My aunt was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was 15 years old and had gone untreated for most of her adult life. She has always lived with my grandma and growing up, I remember seeing how easily she became agitated with my grandma in seemingly normal problems and situations., I recall hearing her talk to herself, and I remember how hard it was to explain concepts to her. Because of her escalating symptoms, my grandma and my aunt decided to take the steps to seek treatment so that she can become more independent. Through this, I have seen that there are tools to manage psychotic symptoms and that schizophrenia does not have to define who a person is. Although there is no cure, people with this condition can still have a fulfilling life …show more content…
One tool that doctors have recommended to schizophrenic patients for many years is antipsychotic medications. While this form of treatment has proven to be somewhat effective for some patients, the side effects can be unpredictable. They can range from shortness of breath and weariness to loss of muscle control and tremors. The National Institute of Mental Health recognized this issue and conducted a survey with about 400 schizophrenic patients to determine if there were any other forms of treatment that could be more effective than medication. They split participants into two groups with one being the normal medication-focused treatment and the other being a therapy and family-focused care. The researchers kept the medications on group two as low as possible, and found that this did not negatively affect the patients. The participants in group two actually made greater leaps in recovery in comparison to group one. This was all due to the fact that group two people were given the tools to cope with and address their issues instead of just masking them with medication.
Among mental health consumers, medication remains debatable and individualized. A woman named Maggie who participated in a related study said, “As for medications, I have had every side effect out there, from chills and shakes to lockjaw and lactation” (Carey, Benedict). After starting this new type of treatment,
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While no cure for schizophrenia exists yet, people dealing with this mental disorder have tools available to help them deal with their individual symptoms. As I have witnessed through my aunt’s attempts at recovery, low doses of medication, therapy and support are key to being able to live an independent and rich life. Unfortunately, about 3.2 million Americans today are living with Schizophrenia, and roughly 40 percent of them are untreated. This is due to the fact that a lot of schizophrenic people do not have consistent support systems. They need this because often times they do not know when they are decompensating. Our society has come a long way in overcoming the stigma of mental illness and understanding how schizophrenia affects individuals. It is my hope that those who know a person dealing with schizophrenia educate themselves on this condition so that they can assist the person with treatment. This should lower the number of those who go untreated, are homeless, incarcerated and in crisis. Symptoms of schizophrenia can be managed and with the right treatments, people can live fulfilling and productive
Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that places considerable burden on the individuals who have it, their families, and society (Eack 2012). Someone who has schizophrenia may have the following symptoms, but not all: faulty perceptions, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation (Oxford Dictionary). The two most commonly used interventions are drug and family intervention. Often times patients with a
By taking the time and educating ourselves, we are eliminating possible misconceptions about the illness. Working with people that have a mental disorder is the best way to understand how and why they act the way they do. While the cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, it is believed that both genetics and environmental factors play a role. Schizophrenia consists of five subtypes; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Symptoms can range from hallucinations to delusions, and disorganized thinking. Since there is no cure for schizophrenia, treatment is aimed at controlling the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. By starting with a single antipsychotic medication and evaluating the efficacy in four to six weeks, they are able to determine if that medication will work or if they need to try a different one. Once they find out what works, they must adhere to it. Through improved public awareness society can break the pervasive stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illnesses that stand in the way of finding cures and help people with schizophrenia lead full lives they
Schizophrenia is one out of several mental health conditions. The effect of this condition upon the individual ,carers, family and friends will be examined .Schizophrenia has numerous subtypes such as; paranoid ,catatonic ,hebephrenic, residual schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. However for the purpose of this essay focus will be on schizophrenia as a whole. The condition will be discussed in relation to the policies and guidelines which influence interventions of care and treatment. The condition will be explored In areas such as diagnosis, epidemiology, symptoms, prevention and recovery. Evidence based sources will be
The human psyche is one of the most complicated things that exist, psychologists are still nowhere near understanding the complexity of the mind and the disorders that come with the uniqueness of the individual. Schizophrenia is one such disorder that begins to manifest in early adult hood. The disease is characterized by a disconnect from reality, which includes symptoms of hallucinatory affect. This leads to individuals being unable to adapt and cope with their environment which has socioeconomic effects on the individual such as homelessness. Suicide is also more prominent among the schizophrenic population with a rate of almost 5%. The mechanism behind it are just beginning to be unveiled through modern science which gives hope to individuals currently afflicted with this disorder.
Schizophrenia is a very rare, debilitating mental disorder that affects about 1% of the world’s population. (Mental Health America). According to the DSM-5 the disorder is characterized by “delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior, and other symptoms that cause social or occupational dysfunction.” (American Physchiatric Association , 2013) Patients often hear voices, and see non-existent things, such as people and objects. These hallucinations can make it very difficult for an individual to be an active part of society due to social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and not being responsive to emotions. This mental disorder takes a very strong toll on the family of the patient as well because of the same
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects millions of people and it should not be underestimated or ignored.
Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder that can be crippiling, and is one of top 10 disabilites in the world (Bhargav, Nagendra, Gangadhar, and Nagarathna, 2014). Schizophrenia usually effects males in the early 20 's and women in their late 20 's. Symptoms include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), and abnormal motor behavior (mayo clinic). Even with proper treatment patients still experience symptoms related to their disorder. Proper medication can help with symptoms, but sometimes this comes with cost of side effects that make a patient not even want to take the medicine. There is also the cost of paying for a doctor, which can be quite expensive. The initial consultation can cost up to three hundred dollars with each subsequent visit costing 100 dollars. There is also the stigma that goes along with Schizophrenia. I 'm sure everyone has seen the man or woman walking down the street talking to someone that isn 't there, this person could appear quite normal with help. Schizophrenics are ordinary people that have a disorder, and with proper treatment can function in society. As mentioned earlier even with proper treatment individuals with Schizophrenia still experience negative symptoms; as a result a lot of individuals with Schizophrenia are seeking add on treatments, including myself being diagnosed with Schizophrenia at the age of 21. Add on treatments are treatments, such as yoga, that go hand in hand with everyday
As a nationally and globally spread issue, schizophrenia has been a debilitating psychological disorder for centuries. Known as one of the most severe disorders, schizophrenia is growing more and more capable of treatment by medication and other modes of therapy, but the disorder itself markedly changes the patient who is diagnosed. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that has affected people throughout history. The symptoms can frighten people with the disorder, causing them to become removed and distressed. Schizophrenic patients can sometimes seem simply odd but not remarkably different until they begin to speak their mind on what they are actually thinking and experiencing. This affects patients’’ families
Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)
Schizophrenia remains a prevalent mental disorder, which affects about 1% of the world’s populations (Olivares, Sermon, Hemels, & Schreiner, 2013). This psychiatric disorder is defined as a type of encumbering, incapacitating mental illness. Schizophrenia is known to affect 0.7% of the United States adult population (Lin, Wong, Offord, & Mirski, 2013). Schizophrenia disorder can become a weighty burden on patients as well as the families. According to (Ascher-Svanum, Novick, Haro, Bertsch, McDonnell, D., & Detke, 2013), schizophrenia is therefore defined as a chronic, relapsing psychiatric disorder that causes recurrent readmission into an inpatient psychiatric unit.
While we know schizophrenia is characterized by a multitude of distinctive and predictable symptoms, in some case, sufferers can still live a productive life and are able to hold down part-time and full time positions with a support system comprised of outside agencies designed to diminish the woes experienced by the abnormal behavior would otherwise
The article proposes that psychosocial treatments in conjunction with pharmacotherapy offer those suffering from Schizophrenia better functional recovery and reduced relapse rates than treatment plans exclusively involving medication. Benefits of psychosocial treatments, as the article suggests, are the addressing of issues outside of the condition’s symptoms. Based on recent research in the fields of psychosocial interventions, these types of treatments help to mitigate issues such as damage to social and work relationships; increased risk of substance abuse, aggression, and self-harm; depression and demoralization; and experiences with psychosis. (Addington, Piskulic, & Marshall, 2010)
Treating schizophrenia is just that, treating the symptoms to help change the patient’s life, not altering the length or presence of the illness, because we don’t know how to cure it (Mendel, 1989). To be able to cure schizophrenia we would have to understand the causes people of all ages develop. It is the drugs and therapy that help control the symptoms, so the one affected can live a comparatively normal life, having more control over knowing what reality and unreality is. People are treated, so they can better find the clear sense of one’s self. They do not know where their bodies stop, and all the
How can psychiatrists/therapists improve the outcomes for people with schizophrenia? Treatment strategies must be inclusive of risk identification, early intervention, integrative approach, involvement of the family, person-centered approach, and finally, the therapeutic amendments must be evidence based. (Chien,
Due to the media, what little knowledge the world has about Schizophrenia is clouded by fear of those who have it. People affected by Schizophrenia are sick and need to be treated with the same respect every human is treated with; if not even more. However, fear and discrimination has clouded Schizophrenia to the point were it has become twisted with lies and misconceptions.