Mental disorder - Schizophrenia - Essay Example

Schizophrenia Please type your Please type Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder which usually starts in the late teens or early twenties and remains for life. According to the eMedicineHealth website, it is “a chronic, severe, and disabling mental illness”. A person suffering from this disease cannot distinguish between reality and hallucinations. It is also characterized by misleading and fixed beliefs, hallucinations, confused thinking and reason, uncoordinated speech and catatonic behavior. There is no known cause for schizophrenia. Current research is however making tremendous progress is identifying the causes of this disease. It is believed that biological, genetic, environmental and psychological factors play a part in this disease. People with schizophrenia have neurotransmitter imbalance. They appear to have difficulty "coordinating" activity between different areas of the brain. Schizophrenia does occur in some families but this is no evidence that there is a specific gene which causes it. Schizophrenia causes behavioral changes like social withdrawal, loss of appetite, loss of hygiene, delusions, hallucinations and sense of being controlled by outside forces. The illness might not appear apparent in some people. However in other cases it might cause bizarre behaviors, aggressive reactions, uncontrolled anger and illogical behavior. A schizophrenic patient might display passive symptoms like lack of emotion, feeling or movement. Many false beliefs are associated with this disease. For instance some people compare this disease with Multiple Personality Disorder. This is an incorrect belief. Schizophrenia is also not due to any psychological injury, bad parenthood or poverty. It is not the “result of any personal failure” by the individual (British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, 2001). Schizophrenia like many other diseases can lead to a state of crisis. The symptoms of the disease are not identical for everyone. In some people they may be severe. In others it can be managed. Some people have only one episode of schizophrenia in their lifetime. Schizophrenic patients usually withdraw from society because of their strange behavior. Their ability to distinguish reality from delusion is impaired. Their behavior adversely effects their workplace, family life and personal hygiene. Schizophrenia changes the personality of people. Their emotions may become inappropriate. They might suddenly become quiet, withdrawn or moody. Personality changes can create serious problems for the patient in the workplace and relationships. For instance a socially active person might suddenly become withdrawn or moody. People might not have a positive opinion of such people. Schizophrenic patients might have delusions of grandeur. They might believe that they are all powerful and invulnerable. False beliefs are also strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence. Schizophrenia also impairs the ability to employ ones mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation. Thought disorder is characterized by slow, extra fast or no thoughts at all. It can cause a sharp decline in the intellectual and mental capacity of people especially those who are intellectuals, students, scientists, engineers, etc. A person may able to feel, see, hear, smell or touch sensations that are not real. These are called hallucinations. They might see animals, aliens, dead people or objects which are not real. Patients also hear voices inside their brains which might be harsh and even order them to kill. Schizophrenic patients try to hide their feelings and withdraw from society. There is also a strong tendency to deny the symptoms. Schizophrenia is difficult to treat because its causes are unknown. Antipsychotic drugs have been helpful in providing relief to positive symptoms of the disease. Every patient has a different response to antipsychotic drugs. The older antipsychotic medications include chlorpromazine (Thorazine®), haloperidol (Haldol®), perphenazine (Etrafon®, Trilafon®), and fluphenzine (Prolixin®). The older medications can cause extrapyramidal side effects, such as rigidity, persistent muscle spasms, tremors, and restlessness (WebMD). Today new antipsychotic drugs like clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quietapine, sertindole, etc are used to treat the symptoms of Schizophrenia. These drugs considerably improve the symptoms of schizophrenia. However each medication affects an individual in different ways. Schizophrenic patients need to take treatment for the rest of their lives. While there is no known cure for the disease, but psychotic episodes can be controlled by medication. Supportive therapy and rehabilitation are also effective approaches in treating this disease. Psychosocial treatments are effective in dealing with aspects of Schizophrenia. These mechanisms help a person cope with the problems faced at work and home. Illness management skills help the patient prevent relapses and be more effective in coping with symptoms. Since most patients are usually young people therefore they need social and vocational training that can help them function effectively in their communities. Self help groups are an additional source of support and comfort for Schizophrenic patients. The feeling of isolation disappears once patients interact with people suffering from the same disease. Social networking also helps in generating social action. Support groups and advocacy groups are excellent resources for people with many types of mental disorders. Medication and treatment compliance are essential for a successful outcome of schizophrenia treatment. Continued medication, being married, female sex, acute or obvious presentation of illness, fewer psychotic episodes, less exposure to high levels of demanding relatives are several factors which produce a favorable outcome for the treatment of this disease (Choure, 2004). Schizophrenia affects people during their career building and vocational skill development period. The disease ultimately fades with age but patients face formidable tasks to overcome years of dysfunction and disability. A combination of medication and rehabilitation is effective in helping patients cope with the disease in the long term. Proper home management is also essential in helping Schizophrenic patients to cope with the disease. Hallucinations can be countered by providing distraction to the patient. Encouraging the patient to discuss about the hallucinations also helps. Techniques like directing the mind of the patient towards other interests and helping him to recognize that he need not wait for incoming voices are very effective. To deal with delusions the best way is to avoid taunts or emotional reaction. Helping cut down the stimuli for delusion formation is also an effective strategy. A violent schizophrenic patient can be handled by trying to avoid blame, ridicule, confrontation, teasing or insulting him. Schizophrenic patients must have privacy. However in some extreme cases care givers should take the appropriate defensive measures to prevent violence. Therapy and helpful community resources are always effective instruments in reducing violence amongst schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenic patients need the love, care and support of their family members. Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that usually begins in early teens and remains with the patient for life. It is characterized by delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, aggressive behavior and other symptoms. The causes of the disease are still unknown although it is believed that they have genetic, biological, environmental or viral cause. The disease can create a serious crisis for any person. The patient’s workplace, relationships and family life can be affected by this disease. Patients usually become socially withdrawn, quiet or without any emotions. They might see, hear, feel, touch or smell sensations which are not real. They might have false delusions. They might hear voices which can be harsh and command them to kill. Thought disorders are also common in this disease. Thoughts may either be formed slowly, extra fast or not at all. Modern antipsychotic drugs are effective in alleviating the psychotic symptoms of the disease. Therapy, support groups, rehabilitation centers and other community resources are also vital in helping patients successfully cope with the disease. It is essential that the patient and his family members have enough information about this disease. Most people manage to live successful lives, marry, have jobs and have children despite this illness. Modern drugs and psychosocial techniques have been helpful in reducing the symptoms of the disease. They have also successfully helped patients in communication skills, developing motivation and reducing their fears and anxieties. Eventually in the near future modern science will definitely find the cause of this disease and find a cure for this disease. References Coconcea, Cristinel M Schizophrenia. eMedicineHealth, Retrieved Aug 29 2007, from http://www.emedicinehealth.com/schizophrenia/article_em.htm British Columbia Schizophrenia Society, (2001 April). Basic Facts About Schizophrenia. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from Internet Mental Health Web site: http://www.mentalhealth.com/book/p40-sc02.html#Head_23 Schizophrenia Treatment. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from WebMD Web site: http://www.webmd.com/schizophrenia/guide/schizophrenia-treatments Choure, Jayant (2004 11 15). Schizophrenia. The Cleveland Clinic, Retrieved Aug 29 2007, from http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/psychiatry/schizophrenia/schizophrenia.htm Read More