Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Patients with this disease may look like they have lost touch with reality, it can be distressing for them and for their family members. The symptoms of schizophrenia can make it tough to take part in usual, daily activities, but appropriate management is available. Many patients who take treatment can engage in school or work, achieve a normal life routine, and enjoy personal relationships.

Origin and Symptoms

It’s important to identify the symptoms of schizophrenia and ask for support and treatment as early as possible. Schizophrenia is commonly diagnosed in the age group of 16 to 30 years, after the first appearance of psychosis. Begin the treatment as soon as possible following the first episode of psychosis is an important step toward improvement. Although, study shows that slow changes in thinking, mood, and social activity often appear before the first appearance of psychosis. Schizophrenia is rare in the younger age group.

Schizophrenia symptoms can differ from person to person, but they normally fall into three main categories: psychotic, negative, and cognitive.

Psychotic symptoms 

These symptoms are:

• Hallucinations: When a person sees, hears, smells something or tastes, that is not actually real. Hearing something is typical for patients with schizophrenia. People who hear voices may listen to them for a long time before family members identify a problem.
• Delusions: When a person has strong beliefs that are not real and may seem irrational to others. Like, individuals facing delusions may think that people on the media and television are sending special messages that need a certain action, or they may think that they are in threat or that others are trying to hurt them.
• Thought disorder: When a person has ways of thinking that are not normal or not logical. People with thought disease may have trouble arranging their thoughts and speech. At times a patient will stop talking in the middle of a thought, change the topic, or use some words that have no meaning.
• Movement disorder: In this disorder, a patient shows body activity, gestures and posture that is not normal. patient with a movement disorder may repeat a few movements again and again.

• Negative symptoms include loss of motivation, loss of interest or enjoyment in daily activities, withdrawal from social life, difficulty showing their emotions, and difficulty functioning normally. Having very low enthusiasm and spending a lot of time in an inactive form or sedentary lifestyle. In severe conditions, a patient might stop activity or movement or talk for some time, which is a rare condition known as catatonia. These symptoms are sometimes mistaken for symptoms of depression or other mental disorders.
• Cognitive symptoms: In this, there are issues with attention, concentration, and memory. These symptoms can make it difficult to continue or follow a conversation or discussion, learn new things, or remember appointments. A patient’s condition of cognitive functioning is one of the important predictors of their day-to-day activity. 
• Possibility of Violence: Most people with schizophrenia are not aggressive. Patients with schizophrenia are more likely than those without the disorder to be harmed by others. For patients with schizophrenia, the risk of self-harm and of violence to others is greatest when the disease is untreated.

Schizophrenia vs dissociative identity disorder

However, some of the signs may look similar on the surface, schizophrenia is not a dissociative identity disorder (which was previously termed as multiple personality disorder or split personality). Patient with a dissociative identity disorder has two or more different identities that are present and that one by one take control of them.

Causative Factors

Many factors may contribute to a person’s risk of developing schizophrenia, including:

• Genetics
• Environment
• Brain structure and function
• Management

Present management for schizophrenia focuses on supporting patients to manage their symptoms, improve day-to-day activity, and achieve personal life targets, like education, career, and having healthy relationships.

• Antipsychotic medicines
• Psychosocial management

Psychosocial treatments help people find solutions to everyday challenges and manage symptoms while attending school, working, and forming relationships. People who participate in regular psychosocial treatment are less likely to have symptoms recurrence or to be hospitalized.

Examples of this kind of treatment include cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural skills training, supported employment, and cognitive remediation interventions.

• Family awareness and Support
• Management for Drug and Alcohol abuse

It is common for patients with schizophrenia to have issues with drugs and alcohol. A treatment activity that includes treatment for both schizophrenia and substance use is mandatory for recovery because substance use can disturb the management of schizophrenia.

“I needed to put two critical ideas together: that I could both be mentally ill and lead a rich and satisfying life.”

— Elyn R. Saks,

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