Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder. It is a serious illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others.
People with schizophrenia often have problems doing well in society, at work, at school, and in relationships.
They might feel frightened and withdrawn as well as could appear to have lost touch with reality. This lifelong disease can’t be cured but can be controlled with proper treatment. The symptoms are described in terms of positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms.
POSITIVE SYMPTOMS
These are not normally experienced, but are present in people during a psychotic stage in schizophrenia. They include delusions, hallucinations, as well as disorganized thoughts and speech, typically regarded as manifestations of psychosis.
NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS
The negative symptoms are deficits of normal emotional responses or other thought processes.
COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS
These symptoms are labeled as such because they illustrate that someone is having trouble with certain cognitive or mental functions.
The symptoms of schizophrenia usually emerge when a person is in their late teens or early 30s. They tend to develop earlier in males than in females. According to the reports, men often develop symptoms in their late teens or early 20s. Women tend to show signs in their late 20s and early 30s.
The period when symptoms first start and before full psychosis is called the prodromal period. It can last days, weeks, or even years. It can be hard to spot because there’s usually no specific trigger.
As per the reports, about 0.3 percent to 0.7 percent of people are diagnosed with schizophrenia during their lifetime.
The exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown. Medical researchers believe that a combination of genetics, brain chemistry, and environment contribute to the development of the disorder.
The genetic factors include a variety of common and rare genetic variants. The possible environmental factors include being raised in a city, cannabis use during adolescence, infections, the ages of a person’s mother or father, and poor nutrition during pregnancy.
In addition, Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that shouldn’t be ignored or left untreated. The illness increases the risk of serious complications, such as self-injury or suicide, anxiety, phobias, depression, alcohol or drug use, and family problems.
Schizophrenia is usually treated with a combination of medicine and therapy tailored to each individual. In most cases, this will be antipsychotic medicines and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). People with schizophrenia usually receive help from a community mental health team. The support and treatment can lessen the condition’s impact on day-to-day life.