Schizophrenia
Georgia's Premier Schizophrenia Treatment
Facility
Schizophrenia
is a serious disorder that affects how people think, feel, act, and respond
to conditions around them. About one percent of the world population
suffers from the illness. In the United States, this equates to
roughly 2.5 million individuals.
Someone with schizophrenia has difficulty distinguishing between
what is real and what is imaginary. The person is often socially
unresponsive and withdrawn, and has trouble expressing normal emotions in
social situations. The vast majority of sufferers are
not violent and pose no threat to others. Symptoms vary among individuals
and usually appear between the ages of 15 and 25, often earlier in males
than females. Generally, treatment for schizophrenia is sought two to four
years after the first onset of symptoms.
For adults diagnosed with schizophrenia, Skyland Trail located in Atlanta Georgia
is uniquely positioned to help in the treatment and recovery process by
offering a complete range of programs and services. These include day treatment, residential
services, return-to-work programs, case management, dual
diagnosis treatment, expressive arts, socialization programs, various support groups, and an extensive family program. This full continuum
of care allows adults to transition from more intensive to less intensive
levels of care as they progress in their recovery toward meaningful,
productive lives in the community.
Symptoms
Schizophrenia
may develop slowly over months or years, but symptoms may also appear
suddenly. The illness may come and go in cycles. Persistent behaviors
(lasting two weeks or more) that may be early warning signs of
schizophrenia include:
· Hearing or seeing something that
isn’t there
· A constant feeling of being
watched
· A change in personal hygiene and
appearance
· Personality change
· Indifference to very important
situations
· Deterioration in academic or
work performance
· Increasing social withdrawal
· Irrational, angry, or fearful
response to loved ones
· Inability to sleep or
concentrate
· Inappropriate or bizarre
behavior
· Strange physical posturing
· Peculiar or nonsensical way of
speaking or writing
· Extreme preoccupation with
religion or the occult
Positive and negative symptoms
With
schizophrenia, some factors represent disturbing symptoms by virtue of
being present in the person’s personality when they shouldn’t be. These
"positive" symptoms may include:
· False or delusional ideas, such
as believing that people are spying on the individual, or that s/he is a
famous personality.
· Hallucinations and imaginary
voices that give commands or make comments to the individual. Although less
common, the person may also see, feel, taste, or smell something that
doesn’t really exist.
· Disordered thinking and speech
that moves from topic to topic without any apparent logic or reasoning.
Sometimes, individuals with schizophrenia make up their own words.
Negative symptoms
Sometimes
abnormality associated with schizophrenia is characterized by virtue of
functions that are missing from the person’s personality. These negative
symptoms may include:
· Social withdrawal.
· Extreme apathy.
· Lack of drive or initiative.
· Lack of emotional response.
· Speaking very little or not at
all.
Cognitive Dysfunction
It is being increasingly
recognized that individuals with schizophrenia often experience problems in
attention, memory, problem solving, and organization of thoughts. These
problems are referred to as cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive dysfunction is
more associated with community function than the degree of hallucinations
or delusions.
Causes
The most widely
accepted causes are thought to result in a biological vulnerability to
psychosis.
· Genetics Schizophrenia tends to run in
families, and a person can inherit a tendency to develop the disease.
Generally, symptoms appear when the body undergoes hormonal and physical
changes, such as those occurring during puberty and early adulthood.
· Viral infections
and immune disorders Symptoms
of schizophrenia may appear when an individual’s genetic predisposition to
the disease, coupled with stress caused by certain environmental events,
leads to a chemical imbalance. Viral infections or highly stressful
situations—or a combination of both—may precede symptoms of the illness.
Immune disorders may also contribute to the illness.
· Brain chemistry People with schizophrenia have
an imbalance of the brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine, which are
neurotransmitters that allow the brain to send messages among its nerve
cells. Because of the chemical imbalance, sensory stimuli can cause
dramatic reactions in a person with schizophrenia. Problems in processing
sounds, sights, smells, and tastes can also lead to hallucinations or
delusions.
Types of schizophrenia
· Paranoid
schizophrenia A
person is extremely suspicious, acts in a grandiose manner, believes s/he
is persecuted, or experiences a combination of these emotions or behaviors.
· Disorganized
schizophrenia The
individual is often incoherent and exhibits disorganized behavior, but may
not have delusions.
· Catatonic
schizophrenia The
person is withdrawn, mute, negativistic, and sometimes assumes very unusual
postures.
· Residual
schizophrenia Although
no longer experiencing delusions or hallucinations, the individual has
little motivation or interest in life. These symptoms can be most
devastating.
Treatment
No cure for
schizophrenia has been discovered, but with proper treatment, many people
with this illness can lead productive and fulfilling lives. Early
treatment—ideally as early as the first episode—can mean a higher remission
rate and a better long-term outcome.
Medication
Pharmacological
therapy is the first step in the treatment of schizophrenia. Two major
types of medications are currently prescribed: conventional antipsychotics;
and the new generation of antipsychotic medications, introduced in the
1990s, which are called atypical antipsychotics. Conventional
antipsychotics effectively control symptoms such as hallucinations,
delusions, and confusion. Side effects are common with these drugs.
Atypical antipsychotics are as effective as the older medications but with
fewer, less intense side effects. As with all medication, these should not
be taken without close professional supervision.
Schizophrenia is usually a lifelong disease, and most people with
the illness will probably take medication for the rest of their lives, as
do people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease.
Nonpharmacological therapies, structured
It is
important to establish a daily routine for the person suffering from
schizophrenia. Different forms of group and individual therapies can help
both the clients and family members better understand the illness and share
their coping problems.
Rehabilitation can help individuals regain the confidence to take
care of themselves and experience a positive life.
|
