What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that has very dire effects on your physical as well as mental health. It alters the working of your brain, and it affects everything from the way you think to memory, senses, and even behaviors. Because of that, you might face difficulty in many areas of your everyday life. Unaddressed schizophrenia usually damages your relationships (professional, social, romantic, and others). It may also lead to inability in structuring your thoughts and one might be prone to acting behaviors that will expose you to potential injuries or illnesses.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia usually manifests itself in men for the first time during their late teens or early 20s, while in women, it may manifest between late 20s and early 30s. Both men and women are affected equally. The time from when symptoms start to occur and before psychosis fully manifests is known as the prodromal period. This can last anywhere from days, weeks to even years. The prodromal period is not easy to determine because, most of the time, there is no specific trigger. You might only notice subtle behavioral changes, especially in teens. This includes:

• Altering academic performance
• Isolation by society
• Disrupting concentration
• Flared-up temper
• Difficulty sleeping

What causes schizophrenia?

The important fact is that there is no single cause of schizophrenia. It is said that schizophrenia may develop due to different reasons; there are three main ones, however:

• Chemical-messenger imbalances in the brain that affect cell communications.
• Abnormal brain development during prenatal life.
• Decreased synergy across different areas of the brain.

What are the risk factors of schizophrenia?

While there is no established cause for schizophrenia, there are risk factors associated with developing the illness:

• Environment: Several things in your environment put you at an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. Your risk of developing the condition is also slightly higher if you are born in the winter months. Infections and auto-immune diseases, conditions that affect your brain where part of your body is under attack from your immune system, increase your risk also. You may also get it when there is a lot of extreme stress over a prolonged period.
• Development and birth situations: The development of how you were in your womb impacts the risk for schizophrenia. Having gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, nutritional deficiency or a vitamin D deficiency during the gestation of bringing you into this world will increase your chance for schizophrenia. An underweight birth will increase your chances as well, as well as any complication of your delivery. These may include delivering by an emergency cesarean section.
• Recreational drug use: The use of certain recreational drugs is associated with schizophrenia, particularly in larger quantities and starting at a younger age. The association between heavy marijuana, or cannabis, use when a teenager is perhaps the most studied of these associations. However, it is still unclear whether such marijuana use is causative of schizophrenia or merely risk-increasing.

How is schizophrenia diagnosed?

Your doctor or your loved one's doctor can diagnose schizophrenia, or its related disorders on a combination of questions that will ask you, the symptoms you present, or by observing some actions. They will rule out other possible causes through a series of questions also. They then compare to what they find to that required for a schizophrenia diagnosis.

A diagnosis of schizophrenia will require the following as explained in the DSM-5:

• At least two of the five main symptoms.
• You have had symptoms for more than one month.
• Your symptoms interfere with your daily activities or relationships (social, intimate, work-related or otherwise).

What tests will be carried out to diagnose this disease?

There are no diagnostic tests for schizophrenia. However, before the doctors can diagnose schizophrenia, they often run tests to eliminate some other conditions. Some common types of tests include the following:

• Imaging tests: Healthcare providers often use computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other forms of imaging tests to ascertain whether there are any issues of stroke, brain injuries, tumors, or any kind of changes in the anatomy of your brain.
• Blood, urine and cerebrospinal fluid (lumbar puncture) tests: These examine chemical changes in bodily fluids that can explain changes in behavior. They can rule out the presence of heavy metal poisoning, infections, and a great deal more.
• Brain activity testing: An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures the electrical activity in your brain. The test may be necessary to eliminate conditions such as epilepsy.

Can schizophrenia be cured?

Schizophrenia is not curable, but often it is treatable. A small percentage of individuals may recover completely from schizophrenia. However, this isn't a cure because no one can predict who will eventually experience a relapse and who will not. As such, experts term people who recover from this illness as "in remission.

How is schizophrenia treated?

Typically, a combination of medication, therapy, and self-management is used to treat schizophrenia. Such include:

• Antipsychotics: These drugs prevent how your brain uses certain chemicals to communicate from one cell to another.
• Other drugs: Your doctor may also prescribe other drugs to address symptoms that occur with or as a result of schizophrenia symptoms. They may also use medications to alleviate side effects of antipsychotic drugs such as shakiness.
• Psychotherapy: Talk therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), can assist in the management of your condition and coping mechanisms. Long-term therapy may also assist with secondary problems that come with schizophrenia, including anxiety or depression, and substance misuse.
• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): Your doctor may recommend ECT if other treatments don't help. This treatment involves application of an electrical current applied to your scalp, and then this electrical current may stimulate certain parts of the brain. The stimulation produces a brief seizure, and this may improve brain functions in patients with severe depression, agitation, and so on. If you get ECT, you have anesthesia. You will sleep through this procedure and won't be able to feel any pain.

How soon after treatment will I feel better?

Only your doctor can tell you how long it will take for medication and therapy to start working. Different medications have different onset times before you notice the effects. Your provider can also let you know about other treatment options that may help if the first ones don't work so well.

How might I prevent this condition or reduce my chances of developing it?

As experts still do not know why schizophrenia arises, it is impossible to avoid it or decrease your chances of suffering it.

What can I expect if I have this condition?

Schizophrenia is one condition that varies from one individual to another. It will be challenging for you in work, relationships, and self-care. However, treatment can help you in your work, care, and fulfilling relationships.

This condition often occurs in cycles. That means that you can have periods when the condition flares up and your symptoms worsen considerably. Then you may have a time of improving symptoms but not going all away.

Despite how serious the condition is, treatment still allows for living with the condition and minimizing how it influences life.

What is the outlook for this condition?

Schizophrenia itself is not a fatal illness. However, some of its consequences can actually be dangerous or even hazardous. In fact, one third of people with schizophrenia have deteriorating symptoms. That is because your symptoms may not react to treatment, or perhaps you have difficulty following treatment recommendations closely enough to control the illness. In fact, about 10% of people with schizophrenia end their lives by suicide.

Other people improve with treatment. However, they still experience periods in which symptoms relapse and worsen. They may also have residual problems, such as difficulty focusing or thinking, because of earlier episodes of this disorder.

How do I take care of myself?

If you have schizophrenia, you should do the following to help care for yourself and manage your condition:

• Take all prescribed medications: The most important thing you can do is to take your medications as advised by the doctor. If diagnosed with schizophrenia, you shouldn't just stop taking your medicine unless talking with your provider about it. Talk over side effects, for example, and have him prescribe an alternative that works effectively without undesirable side effects.
• Visit your doctor as advised: Your doctor will schedule you for follow-up visits. These visits are especially important in helping to manage your condition.
• Do not ignore or avoid symptoms: You are more likely to respond to treatment and have a good outcome with early diagnosis and medical care.
• Avoid the use of alcohol and drugs for recreational purposes: Alcohol and drug abuse worsens symptoms of schizophrenia and contributes to other problems. This is any use of prescription medication except as directed.
• Consider consulting assistance: Many organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness offer resources and information to help.

How can I take care of myself?

If you have schizophrenia, consider the following steps to help care for yourself and manage your condition:

• Take all the medications exactly as prescribed: Perhaps one of the most critical things you can do is to take your medications. If you suffer from schizophrenia, never stop without talking to your healthcare provider. Discuss all concerns and side effects with your provider to find a medication that works well for you and which has minimal or no side effects.
• See your healthcare provider as instructed: Your healthcare provider will arrange a schedule for you to see them. These visits are particularly important in managing your condition.
• Do not ignore or avoid symptoms: You are likely to respond well to treatment and do well if you get diagnosed early and receive medical attention.
• Avoid alcohol and drug abuse: Alcohol and drug usage can worsen the symptoms of schizophrenia as well as contribute to other complications. This includes abusing prescription medications.

When should I contact my healthcare provider?

You should seek to see your healthcare provider as advised. You may see them if you've changed your symptoms, for example, if they are worsening with or without taking your medication. You can see a provider if the side effects your medication causes interfere with your activities, too. Your provider might sometimes be able to prescribe alternative medications or treatments for you that could more effectively take care of your condition without duplicating those effects.

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