The Symptoms And Treatment Of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder where people often have delusions, hallucinations and trouble thinking correctly. It is a brain disorder that affects a lot of people. People with schizophrenia believe that other people are reading their minds or control of their thoughts. This terrifies people with this disorder and can make them become withdrawn. People diagnosed with schizophrenia have issues keeping a job and taking care of themselves. They usually rely on others for help. You cannot always tell when a person has schizophrenia. They may seem completely normal until they start speaking about what is going on inside of their head. A lot of people who have this illness will cope with their symptoms throughout their lives. Treatment may …show more content…
They are put into three categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms and cognitive symptoms. Positive symptoms are defined as psychotic behaviors that are not found in normal people. People with these positive symptoms tend to “lose touch” with reality. (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.) Positive symptoms can come and go. Sometimes they can be severe and other times hardly noticeable. It depends on whether the person is receiving treatment. One type of positive symptom is hallucinations. The most common type of hallucination found in schizophrenia are voices. (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d) People with schizophrenia can also have different types of delusions, for example, they believe that they’re someone else, such as a celebrity. They will continue believing in their delusion even after proven wrong or not logical. They may also have thought and movement disorders. Thought disorders are unusual ways of thinking. One form of a thought disorder is known as disorganized thinking. This is when a person has trouble organizing their thoughts or connecting them logically. A person with a movement disorder may do certain movements repeatedly. (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.) A person with schizophrenia can show referential thinking, which means to give personal meaning to random events. Negative symptoms that are found in people with schizophrenia can be mistaken for depression or other conditions. …show more content…
In the 1990’s, new antipsychotic medication were developed. These are called “atypical” medications. (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.) Clozapine, also known as Clozaril is a medication that is effective. It treats psychotic symptoms and hallucinations Sometimes clozapine can cause a loss of the white blood cells that help an individual fight infection. People with schizphrenia that are taking this specific medication must get their white blood cells checked every week or so. With taking these medications, there is always a risk for side effects. Majority of the side effects that people will experience will go away after a few days and can be managed. Some side effects that are common are drowsiness, blurred vision, rapid heartbeat, skin rashes, sensitivity to the sun, and so on. Atypical antipsychotic medications can also contribute to major weight gain and changes in the person’s metabolism. Antipsychotic medications are typically give in a liquid or pill form, but there are also shots that are given once or twice a month. (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.) After taking these medications, the symptoms of schizophrenia will usually go away within days. Some symptoms, like delusions, can take a few weeks to go away. It is typical that some people need to try different medications before they find one that works for them. A person may relapse and their symptoms can come back or even get worse.