Schizophrenia is a severe mental health disease that inflicts on its victim’s symptoms like loss of touch with reality, jumping to conclusions, suspicions, etc, etc. This results in social withdrawal, lots of anxiety, and the general symptoms of psychosis.
Its symptoms are “disorganized thinking, delusions, hallucinations, and hostility”. There are a lot of similarities in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia that disturb similarities in the symptoms, however, it is hard to tell if they are related to each other, or just similar in their symptoms.
Between the ages of 18 and 35, between 10% and 30% of people experience some sort of psychotic disorder, but in the 15 to 24 age group, there’s a 50% chance. Schizophrenia is probably the most common psychotic disorder, which includes, among others, depression, bipolar disorder, and panic disorder.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Delusions – These are false imaginations that seem to be real. For example, the patient may feel that someone is harassing them or trying to harm them, whereas in reality there is nothing like that. Or they may also feel like certain gestures or comments are directed towards them; they have exceptional ability or fame;
Hallucinations – This means seeing or hearing things that do not exist. But the force of effect on the brain is so strong when a person is suffering from Schizophrenia that it seems real to them. Not only this but the patient can experience the full force effect.
Disorganized thinking (speech) – A person usually finds it difficult to speak clearly with disorganized thoughts. It can be difficult for the patient to have effective communication and often end up speaking partially or completely unrelated things. In some rare cases, the patient may also find it difficult to speak words in a correct sequence.
Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behaviour– This symptom might be seen in different ways. From childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation. There is no specific goal behind the behaviour, hence it goes without any direction. Hence, this makes it difficult to do tasks.
Also check out: Schizophrenia – Myths and Facts
Negative symptoms – Here, negative symptoms refer to the declining ability to behave normally. For example, the person may neglect personal hygiene or appear to lack emotion (doesn’t make eye contact, doesn’t change facial expressions, or speaks in a monotone).
What is Bipolar disorder
This is A disorder related to episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to manic highs. Symptoms of Bipolar disorder are
- Mood swings!
- Quick shifting from one emotion to another
- Mood swings between mania and depression
- Not caring for things that you once cared about
- A sudden interest in achievements
- Being great, then feeling down
- Lots of anxiety
Also check out: Schizophrenia Symptoms- Positive and Negative.
Overlapping symptoms
Alterations in effect – mania and depression
● Changes in energy levels – hypo-mania and mania
● Change in sleep patterns – insomnia
● Decreased nonverbal communication skills – psychosis
● Excessively high or low moods
The difference between the two is that with Bipolar disorder, the person does not experience delusions (e.g., hallucinations) while Schizophrenia is characterized by clearly defined delusional experiences. The symptoms of these two disorders differ widely, but they are both serious mental illnesses that can be debilitating for their sufferers. While Schizophrenia is more narrowly defined than Bipolar Disorder it often overlaps with other psychiatric disorders like anxiety disorders, substance use disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
● Psychotic-like symptoms
● Psychomotor retardation and deceleration
● Negative Gambling Disorder: pressing the lever on a slot machine to stop it from giving out too many coins.
Judgment and insight are generally impaired, making it difficult to make informed choices. Impulsivity is also common as well as grandiose or egocentric ideas about self-importance and superiority over others. These individuals may also suffer from hallucinations, delusions, and some people may be hypersensitive to sensory input such as sound or light that would not otherwise cause problems for others.
Also check out: Can Depression be Genetic?
Diagnoses
Schizophrenia is the presence of at least two of these symptoms for longer than one month. These symptoms are not due to substance abuse, or medical conditions.
There are many different types of drugs that are prescribed to treat the various aspects of the disorder. Typically, medical professionals start by prescribing a standard pharmaceutical drug called an antipsychotic. Clozapine is one of these medications and has proven very beneficial to many individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia. While Clozapine does have some severe side effects that can cause problems for patients, it does seem to help ease schizophrenic symptoms better than any other medication on the market today.
Complications
If left untreated, Schizophrenia can cause certain severe complications. These complications can affect every aspect of life.
- Suicide, suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide
- Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Depression
- Abuse of alcohol or other drugs, including nicotine
- Inability to work or attend school
- Financial problems and homelessness
- Social isolation
- Health and medical problems
- Being victimized
- Aggressive behavior, although it’s uncommon
Risk Factors
Though there is no certain cause behind the occurrence of Schizophrenia, still some risk factors are there that can increase the risk.
- Having a family history of schizophrenia
- Some pregnancy and birth complications, such as malnutrition or exposure to toxins or viruses that may impact brain development
- Taking mind-altering (psychoactive or psychotropic) drugs during teen years and young adulthood
Treatment
There is no rigid treatment course that can help to completely cure Schizophrenia. Still sticking to the treatment and consulting with a doctor on regular basis can help in decreasing the effect of the disease on the brain. Also, it may reduce the intensity of the symptoms. n addition, researchers hope that learning more about risk factors for schizophrenia may lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment. So, make sure you seek proper medical help in the early stage of Schizophrenia.
