Living with Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is one of the most serious and severe mental illnesses. In accordance with various sources, about two millions of American citizens suffer from this type of brain disorder. Although this illness is rather widespread, our society shows lack of education about it. This leads to a lot of misunderstandings and false prejudices. In terms of this paper we would like to speak about life with schizophrenia. We will discuss how this illness influences individuals, who suffer from this disorder, and their closest environment.
Before we start our discussion about life with schizophrenia, it is necessary to make a short discourse into this illness, discuss its history, prevalence, and its impact on individuals and the whole society in general.
The word schizophrenia has a Greek origin, which literally means split of mind. In psychiatry, the term schizophrenia is used in order to describe a mental state of a person, which can be characterized by an abnormal perception of the world realities. It is believed that schizophrenia refers to such diseases, which were always known by mankind. However, specialists suggest that the word schizophrenia is rather new and is not older than 100 years. For the first time this term was used in 1887 by Emil Kraepelin.
At present time under the term schizophrenia specialists understand a psychiatric disorder, which affects behavior of a person and his perception of reality. As a rule, each case of illness is absolutely unique. The symptoms and patterns of behavior differ in each individual case and depend on a variety of circumstances.
In general, the course of schizophrenia can be divided into several stages, which include prodromal, acute and resolution phases. Apart from this, there are also cases of relapse, which can happen at any time during a resolution phase. As far as schizophrenia can have a variety of displays, it can have long and rapid periods of development depending on a particular case.
Today a lot of researches are conducted in order to understand the prevalence of schizophrenia in society. Nowadays it is considered that schizophrenia can affect people of different age, but more frequently it develops in a rather young age between 15-25 years.
One of the interesting studies dedicated to this issue is “A Systematic Review of the Prevalence of Schizophrenia” by Sukanta Saha, David Chant, Joy Welham and John McGrath. In a result of their investigation, researchers came to a number of interesting conclusions concerning prevalence of schizophrenia in society. Thus, in accordance with their studies “Countries from the developing world have a lower prevalence of schizophrenia. schizophrenia does not vary between the sexes; the incidence of schizophrenia is higher in urban than rural settings; the prevalence of schizophrenia is higher in migrants than native-born individuals” (Saha, Chant, Welham & McGrath, 2005, p.0428).
At present, there is no clear opinion as to the causes of schizophrenia. The majority of theories vary from genetic predisposition to a number of external causes, including environment. Apart from this, a number of scientists believe that the reason lies in neurobiology and changes in neurotransmitters. “The evidence does not point to any single cause. Increasingly, it is thought that schizophrenia is consistent from a complex interaction of multiple factors” (as cited in Schizophrenia, n.d., p. 22).
Till present time it was considered that schizophrenia causes such irreversible process as “steady downhill progression” and no one dared to speak about recovery from this illness (Lilienfeld, Arkowitz, 2010, p.1). However, recent studies prove that it is a widespread delusion and quality of life of people with schizophrenia is directly connected with their treatment. If schizophrenia is treated properly, relatively normal life is possible for people with such diagnosis. Interestingly enough, even the slightest treatment can lead to a gradual recovery.
One of the studies, which gives hopes both for schizophrenics and the whole society, was conducted by Martin Harrow, who works as a psychologist at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. In a result of his studies, which lasted for more than 15 years, he managed to prove that in over 40% of cases, patients with schizophrenia may experience temporary recovery. These recovery symptoms included progress in socialization, ability to work and participate in a variety of social activities.
Undoubtedly, one of the factors, which contributed to the improvement of health state of people with schizophrenia, is development of new therapy methods, medications, perfection of psychological interventions, etc. At present time there are several types of treatment and management of schizophrenia, which include pharmacological treatment, psychological treatment, psychosocial therapy, service-level interference, secondary care interventions.
Pharmacological treatment is one of the most effective ways to fight schizophrenia. Antipsychotic drugs occupy the leading place in treatment of this disorder and appear to be rather effective during various stages of schizophrenia. They do not only help to manage with acute phase, but also prevent cases of relapse in the future. In general, medicine used for treatment is divided into two main groups: first and second generation of antipsychotics. The first group is considered to be more dangerous and less effective if compared with the second group of drugs. The most popular atypical antipsychotics are Clozaril, Abilify, Geodon, Risperdal, Seroquel, Invega. This is new generation of drugs, which has a number of advantages and their mechanisms of action are much wider. Their substantial risks are relatively low if compared with conventional antipsychotics.
It is of great importance to find such drugs, which will be helpful exactly for a certain patient. One of the patients shared his experience of his drug therapy: “the treatment was appalling: criminally and murderously shocking for 10 years until I found the drug I am currently taking. I have found a drug I take voluntarily and all the ones that have been unsuccessful are now been excluded by my advance statement” (Schizophrenia, n.d., p. 52).
Psychological treatment is another method of fighting with schizophrenia and it is considered to be relatively new. This method consists in providing people with psychological assistance. Such psychotherapeutic approach is based on training social skills of a person with schizophrenia, supporting them, educating ill people and their families. Family therapy is the most popular and its role is indeed invaluable.
During the sessions of family therapy, people can learn how to continue leading normal way of life and keep sense of humor in a difficult situation. In addition, such sessions can help to accept the illness and explain how to deal with faced difficulties. Specialists can tell how to take care of individual with schizophrenia, explain their needs and probable ways of behavior.
Service-level interventions promote recovery and provide acute and non-acute help of individuals with schizophrenia. Special help teams show patients how to cope with their illness and live a full and meaningful life.
Probably no one can give a better characteristic of support teams, care centers and their work, than those people, who use this recovery method: “Nowadays I fully participate in my own care and the medication that I take. I speak to a counselor once in a week and I have support (after the recovery model) from user groups and the day center. My relationships with these people who help me (and do not stand in my way) are good and I do not feel they want to do anything but to assist me to be the best I can be” (Schizophrenia, n.d., p. 54).
Just as many other mental disorders, schizophrenia has a number of negative impacts both on the ill individual and the society in general. If schizophrenia is not treated, it may have negative impact on the patient, their families and the whole community. Disregard of treatment can lead to a variety of unpredictable consequences and often gives ground to numerous prejudices. All people, who are closely related to schizophrenia, should remember that timely treatment can give a chance to live a meaningful life. On the contrary, if the disorder is neglected, patients may face a variety of social problems, like poverty, loss of job, homelessness and even isolation.
That is why individuals with schizophrenia should never stop their treatment. Regular use of medication is one of the keys to a normal life. Apart from this, it is good to be involved in some kind of therapy, like family sessions of therapy or other support groups. It is always crucial to keep in touch with psychiatrist, caregivers, support team and other clinicians, who can give you constant support and medical help. It is also important to remember that despite all treatments, sometimes symptoms of schizophrenia may become more acute. Such situations are unavoidable, but if ill person knows how to act, it will not be difficult to overcome such relapses.
Although all of the mentioned above methods are rather helpful and effective, it should be remembered that like with any other illnesses, not all individuals with schizophrenia have similar chances for recovery. In accordance with the latest studies, patients with such traits as “experiencing severe symptoms suddenly, all at once, rather than little by little; being older when the disease appeared; being female; having a higher IQ; and lacking a family history of the disorder” are more likely to recover (Lilienfeld, Arkowitz, 2010, p.2 ).
As it has been already said, schizophrenia is not an individual problem. The society is also affected by this illness and its role should not be underestimated. It is scientifically proved that “relatives and friends of individuals with schizophrenia are important both in the process of assessment and engagement and in the long-term delivery of effective interventions” (Schizophrenia, n.d., p.25).
Individuals with schizophrenia require communication with people even more than one can imagine. It is important not to lose interaction with other people and continue communication. A feeling of support and care will allow such people to avoid isolation and overcome all negative prejudices and other negative attitudes, which can be faced in life. Apart from this, friends and relatives might help to recognize symptoms of relapses. That is why being surrounded by reliable people is of great importance.
Unfortunately, our society is not always ready to help people with schizophrenia. Even the closest people may experience a feeling of fear and shame. People tend to hide fact of illness from the rest of the world in order to avoid mistreat and prejudices. However, such approach to the problem is wrong.
It is of great importance not to allow schizophrenia ruining lives of people. It should be kept in mind that schizophrenia is not a verdict and it is still possible to enjoy life with this disease. We are lucky to live in the era, when new discoveries are made each day. Technological progress and science do not stand still and each day gives hopes for new innovations in treatment of schizophrenia. That is why we should never forget that “This is a time of great hope for individuals. There are many new medication treatments and psychosocial treatments that work to improve a broad range of outcomes” (as cited in Tartakovsky, 2011, p.4). Each day brings new lights of hope for thousands of people, who have to live with such disorder.
References
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Saha, S., Chant, D., Welham, J. & McGrath, J. (2005). A Systematic Review of the
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