Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which affects a person’s thinking, feelings and behaviour, and is most likely to start between the ages of 15 to 35. It affects about 1 in every 100 people during their lifetime. Often, it is associated with violence, but this is the exception rather than the rule. Hospital admission is not usually necessary and many people with schizophrenia work, live a stable life and have relationships.
The causes of schizophrenia are varied, from genetic origins and subtle brain damage at birth, to viral infections during pregnancy and childhood abuse. Street drugs such as ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines and crack can probably trigger it, particularly in teenagers using cannabis, and stressful events and family tensions can also make it worse.
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia:
- Hallucinations - hearing, smelling, feeling or seeing something that isn't there. Hearing voices is the most common problem. These can seem utterly real, and although they can be pleasant, they are more often rude, critical, abusive or annoying.
- Delusions - believing something completely even though others find your ideas strange and can't work out how you've come to believe them.
- Difficulty thinking – you find it hard to concentrate and tend to drift from one idea to another. Other people can find it hard to understand you.
- Feeling controlled – you may feel that your thoughts are vanishing, that they are not your own, or that your body is being taken over and controlled by someone else.
Negative symptoms include:
- Loss of interest, energy and emotions - you may not bother to get up or go out of the house, and often don’t get round to routine jobs like washing, tidying, or looking after your clothes.
- You may feel uncomfortable with other people.
- Some people hear voices without negative symptoms.
- Others have delusions but few other problems.
- If someone has only muddled thinking and negative symptoms, the problem may not be recognised for years.
Treatment
As with any mental health condition, the earlier you get help, the better the outlook. For Outpatients, Capio Nightingale Hospital has psychiatrists who specialise in treating schizophrenia. They offer advice on treatment options, help people to overcome symptoms and enable them to take control of their lives. Capio Nightingale Hospital also has Inpatient and Day Care Treatment Programmes specifically tailored for this condition.
Psychological Treatments
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. CBT can help people to live with their experiences and discover what makes them unwell, to unlock new ways of thinking and behaving to stay well.
- Counselling. This form of therapy is invaluable for support with daily problems.
- Family therapy. The aim with this treatment is to help families and sufferers cope better with the illness: learning about the disorder, ways to support someone with schizophrenia, and how to solve some of the practical problems that can arise.
Self-Help
- Learn to recognise the signs that you‘re becoming unwell. These can include basic things such as going off food, feeling anxious or sleeping badly. Someone you trust may be able to alert you if they see you becoming unwell.
- Try to avoid getting too stressed, or using drugs or alcohol to feel better. Make sure you are able to do things that you enjoy.
- Try to keep healthy - eat well, don’t smoke and keep fit.
Helping someone else
It can be hard to understand what is happening to someone affected by schizophrenia. The person you know starts to behave differently, avoids other people, and becomes less active. If they have delusional ideas, they won’t always talk about them. If they are hearing voices, they may suddenly look away from you as they listen to the voice. When you speak to them, they may say little, or be difficult to understand. A person with schizophrenia can be more sensitive to stress, so you can help by avoiding arguments and keeping calm.
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