I have learned that there are positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia include exaggeration of normal behavior which then makes the behavior abnormal (Townsend, 2014). For example, delusions are indicators of a false belief such as a higher power trying to control a person’s mind. I think of someone believing that a person is speaking directly to them over the radio in their car. Another example is having a hallucination such as hearing voices in your head. Disorganization is also a common, positive symptom which a person’s speech is all over the place (e.g. a different line of thought) (Townsend, 2014). Negative symptoms of schizophrenia have both primary and secondary responses. For example, a
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A person’s prognosis of their battle with schizophrenia depends on what stage they are in. For example, if he/she is evaluated early in the acute stage, the chance of medications having a therapeutic effect on the symptom(s) is higher. I believe that early intervention helps prevent a person from getting rapidly worse. Client outcomes may change if the onset occurs later in their life. For example, if they are much older maybe their onset (e.g., traumatic experience) occurred in the early years of their life. If the client has a family history, struggles with remembering/or refuses treatment with medications, this increases their chances of relapsing (Townsend, 2014).
People respond differently to treatment. That said, I think it is important to consider what stage of the disorder someone is in by doing an extensive baseline assessment and evaluating the person after medication administration. I have seen this implemented while working as a tech in the ED. This will paint a picture of how someone responds to treatment and will help the nurse put together an appropriate care …show more content…
I noticed that she was professionally dressed and spoke like a true teacher. There is no way I would have been able to tell she has schizophrenia. Her illness impacted her physically by not being able to complete her college assignments and emotionally by living in fear from dark episodes of delusions and hallucinations. Her role in society was impacted because she was and still is a Professor of Law living with a debilitating illness. I would imagine how humiliating she must have felt knowing others might look at her or treat her differently. She has coped with her illness by staying compliant with her medications. Another way of coping is via a support system at home as well as where she works. She also attends weekly psychotherapy treatments. All of these things help her manage her episodes, make her feel safe, and allow her to look at life in a meaningful way. The two take home messages I received were to step back and think about what it would feel like being held down by mechanical restraints and the affect it would have on someone who is mentally ill. The other message was how social media feeds on the stigma of mental illness and to put an end to
A person’s prognosis of their battle with schizophrenia depends on what stage they are in. For example, if he/she is evaluated early in the acute stage, the chance of medications having a therapeutic effect on the symptom(s) is higher. I believe that early intervention helps prevent a person from getting rapidly worse. Client outcomes may change if the onset occurs later in their life. For example, if they are much older maybe their onset (e.g., traumatic experience) occurred in the early years of their life. If the client has a family history, struggles with remembering/or refuses treatment with medications, this increases their chances of relapsing (Townsend, 2014).
People respond differently to treatment. That said, I think it is important to consider what stage of the disorder someone is in by doing an extensive baseline assessment and evaluating the person after medication administration. I have seen this implemented while working as a tech in the ED. This will paint a picture of how someone responds to treatment and will help the nurse put together an appropriate care …show more content…
I noticed that she was professionally dressed and spoke like a true teacher. There is no way I would have been able to tell she has schizophrenia. Her illness impacted her physically by not being able to complete her college assignments and emotionally by living in fear from dark episodes of delusions and hallucinations. Her role in society was impacted because she was and still is a Professor of Law living with a debilitating illness. I would imagine how humiliating she must have felt knowing others might look at her or treat her differently. She has coped with her illness by staying compliant with her medications. Another way of coping is via a support system at home as well as where she works. She also attends weekly psychotherapy treatments. All of these things help her manage her episodes, make her feel safe, and allow her to look at life in a meaningful way. The two take home messages I received were to step back and think about what it would feel like being held down by mechanical restraints and the affect it would have on someone who is mentally ill. The other message was how social media feeds on the stigma of mental illness and to put an end to