A chronic and severe disorder that affects the way people think act, express emotions, and perceive reality is schizophrenia. Usually, people with this mental disorder often have issues in their relationships, school, workplace, etc. Some of them feel lost in touch with reality, whereas others can feel frightened.
If your loved ones are experiencing this lifelong disorder, your healthcare provider might not be able to cure it but can help them control it with proper treatment. So, in order to learn the factors responsible for this condition and the treatment, you can read this article further.
Factors responsible for this disorder:
There is not just one cause for this mental disease, but several factors have been identified. Across the lifespan, there are equal possibilities of both men and women developing this disease. But usually, men develop this mental disorder earlier. Well, some of the factors are given below.
- Family relationships: There has been no evidence provided by any research or studies that this disease or illness occurs due to family relationships. Well, some people are sensitive to family issues, which can be associated with recurrent episodes.
- Alcohol and other drug use: Alcohol and drugs, especially amphetamine use and cannabis, are extremely harmful and can trigger psychosis, developing the disorder eventually.
- Genetic factors: The other factor responsible for this disorder is genetic or hereditary. If anyone in your family has this disease, you can develop it over time. As per statistics, one percent of people develop it in their lifetime. But if one of the parents has it, the children have a 10 percent chance of developing this condition.
- Stress: Stress is the main reason for many diseases, including schizophrenia. Sometimes, vulnerable people relieve stressful incidents and develop this condition. Some people with this condition can become irritated, anxious, and might not have the ability to concentrate before most of the symptoms are evident. Hence, it affects relationships, studies, and work.
- Biochemical factors: Some biochemical substances, particularly a neurotransmitter called dopamine, are believed to develop this condition. The genetic predisposition to the diseases can cause a chemical imbalance in the brain. Sometimes, birth and pregnancy complications can also result in this disease.
What are the symptoms of this condition?
The symptoms first appear from ages 16 to 30 and fall into four categories: positive, negative, cognitive, and catatonic behaviors or disorganization. Positive symptoms mean the individual is losing touch with reality, such as having hallucinations and delusions.
The negative symptoms can lead to difficulty in concentrating, lack of motivation, and loss of pleasure in daily activities. Cognitive symptoms affect critical-thinking skills, memory, and decision-making skills.
Individuals with cognitive symptoms can have trouble focusing and might make poor decisions. Disorganization symptoms can be physical and mental and show a lack of coordination. Some of the examples of disorganization symptoms include difficulties in speech, loss of muscle coordination, motor behavior, and memory recollection problems.
How to treat this condition?
As discussed earlier, there is no cure, but the treatment is an ongoing process. However, schizophrenia treatment focuses on eliminating and easing symptoms to manage the conditions. When you manage the symptoms, you can decrease the probability of going to the hospital.
Some treatments include psychosocial therapy, antipsychotic medicine, and coordinated specialty care. Psychosocial therapy helps individuals to learn skills to complete school, hold a job and maintain quality of life. Antipsychotic medications affect the levels of the chemical in the brain and decrease the symptoms.
Coordinated specialty care is a combination of therapy and medications. Your healthcare provider will guide and advise you on the treatments depending on your condition.
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