Schizophrenia: Symptoms, Treatments, & Support Options

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder, characterized by psychotic symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, distorted thinking and emotional patterns, and so on. People suffering from schizophrenia need lifelong treatment to manage its symptoms and lead a functional life. However, people with more severe symptoms can require frequent hospitalization as well.
 
At the NuView Treatment Center, we treat schizophrenia with a combination of medication and psychotherapy. We believe that early detection and treatment of schizophrenia will lead to better outcomes and long-term results. Moreover, with innovation and advancement in medicine and psychology, there is also the promise of new and effective therapies in the treatment of the disorder.

What Is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic psychiatric disorder. The term “schizophrenia” has its roots in Latin, and it translates to “split mind.” However, one must not confuse schizophrenia with a split personality or dissociative identity disorder. Instead, schizophrenia leads to psychosis, where there is a complete break from reality. It is often characterized by symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, and people with schizophrenia will not be able to distinguish between what is real and what is it that they might have imagined.

Schizophrenia is a well-known disorder. While this is good for awareness, on the flip side, it becomes difficult to separate fact from fiction. There is a lot of stigma attached to it. For instance, people suffering from schizophrenia are considered to be violent when, in fact, they are not any more violent or dangerous than the rest of the general population. Such stigma has often led to devastating effects like homelessness. People with schizophrenia often end up homeless or living their lives in hospitals.

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How Common Is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is not very common or prevalent. In fact, as per the World Health Organization, it only affects 0.32% of the people worldwide. This is 1 in 300 to be very precise.

Schizophrenia affects men and women almost equally, but it has been found that there is an early onset of schizophrenia among men than in women.

What Are The Symptoms Of Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia can adversely impact the thinking, emotional, and behavioral patterns of people, giving rise to positive and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms are those symptoms that are present but must not be under normal conditions:

• Hallucinations – It is experiencing things that are not present in the environment. For instance, seeing things or hearing voices in the head are more common kinds of hallucinations in schizophrenia.

• Delusions – It is common in schizophrenia to imagine things that are not real. For instance, they can feel like they are the targets of some emotions or comments when they are not. There are also grandiose delusions, like believing themselves to be famous and capable of extraordinary things.

• Disorganized Thinking, Speech, and Behaviors – Disorganized thinking patterns among people with schizophrenia lead to incoherent speech, which makes it very difficult to understand them. They may also behave in silly, childlike ways, or even get irritated and agitated for no reason. These kinds of behaviors are generally considered to be very inappropriate in social settings.

• Bizarre Motor Behaviors – These can involve catatonic behaviors that result from reduced sensitivity to the environment. Moreover, aimless and repetitive movements and odd facial expressions and gestures are also common.

Coming to negative symptoms, they are abilities that need to be present but are not in schizophrenia. They give rise to:

• Flat Effect – This refers to being unable to show emotions either through facial expressions, body language, or tone of voice.

• Alogia – It refers to reduced speech, where the person speaks less or only says very few words.

• Anhedonia – It refers to reduced feelings of pleasure, which means the person cannot enjoy what they once used to do.

• Asociality – It reflects a decreased desire or interest for social contact.

• Avolition – It is a reduced motivation to perform self-directed and purposeful behaviors.

Generally, the above-mentioned symptoms start to show in adulthood. A little early for men, as they can become evident during the late teens or early 20s. Among women, they become evident between 20s and 30s. Even otherwise, slightly more subtle signs can be observed earlier as well, and among teens, these become visible in the form of:

• Reduced motivation

• Withdrawal from interpersonal relationships

• Poor performance

• Poor sleep

• Irritability and depressed mood.

What Are The Causes Or Risk Factors Of Schizophrenia?

While a lot is known about schizophrenia, it might be a little surprising that there is no known cause of schizophrenia. Experts suggest that changes in the brain structure and the central nervous system can be responsible for it. Meanwhile, another theory called the dopamine theory of schizophrenia proposes that an imbalance of dopamine in the brain can lead to schizophrenia.

Nevertheless, certain risk factors of schizophrenia are known and they are as follows:

• A family history of schizophrenia can lead to the development of schizophrenia as twin and adoption studies have estimated heritability of 70% - 80%.

• Prenatal and birth-related problems, like exposure to toxins while in the womb, low nutrition before and after birth, and low birth weight.

• Intake of psychoactive or psychotropic substances from teenage years or even during adulthood years.

• Adverse life experiences of stress and poverty.

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How Is Schizophrenia Diagnosed?

Diagnosis of schizophrenia is based on the following:

Psychological Evaluation – Colloquially known as “psych eval,” it involves observing the client, including their looks and behaviors. It involves asking questions about their thoughts, feelings, and assessing the presence of hallucinations, delusions, and even the risk of suicide. It also involves investigating family history.

Physical Examination – This is done to rule out whether the evident symptoms are not related to other underlying medical conditions and also to check for complications.

Tests and Screening – Usually involving CT and MRI scans, they are performed to screen for the presence of other substances like alcohol or drugs and rule out other symptoms as well.

What Are The Treatment Options For Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment to manage symptoms, as unfortunately, there is no cure for schizophrenia yet. Treatment involves medication and psychotherapy, so the general team involves a psychiatrist, psychologist, and case managers.

When it comes to medication, antipsychotics are the first line of treatment for schizophrenia as they work by controlling the levels of dopamine in the brain. However, their side effects can discourage medicine use, so psychiatrists monitor and adjust the medication as needed.  

First-generation and second-generation antipsychotics are used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Examples of first-generation antipsychotics are Haldol and Chlorpromazine. Examples of second-generation antipsychotics are Aripiprazole, Lurasidone, and Olanzapine.

Long-acting injectables like Abilify Maintena or Invega Sustenna are also administered. These can be administered every few weeks.

If clients do not respond to medication, then in some cases Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is also considered. In ECT, the client is administered general anesthesia, and electric currents are administered. It leads to a seizure for 1 – 2 minutes and can provide some relief.

Psychotherapeutic interventions involve individual therapy, family therapy, and social skills training. In combination with medication, these help in managing symptoms and leading a functional life.

In severe cases of schizophrenia, hospitalization is also considered for safety and well-being.

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Our dedicated professional staff is here to design a treatment plan tailored to your unique needs, guiding you or your loved one on the journey to lasting recovery.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can a schizophrenic live a normal life?

Early diagnosis and the right treatment can enable people with schizophrenia to lead functional, fulfilling lives. However, the severity of the symptoms can make it difficult to engage in everyday activities.

Is schizophrenia treatable?

Schizophrenia is treatable even if not curable. With the right treatment, the symptoms of schizophrenia can be managed which helps in leading functional and fulfilling lives.

Is it safe to marry a schizophrenic?

With an improvement in prognosis and treatment options, yes marrying a person with schizophrenia is safe. In fact, it has also been found that marriage can have a positive effect on people with schizophrenia.