Schizophrenia: Causes, types, symptoms & treatment

What is Schizophrenia?   

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that impacts mental and physical well-being. It disturbs brain functioning and interferes with thinking, behaviour, memory, and sense. Therefore, people with schizophrenia face trouble in performing day-to-day activities.

If left untreated, schizophrenia can interrupt your relationships (professional, romantic, social, and otherwise). However, with proper treatment, medications, social support, and therapies, you can manage this condition and live a fulfilling life.

What are the Types of Schizophrenia? 

There are several types of schizophrenia, including:

• Paranoid Schizophrenia: This type of schizophrenia could emerge later in life (after the age of 45). Delusions and hallucinations are some symptoms of this type of schizophrenia.
• Catatonic Schizophrenia: People with catatonic schizophrenia show abrupt, erratic, and strange movements. They may not talk much or can mimic' other people's movements and speech.
• Hebephrenic Schizophrenia: This form of schizophrenia typically occurs between the ages of 15 and 25 and is characterised by disorganised thoughts, behaviours, and hallucinations.
• Residual Schizophrenia: People with residual schizophrenia exhibit negative symptoms such as slow mobility, poor memory, lack of attention, and poor hygiene.

Who Does it Affect? 

Both males and females are at equal risk of affecting with schizophrenia. This schizophrenia usually occurs between the age of 15-25 in males and 25-35 in females. More than 20% of new cases of schizophrenia appear in people over the age of 45. Such cases are more common in men and people assigned Male at Birth (AMAB). It is rare to see schizophrenia in children.

How Common is Schizophrenia? 

Schizophrenia is quite a fairly condition. Globally, it affects around 221 among 100,000 people.

What are the Symptoms of Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a syndrome, and patients suffering from it have several types of schizophrenia symptoms. So, here are five prominent schizophrenia symptoms:

• Delusions: Individuals may hold false beliefs without sufficient evidence to support them. For example, thinking someone is controlling their thoughts, speech, or actions.
• Hallucinations: People with schizophrenia may perceive nonexistent sights, sounds, smells, or sensations, such as hearing voices.
• Incoherent Speaking: Difficulty organising thoughts during the speech leads to difficulty maintaining a coherent conversation. This may involve jumping between topics or expressing thoughts in a hard way for others to grasp.
• Unusual Movements: Individuals may exhibit unexpected or unconventional movements that others find surprising. This could include taking unnecessary turns or displaying minimal physical activity.
• Negative Symptoms: These make it challenging to carry out daily tasks. For instance, individuals may lack facial expressions or speak with a flat or emotionless voice. Negative schizophrenia disease symptoms may also involve decreased motivation, leading to a disinterest in social activities or activities once enjoyed.

Because of the above schizophrenia symptoms, one might:

• Feel scared, suspicious, or paranoid.
• Not paying attention to basic hygiene and appearance
• Experience depression, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety
• Consume alcohol and recreational drugs to ease your mind.

What Causes Schizophrenia?

Although there is no single reason for schizophrenia, experts believe that there are various reasons involved in this disease. The primary reasons include:

• Abnormality in chemical signals your brain uses to make cell-to-cell communication
• Brain development issues before birth.
• Connection loss between various brain areas.

What are the Risk Factors of Schizophrenia?

Certain risk factors increase your likelihood of developing schizophrenia:

• Environment: Certain environmental conditions can increase the chances of developing schizophrenia. Illnesses like autoimmune disease (in which your immune system attacks your body parts) can affect your brain. This will increase your risk. Moreover, staying in stressful conditions for a longer duration can also increase the chances of schizophrenia.
• Development and Birth Circumstances: How your body is developed before your birth also plays a role in getting schizophrenia. Your risk of schizophrenia will increase if your birthing parent has gestational diabetes, malnutrition or Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy. The risk also increases if you are born underweight or have complications during birth.
• Recreational drug usage: Taking certain recreational drugs will put you at risk of schizophrenia, especially if you are taking such medications for a longer duration. Drugs like marijuana can also put you at risk of schizophrenia.
• Age factor: The first child of younger or older parents is at higher risk of developing schizophrenia, as compared to parents who give birth at the age range of 25-29 years.
• If you have a family history of schizophrenia.

Is Schizophrenia Genetic? 

Experts have not found any specific reason behind schizophrenia, but they believe that genes can be one of the factors behind this illness. If any of your family members have a history of schizophrenia, you can develop it in a later stage.

How is Schizophrenia Diagnosed? 

Usually, the healthcare provider prefers asking questions to diagnose schizophrenia. He will develop a set of questions, focusing on your symptoms and observing your actions, followed by further question sessions to discover the potential causes of your symptoms.

A schizophrenia diagnosis requires below conditions:

• At least two of the five primary symptoms
• You have been facing symptoms for at least one month
• Your symptoms make maintaining your relationships (professional, social, romantic, and others) difficult.

Based on the diagnosis and schizophrenia causes, your healthcare provider will suggest further lines of treatment.

What Tests Will be Done to Diagnose This Condition? 

There is no particular test for schizophrenia. Nevertheless, your healthcare provider may run certain tests to know about other conditions before diagnosing the causes of schizophrenia. These tests include:

• Imaging test: Your healthcare provider may use Computed Tomography (CT), MRI, and other imaging tests to identify problems like brain injuries, stroke, tumours, or other issues in brain structure.
• Urine, Blood, and Spinal Tap tests: With these tests, the healthcare professional can check changes in your body's fluids, which might let them know the reason behind changes in your behaviour. These may reveal the metal toxicity or other infections that have led to schizophrenia.
• Brain activity testing: Through Electroencephalogram (EEG), your doctor can record the electrical activity in your brain and can assist in finding out a condition like epilepsy.

Can Schizophrenia be Cured? 

Schizophrenia is not curable, but it is treatable. In some rare conditions, people can recover completely from this disease. But this is not a cure, as there is no way to know who will relapse and who won't. That is why doctors use the term 'in remission' for those patients who have recovered from this condition.

How is Schizophrenia Treated? 

Schizophrenia treatment involves a combination of certain medicines, therapies, and self-management techniques. This usually includes:

• Antipsychotics: These medicines block how your brain uses certain chemicals for cell-to-cell communication.
• Other drugs for schizophrenia: Your healthcare provider might also prescribe certain medications to work on the symptoms that happen alongside schizophrenia treatment. They may also give medications to treat the side effects of antipsychotic medications like tremors.
• Psychotherapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talk therapy that can help you manage the condition. This long-term therapy can also help you to control your depression, anxiety, and other issues.
• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT): If all the above treatments do not work, your doctor may go for ECT. In this treatment, an electric current is given to your scalp for stimulation of certain parts of the brain. This process will cause brief seizures, which can improve your brain functionality and help you treat agitation, depression, or other brain-related problems. Furthermore, you will be under anaesthesia during this process to avoid any kind of pain.

How Soon After Treatment Will I Feel Better? 

Your healthcare provider is the right person to let you know about your recovery period, as it depends from person to person. Also, different medications take their own time before their effects become noticeable. He can further let you know about other schizophrenia treatments if the first one does not work for you.

How Can I Reduce My Risk or Prevent This Condition? 

There is no sure way to prevent schizophrenia, but by following the treatment plan, you can reduce the worsening of symptoms.

What Can I Expect if I Have Schizophrenia? 

Schizophrenia can disturb your life, making it hard for you to perform your daily chores, socialise, or take care of yourself. However, with proper treatment, regular medications, social support, and therapy, people with schizophrenia can manage their health and live a fulfilling life.

Moreover, there is only a small percentage of people who struggle with symptoms and find it difficult to live independently. Most patients with good management and self-care practices can recover sufficiently to live a normal life.

What's The Outlook for This Condition? 

Schizophrenia is not a deadly condition, but it may lead to dangerous and harmful behaviours.

Around one-third of patients suffering from this disease have symptoms that get worse with time. This may happen when schizophrenia therapies do not suit the person or they are facing trouble in following the treatment plans closely. Although many patients respond to the treatment positively. But still, at some point, their symptoms become worse, and they face lingering problems, like being unable to focus or think.

How do I Take Care of Myself?

While medication and therapy may take time to show full effects, there are strategies to manage symptoms, enhance self-esteem, and promote overall well-being.

• Look for social assistance: Family and friends are essential for ensuring you receive the proper care and manage your symptoms. Expand your social interactions with others to reduce stress and calm your nervous system.
• Control your stress: Excessive stress can cause the body to produce more cortisol, which in turn causes schizophrenia episodes.
• Engage in regular exercise: Exercise has many psychological and physiological advantages. Regular exercise can improve your memory, processing speed, and attention ability.
• Make sure you get enough rest: You likely require even more sleep than the recommended eight hours when taking medicine for this. Schizophrenia patients frequently struggle to fall asleep, but regular exercise and limiting coffee can help.
• Follow a healthy diet:  You can include Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet to ease the symptoms. You can find this fatty acid in fish like Salmon and mackerel.

When Should I See My Healthcare Provider?

You must seek medical advice as soon as you identify schizophrenia symptoms like unusual movements, delusions, and hallucinations. The earlier you identify the symptoms of schizophrenia, the better will be your chance of getting proper treatment. Some more common schizophrenia symptoms include:

• Suspicious beliefs or ideas
• Isolation from friends and family
• Difficulty in sleeping
• Mood swings
• Unexpected Outbursts

What Can I Do If a Loved One Shows Signs of Schizophrenia? 

You can try the following to assist a loved one exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia or a related illness:

• Learn for yourself: Although you need not be an expert in schizophrenia, knowing more about the condition can help you comprehend the happening. Since there are many misconceptions regarding schizophrenia, it is a good idea to locate some reliable sources.
• Pay attention: Talking about issues or worries can be quite beneficial sometimes. It is crucial to realise that discussing sensitive topics like a loved one's experiences with schizophrenia can be extremely challenging for them. When a loved one confides in you, actively listen to them without interrupting.
• Show Empathy: Even when people are receiving treatment and adhering to the defined treatment plan, symptoms of schizophrenia, such as delusions and hallucinations, can take some time to go away. Responding to the delusions or hallucinations of a loved one can be difficult for many people. It is advisable to refrain from debating these encounters.
• Create a social network: Try to keep up your relationships with friends and other social circle members to reduce schizophrenia symptoms. These will eventually grow to be crucial supports as your loved one heals. Inform them and update them on your loved one's recovery progress.

Conclusion 

Schizophrenia is indeed a challenging situation. Despite stereotypes, it is possible to live a fulfilling and happy life. If you think that you have schizophrenia symptoms, you must approach your healthcare provider soon to know the schizophrenia causes. Contact a doctor with a specialisation in mental health conditions like schizophrenia, as they are trained to handle such situations, and you need not feel ashamed or judged in front of them. Your healthcare provider may recommend a complete blood count or urine and drug test to know the underlying condition that can cause schizophrenia. Book a slot for your test with Metropolis Labs, opt for at-home collection service, and give samples from the comfort of your home.