Accepting Schizophrenia
When I was hospitalized (long story) my doctor was trying to discern whether or not I was truly bipolar or schizophrenic. There are times I have hallucinations of hearing a voice saying I’m not worthy. Or not smart enough. Or not a good enough mother and wife.
Schizophrenia describes a condition where people interpret reality in a disordered way. Some symptoms may include hearing and seeing things, delusions, paranoia, depression, confused thinking, poor concentration, and inappropriate emotional responses.
It is not known what causes schizophrenia. Some scientists theorize a malfunction of brain neurotransmitters such as dopamine and glutamate, may contribute to the condition.
According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia affects 20 million people worldwide. Schizophrenia can affect anyone at any age, but symptoms usually show up in people who are in late teens and 20s. The annual cost for the schizophrenic population can range from US$94 million to US$102 billion.
Some types of schizophrenia are paranoid schizophrenia where a person imagines he or she is being punished by someone; catatonic schizophrenia which affects a person’s mobility; disorganized or hebephrenic schizophrenia which you have disorganized speech patterns making it difficult to understand you; undifferentiated schizophrenia where you may have aspects of paranoid, catatonic and disorganized schizophrenia but you don’t fit the criteria for any of those three subtypes; and residual schizophrenia where you may experience negative symptoms such as lack of concentration, poor memory, and slow movement.
What is important about schizophrenia is that the condition may prevent someone from functioning normally on a day to day basis. Someone with this condition may stop washing or grooming themselves, say things that don’t make sense, may be energetic at times or not move at all other times, cut themselves off from family and friends, have mood swings, or just not take an interest in life. People with the condition are far more likely to hurt themselves than others.
Schizophrenia and split or multiple personality are not the same thing. Multiple personality or dissociative identity disorder is a condition that stems from some earlier trauma that the person experienced where in order for the person to cope the psyche may form at least two or more distinct personalities. Trauma doesn’t have to happen in order for a person to have schizophrenia. Drugs help manage schizophrenia while dissociative identity disorder is managed mainly through psychotherapy and behavior modifications.
Your doctor will perform a complete medical history and physical examination if symptoms are present as well as diagnostic tests like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scan in order to rule out a physical illness. Once that is done and the person is referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist, then it is up to that physician to determine whether or not the symptoms fit the criteria for schizophrenia in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
Schizophrenia may run in families but you don’t necessarily have to have a family history to be assessed for the condition. Some research indicates that schizophrenia may be linked with drug experimentation, but it still very unclear.
Standard treatment for schizophrenia is medication and psychotherapy. Medication such as olanzapine (also prescribed for bipolar disease) and risperidone help to ease psychotic symptoms. But medication alone is not the whole solution to schizophrenia. Assistance with basic chores and responsibility of daily life may be essential to living successfully with schizophrenia.
Without proper treatment, people with schizophrenia may isolate themselves from the world. Those with the condition are disproportionately represented in hospitals, jails, and shelters. They often engage in self medication with alcohol and drugs.
Some studies suggest alternative treatment options such as high doses of vitamin B-3 and vitamin C may be beneficial to those with schizophrenia but results are inconclusive. For instance, Rutgers University scientists tested whether or not low dose and high dose niacin would have an effect on patients with schizophrenia. No advantage was detected. Consult your physician before you think of experimenting with complimentary treatments (that may not work).
It is heartbreaking to have any mental disorder, especially a serious one like schizophrenia. But with medications and counseling to start, there is a way back to normalcy. I know what it is like to think all hope is lost. But it isn’t. There are resources and people that can help.
