Treatment And Prognosis For Schizophrenia

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

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.

Drug therapy is the most common treatment, using antipsychotic drugs. Antipsychotic drugs aims to help patient function as well as possible and increasing patient’s feelings of well being.

First off I would like to tell you what exactly schizophrenia is. Schizophrenia is a brain disease, with concrete and specific symptoms due to physical and biochemical changes in the brain. This illness strikes young people in their prime age usually between 16 and 25. Schizophrenia is almost always treatable with medication. Contrary to what most think schizophrenia is not a "split personality", or caused by childhood trauma, bad parenting, or poverty, and not the result of any action or personal failure by the individual.(3)

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

Schizophrenia affects approximately 2.5 million Americans and more than 24 million people worldwide (Janssen). Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that is very difficult to live with. Schizophrenia has strong hereditary component (Smith, Segal). People with schizophrenia hear voices, lose touch with reality, can’t think clearly, function, see things or hear things that are not really there, and can’t distinguish what is real and what is unreal(Smith, Segal). Having this disorder could affect the relationship they have with others and even loved ones. To students who are non-aware of this disorder should know that this could happen to anyone.

People need help in various ways because when they are suffering with schizophrenia, they have difficulty with thinking, motivation, physical activities, activities of the daily living, relations, and communication skills. There are many useful therapies, for instance, individual psychotherapy helps the person to understand more about their illness and to better help with their daily lives. Rehabilitation helps them with problem solving support, social skills, and education in money management. They might be benefitted with improvement in cognitive and thinking skills. With the help of cognitive behavioral therapy the patient is helped to test and understand the reality of their thoughts and perceptions. With this therapy they get help on managing on not listening to the voices that tells them what to do, and most importantly to manage their symptoms overall. Personally, the most important therapy is family education, because it is important that all the family members are aware of the person suffering from schizophrenia. Their family should learn everything about this illness, they should also make sure that their loved ones follow their medication and treatments

Schizophrenia is a disease of the mind. It effects all races and ages. There are many dugs that can help treat Schizophrenia, but there is no cure for it. People that suffer from Schizophrenia can be helped by receiving psychological treatments along with a strong support group.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, lifetime mental disorder that cannot be cured, but can be effectively treated and managed. Research conducted in developed countries revealed that about 20 to 35 percent of patients undergo a rapid improvement when treated. Approximately, 70 percent of the patients suffer a relapse of acute symptoms within the next 2 to 5 years after being discharged from hospital. The risk of relapse usually decreases 10 years after the initial onset.

Schizophrenia which affects approximately 1 percent of the population, usually begins before age 25 and persists throughout life. The illness is a life long debilitating condition for about 40% of patients and is enormously costly in both social and economic terms. Despite the presence of delusions, hallucinations and cognitive impairment which characterize the illness, overall life expectancy is not altered (although there is a significantly increased risk-of suicide in the early years).

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

In many ways, Schizophrenia is a coping disease. Despite countless clinical trials and research studies, the root cause remains unknown. Nobody knows how to cure this chronic psychosis. Antipsychotics are the only line of medication proven to treat symptoms. Anyone who gets Schizophrenia must learn to cope with the disease itself as well as harmful side-effects from antipsychotic drugs.

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.

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder of the brain, which is incurable but treatable to live a close to a normal life. There are different types of schizophrenia and they each have different symptoms and affect a person's life in different ways.

Other interventions and treatments that may be introduced once the individual is stable enough on medication to be receptive and benefit from these treatments include: individual therapy, group counseling, family counseling, vocational rehabilitation/training, social skills training, and daily living skills training. It is also important to provide the family with support, education, and the proper intervention skills, to assist them with coping with the difficulties that come with having a family member diagnosed with schizophrenia (Preston, O'Neal & Talaga, 2010).