Schizophrenia as a Mental Disorder - Essay Example

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia I had not known much about schizophrenia. In fact, the most common mental disorders that I knew were distress, stress, and depression. When I met John, who is a patient suffering from schizophrenia, I sympathized with him so much. His condition moved me. We became close friends, and our interaction has helped me acquire knowledge about the mental disorder. Consequently, I have been prompted to do further research on the disease in order to be of help to John and other patients who suffer from the similar disorder. This paper will critically analyze schizophrenia as a mental disorder using John as an exemplification. Besides, John is meant to give an ideal insight into the case study. Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that is characterized by two conditions. The first condition is the schizophrenia itself (Potkin et al., 2014). Then there is the affective mood disorder that can be diagnosed as a major depression or a bipolar disorder (Frith, 2014). The condition is a brain disorder that changes the way in which an individual thinks expresses emotions, acts, relate to others or perceives reality. For instance, John exhibited depression that was characterized by sad feelings (Potkin et al., 2014). It also entails feeling pessimistic and worthless. In some cases, John is heard saying that he is useless and a burden to his family and friends. Bipolar disorder is featured by the frequent mood changes that are cyclic. It includes the mania and the depression. The disease is a lifelong illness, and it impacts on the whole life and daily routine of the patient (Chakos et al., 2014). These may include work, school, relationships or even other social contacts. It feels terrible to see John reduced to regression because of his condition. His predominant worry is that the disease is with him to stay. He is sometimes reluctant to take medications claiming he has done that for a significant part of his life yet there is nothing materializing (Chakos et al., 2014). Psychologists do not have the cure for the disorder. It is a sad fact that troubles schizophrenic patients like John and their friends and family. Symptoms of Schizophrenia Based on the observation of John and other studies, schizophrenic patients exhibit severe mood changes (Potkin et al., 2014). When this occur, the feelings of the patient are difficult to predict. At one moment, they are happy, the next moment they are sad. For example, John can be a jubilant man, full of a good sense of humor. He is an excellent and enthusiastic story teller. Unfortunately, he changes his moods abruptly. Suddenly, in the event of conversing, he becomes angry and temperamental. He depicts a situation of fast irritation. Alternatively, he can change to be sad and somber as if he were mourning. Like most schizophrenic patients, John experiences depression quite often. His depression is severe and is characterized by poor appetite (Potkin et al., 2014). John has poor eating habit. He rarely eats; hence, he has significantly lost weight. Since he does not eat properly, he has lost energy and is often weak and unable to carry even the light tasks (Chakos et al., 2014). He also complains that he has irregular sleeping pattern. Lack of enough sleep features his kind of sleeping. Insomnia is common to him at night and frequently falls asleep at work. Besides, John has lost interest in many activities (Potkin et al., 2014). He no longer goes out to watch soccer that was his hobby. He used to love listening to rock music. Unfortunately, he does not do that lately and finds the genre boring. There are other depressive symptoms that are absent in John but are experienced by other schizophrenic patients (Chakos et al., 2014). They include; feeling worthless, developing the sense of guilt and self-blame, the inability to concentrate and the desire for death or suicide. Other schizophrenic patients experience mania. They depict increased activity that may involve work or other social activities. Some schizophrenic patients talk a lot and have rapid thoughts (Potkin et al., 2014). Others are easily agitated and possess inflated self-esteem. To the extremes, some portray dangerous or self-destructive behavior that may include reckless driving, drinking spree and unsafe sex. John’s worst moment and probably the peak of the disease manifested itself with the schizophrenic level of symptoms of the disorder (Potkin et al., 2014). One day, while having an afternoon out with friends, he held his glass of fruit juice (he does not take alcoholic drinks) and started talking to an imaginary woman. He kept pointing at her and used gestures depicting that he was having a conversation with the imaginary woman whom he kept referring to as Lisa. The scene was terrifying, and Andy wanted to stop him but was advised not to by a friend. Everybody was shocked and was so sorry for him. The condition is called hallucination (Chakos et al., 2014). It is prevalent among almost all schizophrenic patients (Potkin et al., 2014). It involves the patients making perceptions that are ideally not like hearing voices or seeing imaginary people. Whenever John talks, you hardly get his words properly. His articulation of words has changed such that he cannot pronounce most words properly (Frith, 2014). Thus, communicating with him has become a major problem, and it requires one to be keen whenever he speaks to hear and understand what he says accurately (Chakos et al., 2014). There was this incident in the street when we were out. An elderly man who appeared to have lost his direction opted to seek clarification from John. As he explained to him, he hardly got anything. The man left disappointed, and John could notice it. He felt so sorry for himself and worthless. It took us time to console and comfort him. Effects of Schizophrenia to Daily Routines John experiences the most unfortunate effects of the disorder. His number of friends has reduced, and the ones he has are genuine and loyal friends who understand him and his condition. Most of his former friends neglected him because they felt that he was a burden to them (Chakos et al., 2014). Being sick, he deserves the special treatment that most of them could not provide. As his disease worsened, his girlfriend abandoned him. His social life has become a total mess. It appears like everybody thinks that he is ‘mad’ and tends to avoid him. The stigma depicted by his former friends and the society is too much and has worsened his situation. At work, he faces difficult times. Most of the time, his conditions worsened and he is compelled to ask for leaves. His absenteeism to work is ever frequent such that his current boss is displeased. He appears not to understand John’s condition and has threatened him with retrenchment. John is accused of being less productive at work and some of his colleagues in his department claim that he slows their work progress. In fact, his current boss has been advising him to retire on medical grounds. Before his current job, he had been sacked in his previous job based on his medical condition. Treatment of Schizophrenia Intrigued by knowing more about the treatment of the disorder, I have always accompanied John to the hospital. I get the opportunity to meet and talk to his physicians who reveal so much information to me about the disease and its mode of treatment. The disorder needs a lifelong treatment in spite of the symptoms being subsidized or not (Chakos et al., 2014). Treatment using medication or psycho-social therapy assists in managing the condition. In the events of crisis or the manifestation of severe symptoms, the patient should be hospitalized (Chakos et al., 2014). Hospitalization ensures that the safety, adequate sleep, proper nutrition and the basic hygiene of the patients are taken care of in a proper way. It is advisable that psychiatrists who profess in the treatment of schizophrenia are entrusted with related patients (Chakos et al., 2014). The treatment also entails a social worker, a psychologist or a psychiatrist nurse. A case manager is also critical in the coordination of the medical care. Patients are advised to access clinics where a full team of professionals who expertise in the treatment of schizophrenia exists. The cornerstone of treating schizophrenia is the medication. However, medication of the disorder results to side effects that are severe (Chakos et al., 2014). Consequently, those suffering from schizophrenia portray reluctance to take the medication. The most common prescribed drugs in the treatment of the disorder are the anti-psychotic drugs. They are believed to control and regulate the symptoms through influencing the neurotransmitters of the brain. In summary, John is one of the many patients who experience mental disorders and related illness. He exhibits symptoms like depression, hallucination, lack of interest in many activities, poor appetite, and significant weight loss. It is only prudent that doctors find the actual cure to this mental disorder so that people like him can be alleviated from suffering. Such patients deserve not to be stigmatized and are entitled to live a healthy life. References Chakos, M., Lieberman, J., Hoffman, E., Bradford, D., & Sheitman, B. (2014). Effectiveness of second-generation antipsychotics in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia: a review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Frith, C. D. (2014). The cognitive neuropsychology of schizophrenia. Psychology Press. Potkin, S. G., Alva, G., Fleming, K., Anand, R., Keator, D., Carreon, D., ... & Fallon, J. H. (2014). A PET study of the pathophysiology of negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Read More