Symptoms And Treatment Of Schizophrenia Medication Treatment

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that is the base of several psychological symptoms. There are many people out there who suffer from this disorder and have no idea on how to cure it. Some people tend to spend their whole life with this disorder; whilst others get it treated as soon as they see first sign or symptom of it. Schizophrenia is not a disorder that cannot be treated; with the right kind of treatment, the disorder can be controlled and the individual suffering from it can be cured. The paper will discuss the schizophrenia disorder in detail, causes, risk, signs & symptoms, and treatments of it.

Schizophrenia occurs in people from all cultures and from all walks of life. Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects a small portion of the population in the world. When schizophrenia is active there are many different symptoms that can appear. Some symptoms can include delusions, hallucinations, trouble with thinking and concentration, and lack of motivation. When these symptoms are treated, most people with schizophrenia will improve over time with treatment. With the different studies we are able to see how schizophrenia works in different ways. The different ways being what is happening in the brain when a person has schizophrenia. Along with the different treatments from counseling to medication what works better.

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

As we have seen, treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotic drugs can have impressive results in terms of decreasing active symptoms, although it does nothing to alleviate negative symptoms or to improve cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, this kind of treatment has the drawback of extremely serious and even fatal side-effects. Newer generation atypical antipsychotics offer more hope, as they can treat both active and negative symptoms, and also improve cognitive functioning. Moreover, they have fewer side-effects. However, treatment is complicated by the fact that results are unpredictable; and in addition the side-effects that they do have can be very serious, such as diabetes, which in itself is life-threatening. However, as the potential side-effects are known, the physician has leeway to choose a drug which is a good match for the patient’s clinical profile. Then, once the patient’s symptoms have been much alleviated with an appropriate newer generation atypical antipsychotic, the patient should be able to also benefit from a range of psychotherapeutic interventions. It is argued that this is the best treatment regime to choose, as it is likely to result in the greatest improvement in quality of life, coupled with the lowest risk of potentially devastating side-effects, or of death. This is likely to be better than utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, the results of which are not reliably known – although research has certainly shown that it is less efficacious

Risperidone has been utilized as an atypical antipsychotic and prescribed since 1994. It is mainly used for treatment in those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and irritability in autism spectrum disorder. Risperidone has multiple types of administration and the most common is oral tablet form. This can be used in adults or adolescents, but is closely monitored when used with children. The side effects for Risperidone should be taken into consideration by both prescribers and prescribed. Finally, Risperidone should not be used while pregnant or nursing due to potential side effects carried from mother to child. This second generation antipsychotic has been used for many years and will continue to be prescribed in practice.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to recognize what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation. Diagnosis is based on observed behavior and the person 's reported experiences. Genetics and early environment, as well as psychological and social processes, appear to be important contributory factors. Some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms. The many possible combinations of symptoms have triggered debate about whether the diagnosis represents a single disorder or a number of separate syndromes. Despite the

Schizophrenia is a very serious mental disorder. This disorder affects many people across the world as it does not matter an individual’s age, race, and their economic levels. An individual’s personality is distorted and they can lose their sense of reality where the individual has an unclear thought process, false beliefs, or even hearing voices. There have been mental disorders that add on to schizophrenia where the individual develops substance abuse, experience depression, and has an anxiety disorder and among other symptoms. Treatment for schizophrenia has come a long way in

A.1- Suspicious, without just cause, of people wanting to betray, hurt or take advantage of them. (American Psychiatric Association [APA] 2013).

Schizophrenia, a chronic severe disabling disorder of the brain affects 1% of the Americans. It stays among the top 10 incapacitating conditions worldwide for adults. In US the expense of treatment and loss of productivity are estimated to be above $60 billion annually. Symptoms are characterized by positive symptoms including delusions, hallucinations and disorganized thinking; negative symptoms including flat affect, asociality, avolition, anergia and anhedonia; cognitive symptoms including poor executive function, poor attention and poor working memory. The typical stages of schizophrenia include a prodromal, active and residual phase.

Throughout this paper I will discuss schizophrenia, what the characteristics associated with it are, how schizophrenia is diagnosed, treated, side effects, prognosis and how it impacts the person and people involved with them. I will also discuss how this disease has personally impacted my patient who has struggled with this disease for many years.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Clearly, this is a very serious disorder, which is often utterly incapacitating. Therefore, individuals urgently require efficacious treatment, both for survival and for quality of life, and many different kinds of treatment and therapy are used. This paper will examine the use of two of these, cognitive behavioral therapy and drug therapy, and evaluate which one is better. It will take the position that drug therapy is a more effective therapy for treating schizophrenia than is cognitive behavioral therapy.

Schizophrenia is known to be a devastating brain disorder that negatively affects many aspects of a person’s life, such as; thinking, language, emotions, social behavior, and ability to perceive reality (Varcarolis, 2010). Due to the high comorbidity of schizophrenia, patients often suffer from multiple disorders, when a mood disorder, such as mania, or depression, coexists with the schizophrenia, it is known as a schizoaffective disorder. Patient, A.S., is diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder due to her hallucinations, her manic state and paranoia. The purpose of this paper is to form an individualized Care Plan for A.S. in accord with the evidence-based practice and clinical manifestations. It will include the patient’s history (past and present) along with the appropriate interventions. In the paper we will discuss schizoaffective disorder as well as well as the symptoms, thoughts, and actions of a schizoaffective person. Furthermore, the pathophysiology of schizophrenia will be explained thoroughly, followed with the medications and interventions used for this disorder. The hope is to better understand the aspects of schizoaffective disorder and its manifestations, so one better care for a patient with such a disease.

Just like in reality, this movie does not identify any causal factors associated with schizophrenia, but its treatment and management are portrayed to work effectively with antipsychotic/ psychotropic medications and Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that makes the affected individual “to understand and appreciate his condition” (A beautiful Mind). Several inaccurate characterizations of schizophrenia in this movie relates to the fact that this condition does not affect males only but also females are affected, and apart from the positive symptoms of schizophrenia that are highlighted, the patient may also exhibit negative symptoms. It is also not advisable to keep or incarcerate the affected individuals in the hospital since the condition can easily be managed at home with adequate contribution of the family members (A beautiful Mind).

Schizophrenia, unlike most disorders, is a standout amongst the most genuine of the mental disorders. It is known that one in a hundred individuals are affected by it, and starts in either youth or early adulthood. Schizophrenia brings social interruption, anguish and hardship to the individuals who experience the ill effects of it, as well as to their family. Under those circumstances, it is known to be the most devastating of all disorders. There are both negative and positive symptoms when it comes to dealing with schizophrenia. Despite the fact that there are various negative indications, the most present one is limitations or absence in thoughts and behaviours that are characteristics in normal functioning. For this