Signs, Symptoms, and Treatments of Schizophrenia - Essay Example

Outline What is schizophrenia? A. Chronic brain disorder B. Paranoid schizophrenia Who can be affected? A. One per cent of Americans B. Late adolescence to mid-20s (men) or late-20s (women) C. Equality between gender and ethnic groups D. Biological E. No real definable cause Signs and Symptoms A. Unusual thoughts, hallucinations, delusions (positive) B. Inability to speak, express emotion, initiate plans (negative) C. Attention and memory problems (cognitive) D. Loss of contact with reality Treatments A. Eliminating symptoms B. Antipsychotic medications C. Psychosocial treatment Support System A. Families B. Caregivers C. Treatment Future Outlook for Patients Schizophrenia [Rough Draft] What is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is diagnosed psychiatrically. Schizophrenia is characterized by anything that might seem to be impairment on the perceptions or expressions of reality, such as hallucinating, hearing voices, or bizarre delusions. As there are no tests yet made to determine if a person has schizophrenia, the diagnosis has to be made solely on the symptoms, especially if the person seems to have more than one. Paranoid schizophrenia is quite similar to regular schizophrenia in the sense that the person does not have a firm grip on reality. What sets the two forms of schizophrenia apart is that the person who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia believes themselves to be wanted or hunted, usually by the voices that they hear in their head or the people that they believe they can see. They develop schizophrenia as well as paranoia. Who can be affected? Schizophrenia affects at least one per cent of Americans, with the majority of them being teenagers or young adults. Schizophrenia is most common in people during their late adolescence until their mid-twenties if they are men and their late twenties if they are female. The chance of getting schizophrenia is equal between gender and ethnic groups. Schizophrenia is also a disease that can be passed down from someone who already has the disease, or has had it. This can be done genetically, or if someone, especially a child, is subjected for great lengths of time to someone who has schizophrenia. A person is more likely to get the disease themselves if they are related, even distantly, to someone who has already had it. As there is no real definable cause of schizophrenia, it is difficult to predict if somebody will get it. People are often misdiagnosed due to the lack of understanding that comes with schizophrenia; there have been many cases when someone has been diagnosed, come to later find out that it was something unrelated to schizophrenia. It is a very shaky disease to diagnose properly. Signs and symptoms With all types of schizophrenia, the majority of the symptoms remain the same. There are only one or two striking differences that set the different branches apart from each other. There are considered to be three branches of symptoms, which are positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are considered to be the obvious behaviors that are not normal to a healthy person. These symptoms are easy to spot and are easiest to treat. Positive symptoms include unusual thoughts, hallucinations, and delusions. They are symptoms that verbally and visually pull a person from reality. Negative symptoms involve reductions in normal emotional and behavioral states, including how a person expressions themselves emotionally and behaviorally. Negative symptoms are the inability to speak, express themselves, initiate plans, and verbally put together coherent thoughts and sentences. These symptoms are considered to be negative because they can affect other people, especially if expressed physically. Negative symptoms are harder to diagnose, as they can also be symptoms of other disorders, making them harder to tend to with treatment. Cognitive symptoms are not as obviously seen, and are only found when neuropsychological tests are performed on the patient. These symptoms affect the memory and the thinking process. Cognitive symptoms include attention problems and “working” memory - the inability to retain fresh information and use it to their advantage. If a cognitive symptom is found and is diagnosed properly, treatment is not that difficult. Other symptoms, or signs, of someone having schizophrenia involve repeated attempted suicide attempts, as well as repeated attempts at killing others. Many people diagnosed with schizophrenia that show these destructive behaviors often say that “the voices” or “the people” told them to do it. These symptoms can be found in any branch of schizophrenia, but is most common with paranoid schizophrenia. The majority of symptoms involve the patient to be at a complete loss with reality. They are unable to perceive and comprehend what is actually going on around them, as they are seeing and hearing things of their own accord. Their symptoms often make them think that people are out to get them, or to make them have “invisible friends”. Treatments As schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose, and as it is unsure of how one comes to becoming schizophrenic, it is even more difficult to provide the proper forms of treatment. Due to these difficulties, treatment has come down to just treating the individual symptoms. This usually means that a patient is taking many medications at any given time, and this can, at times, cause even more problems in the disorder or with side effects. Antipsychotic medications are used mainly to rid a patient of the positive symptoms - hallucinations, delusions, and the voices that only they can hear. These medications have the greatest impact on the lives of those that have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, yet they are unable to actually cure the disorder. Many of the side effects related to these medications often made the recovery process more difficult to bear, despite the fact that the medications did prove to work. It was in the 1990s that atypical antipsychotics were developed that depleted these negative side effects, making it easier for a patient to endure the treatments. Basic side effects of these new medications include dizziness and fatigue. While every patient reacts differently to the medication, it is common that the hallucinations disappear after a few days and the delusions disappear after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, since schizophrenia is a chronic disorder, it needs constant care, meaning that a patient, once on treatment, will not be allowed off for fear of bringing back the symptoms. Psychosocial treatments are different “hands-on” treatments to help a patient cope with their disorder and the many aspects or symptoms of it. Illness management skills helps a patient to understand their form of schizophrenia and how they can make further treatment decisions based on their symptoms. It allows them to be active in their treatments. Rehabilitation and self-help groups help patients to interact with their environment while being on medications or not being on medications. These forms of treatment help to re-socialize patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a patient to decipher reality from the symptoms of their disorder, such as the hallucinations and the voices that they may hear. This form of therapy usually takes place if symptoms are still being seen while a patient is on medication. Support System Since schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose and to treat, the greatest treatments come from families, caregivers, and the few symptom-related treatments and medications that are available today. While undergoing treatment and being on medications, families find it easy to release their relatives from the hospital and allow them to be placed in their own care. Therapy is offered to families who decide to do this. It is a tedious task to take on someone who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, though it is made easier by treatments and support from others. Caregivers are brought in when a patient is on medication, yet family or an individual family member does not or cannot take them in. These caregivers are specialized in handling the specific form of schizophrenia that a patient may have, while acting as a surrogate family member and provider. These caregivers can be for in-home business, sometimes staying as a live-in, or they can help out in hospitals and institutions. As aforementioned, there are numerous forms of medications and different types of treatments that a patient can take or undergo to rid themselves of the majority of their symptoms related to schizophrenia. Future outlook for patients Doctors and other professionals involved in the diagnosing of schizophrenia are still far from discovering how one gets schizophrenia, but the treatment options are becoming more greater and effective, with fewer side effects. These medications and treatments have allowed, and are allowing, people diagnosed with schizophrenia to lead normal lives and being more comfortable in a social environment. Due to advances in technology and medicine, it can be hoped that means of preventing schizophrenia, as well as means of curing the disorder, will soon come to light. Schizophrenia [Final Draft] What is schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is diagnosed psychiatrically. Schizophrenia is characterized by anything that might seem to be impairment on the perceptions or expressions of reality, such as hallucinating, hearing voices, or bizarre delusions (Schizophrenia, 2008). As there are no tests yet made to determine if a person has schizophrenia, the diagnosis has to be made solely on the symptoms, especially if the person seems to have more than one. Paranoid schizophrenia is quite similar to regular schizophrenia in the sense that the person does not have a firm grip on reality. What sets the two forms of schizophrenia apart is that the person who is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia believes himself or herself to be wanted or hunted, usually by the voices that they hear in their head or the people that they believe they can see. They develop schizophrenia as well as paranoia. Who can be affected? Schizophrenia affects at least one per cent of Americans, with the majority of them being teenagers or young adults. Schizophrenia is most common in people during their late adolescence until their mid-twenties if they are men and their late twenties if they are female. The chance of getting schizophrenia is equal between gender and ethnic groups. Schizophrenia is also a disease that can be passed down from someone who already has the disease, or has had it. This can be done genetically, or if someone, especially a child, is subjected for great lengths of time to someone who has schizophrenia. A person is more likely to get the disease themselves if they are related, even distantly, to someone who has already had it. As there is no real definable cause of schizophrenia, it is difficult to predict if somebody will get it. People are often misdiagnosed due to the lack of understanding that comes with schizophrenia; there have been many cases when someone has been diagnosed, come to later find out that it was something unrelated to schizophrenia. It is a very shaky disease to diagnose properly. Signs and symptoms With all types of schizophrenia, the majority of the symptoms remain the same. Only one or two striking differences set the different branches apart from each other. There are considered three branches of symptoms, which are positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms are considered the obvious behaviors that are not normal to a healthy person. These symptoms are easy to spot and are easiest to treat. Positive symptoms include unusual thoughts, hallucinations, and delusions. They are symptoms that verbally and visually pull a person from reality. Negative symptoms involve reductions in normal emotional and behavioral states, including how a person expressions themselves emotionally and behaviorally. Negative symptoms are the inability to speak, express themselves, initiate plans, and verbally put together coherent thoughts and sentences. These symptoms are considered negative because they can affect other people, especially if expressed physically. Negative symptoms are harder to diagnose, as they can also be symptoms of other disorders, making them harder to tend to with treatment (Snyder, 2007). Cognitive symptoms are not as obviously seen, and are only found when neuropsychological tests are performed on the patient. These symptoms affect the memory and the thinking process. Cognitive symptoms include attention problems and “working” memory - the inability to retain fresh information and use it to their advantage. If a cognitive symptom is found and is diagnosed properly, treatment is not that difficult. Other symptoms, or signs, of someone having schizophrenia involve repeated attempted suicide attempts, as well as repeated attempts at killing others. Many people diagnosed with schizophrenia that show these destructive behaviors often say that “the voices” or “the people” told them to do it. These symptoms can be found in any branch of schizophrenia, but is most common with paranoid schizophrenia. The majority of symptoms involve the patient to be at a complete loss with reality. They are unable to perceive and comprehend what is actually going on around them, as they are seeing and hearing things of their own accord. Their symptoms often make them think that people are out to get them, or to make them have “invisible friends” (Mayo, 2008). Treatments As schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose, and as it is unsure of how one comes to becoming schizophrenic, it is even more difficult to provide the proper forms of treatment. Due to these difficulties, treatment has come down to just treating the individual symptoms. This usually means that a patient is taking many medications at any given time, and at times, this can cause even more problems in the disorder or with side effects. Antipsychotic medications are used mainly to rid a patient of the positive symptoms - hallucinations, delusions, and the voices that only they can hear. These medications have the greatest impact on the lives of those that have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, yet they are unable to actually cure the disorder. Many of the side effects related to these medications often made the recovery process more difficult to bear, despite the fact that the medications did prove to work. It was in the 1990s that atypical antipsychotics were developed that depleted these negative side effects, making it easier for a patient to endure the treatments. Basic side effects of these new medications include dizziness and fatigue. While every patient reacts differently to the medication, it is common that the hallucinations disappear after a few days and the delusions disappear after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, since schizophrenia is a chronic disorder, it needs constant care, meaning that a patient, once on treatment, will not be allowed off for fear of bringing back the symptoms (Grohol, 2006). Psychosocial treatments are different “hands-on” treatments to help a patient cope with their disorder and the many aspects or symptoms of it. Illness management skills helps a patient to understand their form of schizophrenia and how they can make further treatment decisions based on their symptoms. It allows them to be active in their treatments. Rehabilitation and self-help groups help patients to interact with their environment while being on medications or not being on medications. These forms of treatment help to re-socialize patients. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a patient to decipher reality from the symptoms of their disorder, such as the hallucinations and the voices that they may hear. This form of therapy usually takes place if symptoms are still being seen while a patient is on medication (Delisi, 2006). Support System Since schizophrenia is difficult to diagnose and to treat, the greatest treatments come from families, caregivers, and the few symptom-related treatments and medications that are available today. While undergoing treatment and being on medications, families find it easy to release their relatives from the hospital and allow them to be placed in their own care. Therapy is offered to families who decide to do this. It is a tedious task to take on someone who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, though it is made easier by treatments and support from others. Caregivers are brought in when a patient is on medication, yet family or an individual family member does not or cannot take them in. These caregivers are specialized in handling the specific form of schizophrenia that a patient may have, while acting as a surrogate family member and provider. These caregivers can be for in-home business, sometimes staying as a live-in, or they can help in hospitals and institutions. As aforementioned, there are numerous forms of medications and different types of treatments that a patient can take or undergo to rid themselves of the majority of their symptoms related to schizophrenia. Outlook for patients Doctors and other professionals involved in the diagnosing of schizophrenia are still far from discovering how one gets schizophrenia, but the treatment options are becoming greater and effective, with fewer side effects. These medications and treatments have allowed, and are allowing, people diagnosed with schizophrenia to lead normal lives and be more comfortable in a social environment. Due to advances in technology and medicine, it can be hoped that means of preventing schizophrenia, as well as means of curing the disorder, will soon become known. References Delisi, Lynn. Questions and Answers About Schizophrenia. Jones and Bartlett Publishing, 2006. Grohol, Dr. John. “Schizophrenia Treatment.” April 2006. Online. Available http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx31t.htm. Retrieved April 20, 2008. Mayo Clinic. “Mental Health: Schizophrenia.” January 2008. Online. Available http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/schizophrenia/DS00196. Retrieved April 20, 2008. “Schizophrenia.” April 2008. Online. Available http://nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml. Retrieved April 21, 2008. Snyder, Kurt. My, Myself, and Them: A Firsthand Account of One Young Person’s Experience with Schizophrenia. Oxford University Press, 2007. Read More