Schizophrenia is a long-term psychotic mental health problem, that is characterised by a number of alarming symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. In fact, doctors define patients with psychotic mental illnesses as those who are unable to distinguish between their own thoughts and the real world. It is one of the more common serious mental health problems, suffered by around one in 100 people in the UK, with both sexes affected equally, though the symptoms start at different ages between men and women. In men, the first signs of schizophrenia usually start between the ages of 15 and 30, with the problems in women emerging later, in their twenties and thirties.
Causes and symptoms
There are several factors that researchers believe are responsible for people developing schizophrenia. These include genetics, as people with a history of schizophrenia in their families are more likely to suffer from the disease, and changes in the levels of chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brains. Birth complications, infections and brain injury are also thought to be contributory factors. Even if someone if genetically disposed to developing schizophrenia, sufferers will not necessarily become schizophrenic, without a trigger event, such as stress or even drug abuse. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be described as positive or negative, the positive ones are hallucinations and delusions, while the negative ones are changes in behaviour which cause the sufferer to withdraw emotionally from friends and family.
Diagnosis and treatment
If you are worried that you might have schizophrenia, then it is important that you are diagnosed as soon as possible. The treatment for schizophrenia is more effective if it is started early in the condition’s development. Your GP will refer you to a mental health specialist who will try and diagnose your symptoms using a check-list, there is no medical test for schizophrenia or other psychotic conditions. Because of the nature of the symptoms, a schizophrenic many not realise or accept that they need help, so friends or family may have to intervene on their behalf. Treatment for schizophrenia will involve a combination of anti-psychotic medicines, that the patient may have to take for the rest of their lives, and talking therapies with their counsellor. The patient will often have to build up a close relationship with their counsellor as trust is very important in dealing with someone who can be delusional.
Misconceptions
There are plenty of misconceptions and misunderstandings about schizophrenia, which can often make people who are suffering from psychotic symptoms unwilling to seek help or reluctant to tell people that they have been diagnosed as suffering from this condition. Sometimes, schizophrenia is referred to as split personality disorder suggesting that sufferers are normal one minute and out of control the next. This is not the case and a more accurate description of the disease would be to say that patients experience episodes of disorder. Another misconception is that people with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent or commit violent crimes. Although there have been some high-profile cases when schizophrenics have been linked to episodes of violent crime, more crimes are committed by people under the influence of alcohol or in relation to substance abuse than by people suffering from schizophrenia.
