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Schizophrenia
Introduction
Schizophrenia is a mental illness featured by thought disturbances, perception, and behavior, by a loss of emotional responsiveness and extreme apathy, and by massive deterioration in the level of performance in everyday life activities. Schizophrenia symptoms commonly begin in the mid to late 20s. Schizophrenia often entails an inability to sense the reality, withdrawal from the social circle, and failure to balance between thoughts and emotions (American Psychiatric Association, 2018). The mental disorder is caused by a variety of factors among them the genetic predisposition factor, prenatal and postnatal viruses, and neurotransmitter imbalances. Schizophrenia develops through some stages which are characterized by varying symptoms. The condition can be treated by use of different medications such as the use of the drug and electroconvulsive therapies which relieve the patient from the illness.
Explanation of the symptoms of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is depicted by a variety of symptoms among them being a loss of contact with the reality. Normally the mental disorder is signaled by false beliefs which distance one from what is real. For instance, a person suffering from this condition may think that he/she is harassed or harmed when actually nothing of the sort is inexistent (Mayo clinic, 2018). Further, one may think that some comments or hearsay are directed towards them or even that they possess some exceptional fame or capability. As such, persons suffering from this mental condition experience delusions in almost all aspects of their life where they do not align with the real life happenings.
Another symptom associated with schizophrenia is an excess or distortion of normal thinking. Mostly this mental illness causes disorganized thinking which results in distorted speech. Therefore, people who have schizophrenia fail to communicate effectively where they tend to answer or respond to questions in an unrelated way. As such, their speech is full of meaningless words which can’t be understood (Mayo clinic, 2018). Also, they tend to shift from one topic to another which are not related at all. Their speech is full of repetitions of statements and words sometimes involving, clang, use of rhyming words.
Additionally, the disorder is depicted by some negative symptoms such as lack of emotional expressiveness. As such, a person with this illness has an inexpressive face, which is characterized by a lack of eye contact, flat face, and blank facial expressions. Moreover, the mental disorder causes lack of interest to the affected where they incline to selflessness and demotivation (Patel et al., 2015). They lack interest with the world to the extent of withdrawing from the social norm besides depicting some unconsciousness to the environment.
Further, the condition makes the affected extremely apathetic. As such, they ought to be unconcerned and fail to take care of themselves, their work, and cut off interaction with others. Therefore, they have disorganized behaviors such as a decline in the general daily activities. Also, people suffering from this condition have unbecoming emotional reactions, behaviors that portrays no purpose, and lack of impulse control.
The causes of Schizophrenia
Despite having no precise cause of schizophrenia, there are known factors which are related to the development of the disorder. One of the factors is the genetic or biological predisposition factor where genetic variations result in mental illness. Generally, genes are a blueprint into our bodies and a change to these instructions may trigger chances of development of mental disorders such as schizophrenia (Naheed et al., 2012). Therefore, when genetic mutations take place, there is an increased likelihood of having mental issues. Also, when a family member has the disease, there is a high chance of genetic transmission of the complication. For instance, if a parent has schizophrenia, there is a possibility of one or more children getting it.
Another cause of schizophrenia is the prenatal or early exposure to several other viruses. This normally happens when complications emerge during pregnancy or birth. For instance, malnutrition or subjection to toxins or viruses which happen to interfere with brain development. Further, premature labor, inadequate oxygen during birth or low birth weight have been associated with mental illness (Hadlich, 2010). Mostly when children are born with extremely low weight or born before their due date, there are high chances of delayed or inadequate brain development which may result in the development of mental disorders like schizophrenia. Also, drug abuse by early adults and adolescence have been related to an increased likelihood of developing the mental ailment.
Neurotransmitter imbalances is another cause of schizophrenia. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals that facilitate transmission of messages between the brain cells. A relationship exists between schizophrenia and neurotransmitters as the drugs that regulate the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain have been noted to relieve some notable signs of schizophrenia. Therefore, there is evidence that schizophrenia may be caused by a variation of the neurotransmitters level particularly the serotonin and dopamine (Naheed et al., 2012). So whenever an imbalance occurs between the two neurotransmitters, there is a high chance of having a mental disorder. Further, variation in the body sensitivity towards neurotransmitters has been found to cause schizophrenia.
Additionally, brain abnormalities have been related to this mental disorder. This is according to developmental theories which alludes that certain brain problems develop causing schizophrenia. The development of the brain especially in the early stages of fetal growth entails a complicated process. There is the formation of millions of neurons which migrate to different sections of the developing brain ready to perform various functions. If the process is interrupted by a viral infection, stress, hormonal imbalance or genetic encoding error the brain develops abnormalities which might result in schizophrenia (Hadlich, 2010). The disruption of the brain during its early development causes disorganization in its structures which may even cause the death of some cells making it abnormal.
The stages of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia develops in phases as opposed to the notion that the disease originates out of nowhere. The ailment shows up right from the psychotic symptoms that appear in the early stage where the victim starts depicting some way of thinking that is distorted. Also, the sufferer develops some difficulties relating with others. The three phases include the prodromal, active or acute, and residual.
Prodromal is the first stage of the mental disorder and points out the period before the ailment starts to manifest itself. The period is usually a year before the disease shows up. Therefore, the stage entails all the initial symptoms of the mental illness before the manifestation of the characterized symptoms. In this stage, people tend to isolate themselves from others, sleep most of the daytime, or even stay indoors where they seem to avoid seeing their family or friends. Their performance in school or work often takes a negative turn as they lose interest in what was initially their best activities (George, 2017). Signs of the disease at this stage are not particular to schizophrenia as they may be associated with depression, stress among other matters. As a result, doctors find it hard to identify the ailment at this stage and relies heavily on psychotic symptoms to diagnose schizophrenia. Therefore, it is until the complication reaches the active stage that it is identified.
The active or acute stage refers to the period when symptoms of schizophrenia start to manifest. The psychotic symptoms in this stage include hallucinations, disorganized and abnormal behaviors, delusions, and disorganized thinking or speech. At this stage, the development of schizophrenia represent itself fully, and the disorder is manifested. The diagnosis is possible at the active stage as the symptoms are depicted (Gluck, 2018). During the stage, the doctor can diagnose and offer treatment after a comprehensive inquiry of how the symptoms started beside seeking information from the patient and the family.
The final phase of schizophrenia is referred to as residual where the symptoms are like those in the prodromal stage. In this stage, patients are not seen as psychotic though their symptoms change from positive to better to worse. They depict symptoms such as social withdrawal, lack of enthusiasm, drive and initiative, interest, and sometimes experience apathetic emotions (Gluck, 2018). Also, despite the absence of psychotic symptoms, persons who have the mental disorder encounter strange beliefs.
Difference between acute and chronic Schizophrenia
Acute schizophrenia is a kind of mental disorder that is portrayed when a young adult, previously healthy, develops odd behaviors over a short period. The commonly observed behaviors include irrational thoughts or beliefs, incoherent thinking, and hallucinations. Also, persons who have acute schizophrenia depicts symptoms like delusions, loud spoken thoughts, lack of insight, suspiciousness, auditory hallucinations, and flat mood. The signs above are referred to as positive symptoms as some patients experience mood disturbance such as euphoria, anxiety, and depression (Henderson, 2015). Moreover, persons who have acute schizophrenia shows weird emotional responses such as a lack of concern for crucial events or appreciating the sad news.
Conversely, chronic schizophrenia refers to a longer state of mental illness featured by underactivity, withdrawal from social circle, and lack of drive. Patients in this state tend to spend a lot of time alone doing nothing or performing purposeless duties. Often they neglect themselves and fail to attend to their requirements and hygiene. They are subject to delusions and hallucinations just like in the acute state (Henderson, 2015). Commonly noted symptoms in patients having chronic schizophrenia include depression, social withdrawal, awkward behaviors, slowness, and neglect of oneself.
Treatments and side effects of medication
Schizophrenia can be treated by application of drug therapy. The medication is vital in relieving symptoms which are believed to affect brain function. The antipsychotic medication, in this case, is used to manage signs and symptoms to the lowest possible state. Doctors may use a combination of different drugs which include antidepressants to help achieve the desired outcomes (Patel et al., 2014). On the other hand, patients are required to adhere to the prescribed dose in addition to attending a doctor’s appointment.
Additionally, electroconvulsive therapy can be done to relieve a patient from schizophrenia besides assisting those who do not respond to drug therapy. This therapy is the most effective and fastest mean of doing away with the symptoms of severe mental illness. ECT is applied to patients who have schizophrenia to ease signs such as disorganized thinking, hallucinations, and delusions (Gray, 2018). This therapy is effective in treating psychosis more so in patients with mood symptoms. Further, ECT is used to relieve depression which is common among patients who have chronic schizophrenia.
Medication of schizophrenia is accompanied by side effects which include tremor, blurred vision, drowsiness, muscle spasms, and restlessness. Most of these effects can be corrected by reducing the dosage amount or by use of other medications. Also, antipsychotic drugs cause an increase in body weight which is related to diabetes and obesity (Emsley, 2017). Further, patients may report cases of movement and muscle issues besides developing some serious effects such as tardive dyskinesia condition. Tardive dyskinesia involves disorder in the movement which is featured with uncontrolled facial movements as well as twisting of other body parts. Moreover, the use of traditional drugs has been noted to cause side effects similar to Parkinson’s disease as they damage to nerve cells in the brain.
Conclusion
To sum it all, it is evident that schizophrenia is a common disease both to adults and young children. As such, it is recommendable to critically check on the symptoms associated with the illness and visit a medical center for diagnosis. Early diagnosis facilitates treatment when the condition is at its initial stages which is relatively not much involving. As noted above, the mental disorder is related to some weird behaviors like extreme apathy, social withdrawal, and lack of emotional responsiveness which can be noted with a lot of ease. Therefore, any signs that allude to the illness can be diagnosed so as to find alleviation means early enough.
References
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