What is schizophrenia? Symptoms, causes and treatment of this mental disorder.

Schizophrenia is a mental illness. About one percent of the world's population is affected at some point. The rate of this disease is equal in men and women. People living in cities are more likely to get this disease than people living in villages. The disease is rare before the age of fifteen but can start anytime after that. The onset of the disease is most likely between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

The symptoms of schizophrenia are of two types, positive symptoms and negative symptoms.

Positive symptoms

These symptoms are called positive symptoms because they were not in good health and appear to be in a state of illness. These include the following symptoms.

1. Hallucinations

If you see an object or person in the absence of a human being, or hear sounds in solitude when there is no one around, then the process is called hallucination. The hallucination that most patients with schizophrenia experience. The experience is to hear voices alone. These sounds are as real to the patient as they are to us. They feel that these sounds are coming from outside and are being heard in the ears, even if no one else is hearing them. Am Maybe these voices are talking to you or talking to each other.

Hallucination 

Some patients also have hallucinations of seeing things, smelling, or feeling as if someone is touching them, but these are relatively rare.

2. Delusions

Delusions are thoughts that the patient fully believes in but has no reality. Sometimes these thoughts are caused by misunderstandings or misunderstandings. The patient is 100% convinced of his or her point of view, but everyone thinks that his or her idea is wrong or strange.

There are many types of delusions. Sometimes people feel that other people have become their enemies, wanting to harm them. Some patients feel that special messages are being broadcast to them on TV or radio.

Delusions 

 Some patients feel that someone is taking ideas out of their mind, or that the thoughts they have in their mind are not their own but have been put in their mind by someone else. Some people think that someone else is human. Or the unseen forces are controlling them, making them work against their will.

Muddled thinking or Thought Disorder

It becomes difficult for patients to focus on tasks or things. Patients do not pay full attention to reading newspapers or watching TV, continue their studies or do their work with full attention. Patients feel that their thoughts keep getting lost and there is no difference between their thoughts. Does not link After a minute or two, they don't even remember what they were thinking a few moments ago. Some patients feel like they have a fog on their brain.

Negative symptoms

Negative symptoms are things that used to be in a state of health but are no longer in a state of illness. Although the negative symptoms are not as noticeable as the positive symptoms, they do have a profound effect on the patient's life. Patients feel that;

Interest, energy, feelings are all gone in his life. Patients are neither very happy nor motivated to do anything.

It is very difficult for them to pay attention to something or work. They also lose the desire to get out of bed or go out of the house.

It becomes very difficult for patients to take a bath, keep clean or change clothes.

Patients are reluctant to meet people, it is difficult for them to talk to anyone.

Are all schizophrenia patients have all these symptoms?

Not all schizophrenia patients have all the symptoms. Some people only hear sounds but do not have negative symptoms. Some patients have only delusions but their thoughts are not incoherent and confused. If a patient has only negative symptoms and incoherent thoughts, sometimes the people around him do not realize for years that he has schizophrenia.

Insight

Many people with schizophrenia do not even realize they have the disease. They keep thinking that everyone else is wrong and they don't understand.

Depression

 ً About half of people who have had schizophrenia for the first time before treatment starts have depression.

 About 15% of people who have schizophrenia symptoms that do not go away completely have depression.  Sometimes doctors mistakenly perceive them as negative symptoms and fail to diagnose depression.

 Why does schizophrenia occur?

 We still don't know for sure why schizophrenia occurs, but it seems that there are many possible causes.  The reasons vary from person to person.

•  Genes

 About 50% of a person's risk of developing schizophrenia is due to their genes, but we do not know which genes are responsible for it.  People who do not have schizophrenia in their family have a one percent chance of developing the disease.  People with one parent who have schizophrenia have an increased risk of developing the disease by about 10%, and one of the twin children has an increased risk of developing schizophrenia by about 50%.

•  Mental weakness

 Brain scans show that the brain structure of some patients with schizophrenia is different from the general population.  Some patients' brains do not develop properly for a variety of reasons, such as if the baby's brain does not get enough oxygen during the birth process or the mother becomes infected with a viral infection in the early months of pregnancy.

• Drugs and alcohol

 Sometimes schizophrenia begins after drug use.  These drugs include ecstasy, LSD, amphetamines and crack cocaine.  Research has shown that amphetamines can cause mental illness, which can be cured by discontinuing their use. We do not yet know with certainty whether amphetamines cause long-term mental illness or not.  People who are already at risk for such a disease may be more likely to have it.  People who already have schizophrenia have more problems if they use alcohol or drugs.

 There is strong evidence from research that cannabis use doubles the risk of developing schizophrenia. If someone starts using cannabis at an early age, the risk is even higher.

•  Stress

 There is no clear evidence that stress can cause schizophrenia, but it has been observed that stress often develops immediately before the onset of symptoms of schizophrenia.  Or it could be due to the trauma of someone's death or it could be due to a long term cause such as domestic disputes and quarrels.

•  Family issues

 No one has schizophrenia because of family problems, but anyone with schizophrenia can get worse because of these problems.

•  Childhood deprivations

 People who have had a traumatic and frustrating childhood and, like other mental illnesses, have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.

 Can this disease ever be cured?

 Many schizophrenia patients never need to be hospitalized, can work and lead a good home life.

 • About 20% of people recover within five years of the first stroke.

 * About 60% of people get better but they still have some symptoms. At some point, these symptoms get worse.

 * Twenty percent of people have severe symptoms.

 What happens if not treated?

 Patients with schizophrenia are more likely to commit suicide than the general population.  Patients with severe symptoms of schizophrenia, who are depressed, or who have given up treatment have an even higher risk of suicide.

 Research shows that the longer the treatment is delayed after the onset of schizophrenia, the greater the impact on life.

 If the diagnosis is made early and treatment is started as soon as the disease starts:

 * The need for hospital admission is less

 * Needs intensive care at home

 • If hospitalization is required, less days are required

 * Increases the likelihood that the patient will be able to work and live an independent life.