think, act, express emotions, perceive reality, and make decisions.In general, people suffering from schizophrenia lose their ability to differentiate between their real and unreal thoughts and experiences.It is a complex illness that lasts longer.

There is no cure for schizophrenia, but effective and safer treatments to control it are available across the United States. Younger males (15-25 years old) and middle-aged females (25-35 years old) are more likely to develop schizophrenia. It is difficult to diagnose too young and too old patients of schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia are mostly non-violent and can live well with it.

At A Mission for Michael (AMFM), schizophrenia treatment includes an extensive treatment plan designed by their expert staff. They provide unmatchable intensive and premier individual courses of treatment with the help of a 2to1 client-to-staff ratio. Having mental health treatment centers located in Southern California and Virginia, they have pioneered the diagnosis for all kinds of mental illness.

People with schizophrenia often face difficulties and feel frightened in the society, at work, at school, and in relationships.The exact cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, but the studies show that factors like drug and alcohol misuse may play a part.Early treatment may help get things under control,but if left untreated, the symptoms may get worse and more violent.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

There is a misconception of associating split or dual personality with schizophrenia which is not true. People with schizophrenia lose touch with reality.

The symptoms mainly fall into four major categories –

  1. Positive symptoms – The abnormally present symptoms like hallucinations and delusions are termed positive symptoms. It includes hearing voices and seeing things that do not exist.
  2. Negative symptoms – It describes the symptoms that show the inability to function normally like lack of facial expression, decreased or no emotions, and inability to speak and express. They lose interest in daily activities, social gatherings and cannot experience a pleasure.
  3. Disorganized symptoms–They have trouble with logical thinking and speech with abnormal behaviors.
  4. Cognitive Symptoms-Schizophrenia patients have difficulties in making decisions, focusing, or paying attention.

What are the risk factors associated with schizophrenia?

The risk factors that contribute to developing schizophrenia are –

  1. Genetic risk – Schizophrenia can mutate and keep passing from parent to child, but genetic information cannot predict who will develop schizophrenia. Abnormal hormonal changes may also lead to suffering schizophrenia.
  2. Environment –Factors like poverty, stressful surroundings, and malnutrition can increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. Consumption of alcohol and marijuana can also be a factor.
  3. Brain structure– The malfunctioning of the brain and neurotransmitters may contribute to the development of schizophrenia.

There are no specific laboratory tests but only physical examinations to diagnose schizophrenia.