Schizophrenia

Introduction

When most people think about schizophrenia they think of people having two or more personalities that go round doing crazy things, and sometimes even harming others. In fact most people with schizophrenia are very scared by what is happening to them and they often avoid other people.

Who gets Schizophrenia?

People who suffer from Schizophrenia normally develop the condition between their late teens to mid-twenties. People who habitually use drugs seem to develop the condition more than others. Some who use drugs will get similar symptoms that wear off when the drug leaves their body. Others are unlucky and stay ill even if the first episode was triggered by drugs.

Causes of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia usually runs in families, you have a higher chance of it developing if your mum or dad has it. The underlying cause is not known. Some things that seem to be important include:

• Recreational drug use, especially cannabis in teenagers
• Viral infections in early life
• Difficulties in pregnancy or at the time of birth.

If you combat it at the early stages it is easier to control; It is very likely that the earlier you get treatment the better you will do. This sounds like common sense but until recently it has not been clear.

CBT can help some people with schizophrenia to recognise things that make them worse and help them with their delusions and hallucinations. Without help and recognition, someone that has suffered from Schizophrenia for a long time runs the risk of losing all sense of what’s real and what’s not.

What are some symptoms of schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia has two main groups of symptoms called positive and negative.

Positive symptoms include:

• Delusions - beliefs that are unusual and have no factual basis, usually of a very personal type)
• Hallucinations - sensations that are entirely real to the sufferer but do not have a real cause in the world. They can affect any of your senses. The most common type are to do with hearing. Sufferers hear voices, often talking about them, usually in unpleasant ways, sometimes telling them what to do. The voices are often very upsetting and difficult to get rid of and ignore. If they are telling people what to do it can be very hard to resist.
• Thinking Difficulties - making no sense, yet believing that you do. Possibly believing that your thoughts are being interfered with in various ways.

Negative symptoms include:

• A lack of interest in what’s going on around you to the point that you can’t be bothered to do much of anything.
• No real interest in other people.
• Becoming emotionally unresponsive.

Other things that happen to people with schizophrenia include the idea that the world has changed in some way they cannot explain, changes in their mood, they may become unable to think straight and when very ill talk in ways that do not make sense to others. They themselves may not be able to understand any of this which can be very scary.

Some people can have one or two episodes lasting a short time, others have very persistent difficulties.  Some people get better quickly but unfortunately others may not.

Even though schizophrenia is a serious mental illness a lot of people that have schizophrenia live normal lives. The sooner that someone recognises they have schizophrenia the quicker they can receive help to prevent the problem worsening

What should you do now?

The fact that you have recognised you may have a problem is a very positive step forward. Have a chat with your doctor about how you’re feeling, what you’re thinking and any troubles you may have. This might sound like a massively scary thing to do, but please remember your doctor is there to help, it’s all confidential and they won’t judge you at all, they will have met a lot of people that are going through what you are – all they will do is help you out.

While no cure for schizophrenia exists, many people with the condition can lead productive and fulfilling lives so long as they get the proper treatment. There are various ways that schizophrenia can be treated such as medication and rehabilitation programmes, when you speak to the doctor discuss with them the best thing to do.

In the meantime you may want to Chat to a Buddy, or check out our Treatments and Self Help sections, try to take little steps everyday to make yourself feel better.

Things you should know

It is important to understand that people can have any of these symptoms without being schizophrenic. To accurately diagnose schizophrenia often takes a long time. The early stages of schizophrenia can be similar to anxiety or depression so it is important that people do not jump to conclusions too quickly. Teenagers often have brief feelings/experiences like these that do not add up to schizophrenia. But if you do have such experiences it is worth discussing them with a doctor, psychologist or trusted adult. 

Early treatment really does help. If you get help early you may be able to stop the condition from worsening.