Schizophrenia is defined as a rather large group of mental disorders occurring together. A person with the illness has a problem with the self, and this is precisely related to the fact that he or she says, feels, thinks and very often also does something completely different. This results in emotional, mental and social problems.
Symptoms and course schizophrenia
Who can get schizophrenia?
The illness affects people in adolescence, but can also occur in older people. It is difficult to diagnose if it develops slowly and over a long period of time, it is possible when symptoms appear suddenly and are very violent. It requires pharmacological treatment and regular therapy under the guidance of a specialist in the field. It affects both men and women.
At the moment, no single cause of schizophrenia is known, special attention has been paid to the role of genetic factors, various types of damage to the genetic code and DNA (heredity depends on the degree of consanguinity), a deficiency of one of the neurotransmitters (dopamine, which is secreted in too large or small quantities), biochemical imbalances in the brain and stressful situations. Further research into other factors including environmental factors and complications after various infectious diseases is ongoing.
Schizophrenia can manifest suddenly and abruptly with a flurry of different symptoms which clearly indicates an illness of a psychological nature, but it can also start secretly and so last for a very long time. In most cases, an external factor, trauma or illness triggers its manifestation.
Among the symptoms characteristic of schizophrenia are:
- constant fatigue,
- delusions (usually persecutory),
- hearing voices, apathy, feelings of emptiness,
- loneliness, hallucinations of various kinds,
- disturbances of movement, thinking,
- movement, thinking, perceiving and reacting,
- depression, symptoms of mania,
- shutting down,
- withdrawal and many others.
Symptoms are individual to each patient.
Treatment schizophrenia
Diagnosis of schizophrenia is not easy if we are dealing with a long-term and latent form. An appointment with a specialist and the necessary investigations are necessary for this. The identification of specific clinical symptoms, according to the International Classification of Diseases and Disorders ICD-10, is crucial.
Treatment requires regular meetings with a psychotherapist, psychologist and psychiatrist and the use of pharmacological agents.
