What Do You Know About Schizophrenia?

“When I was in university, I got a call from my sister that one of my cousins had been arrested (not a police station but the security office). At first I wondered what he did to get arrested. Then she went on to explain that he accused one of his lecturers of failing him, he made a lot of claims against him and went to his house to harass him. My first thought was my cousin had gone mad because I didn’t really understand what he was going through. We have heard stories of how stubborn he is and how he acts out and he is irrational. I just waved it off as a normal teenage stage. He was suspended, became disorganised and stopped communicating. It got to a point where no one in the family knew where he was. If only we had known what was wrong and how to treat it than jumping from one church to another looking for deliverance”

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects the way people think, feel, act, or perceive things. It makes it difficult to distinguish between what is real and unreal. People with schizophrenia may hear voices or noise and become paranoid or may think someone is following them or a world event is connected to them.

Types/symptoms of schizophrenia

There different types of schizophrenia which will be categorised into two- positive and negative symptoms. I know you are wondering how an illness can have a positive side, let me explain.

Positive symptoms are behaviours that appears in surplus in an individual with schizophrenia as compared to a healthy individual, while the negative symptoms are behaviours that are lacking or decreased in people with schizophrenia.

Positive symptoms may include:

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Disorganised thoughts and disorganised speech – effective communication be impaired. They have difficulty organising their thoughts, they zone out and when they speak, their words come out jumbled and difficult to understand.

While negative symptoms may include:

• Lack of emotion which is also called flattened affect, where the person is emotionless or show little or no emotion to disturbing events.
• Decreased joy or motivation –  where the individual has a decrease in joy for things that normally excites them which is also called anhedonia.
• Delayed speech where is there is little or no communication
• Difficulty beginning and sustaining activities, less concentration on things

Delusion

These are false beliefs that people think are real and even when given the facts they refuse to believe it and stick to their own. Delusions are quite common in schizophrenia, we have;

• Persecutory delusion- feeling that they are being stalked or hunted.
• Referential delusion – when they believe a show or a message is meant for them.
• Grandiose delusion – when they believe they are famous or consider themselves a major world figure.
• Somatic delusion – when they believe they have a terrible illness.
• Erotomanic delusion – when they believe a celebrity is in love with them or they have a cheating spouse or people they are not attracted to are pursuing them.
• The delusion of control – when they believe they are being controlled by outside thoughts.
• Religious delusion – when they believe they have a relationship with a deity or being possessed by a god or goddess.

Hallucination

People with schizophrenia experiences hallucination. They hear or see things that other people don’t. They hear voices in their head which might be a murmur or very loud and angry. This is auditory hallucination.

They might see objects or patterns or loved ones that are no longer alive and they might have difficulty with perception and distance. This is visual hallucination.

They could also perceive things, either good or bad smell and also taste things and believe someone is trying to poison them. This is olfactory and gustatory hallucination.

They might also experience tactile hallucination where they get the feeling of things moving on their body, either insects or a hand.

Treatment

Recognizing the signs of schizophrenia in yourself or a loved one can be frightening. But with the right treatment and self-help, you can manage the disorder and lead a fulfilling life.

The most effective treatment for schizophrenia involves a combination of medication, therapy, lifestyle changes, and social support. Medication can reduce symptoms and greatly reduce the further worsening of symptoms. Psychological treatments such as cognitive-behavioural therapy or supportive psychotherapy may reduce symptoms and enhance function, and other treatments are aimed at reducing stress, supporting employment, or improving social skills. It is absolutely essential for people with schizophrenia to get help, and insist on an evaluation by a psychiatrist when psychotic symptoms occurs.

-Grace Uwannukwu