Knysna-Plett Herald | Schizophrenia: often misunderstood

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Schizophrenia: often misunderstood
09:32 (GMT+2), Wed, 16 May 2012

LIFESTYLE NEWS - Schizophrenia is an illness that is often misunderstood and sometimes even feared by people.

One in 100 people live with schizophrenia and it can also affect famous people, such as the Nobel Prize winner John Nash, who inspired the movie, A Beautiful Mind.

Schizophrenia, is not, as is commonly believed, a "split personality".

It is a mental illness that can affect the day-to-day functioning of a person to various degrees, due to changes in their perceptions and experiences of the world.

The exact cause of schizophrenia is not known. Factors like genetic background, stress, substance use, or possible viral exposure can cause changes to occur in parts of the brain which may result in the development of schizophrenia.

Common symptoms might include hearing voices or seeing people or things that other people cannot see. These are called hallucinations and can sound or look utterly real to the person living with schizophrenia.

The affected persons might experience changes in the way they think, or lose touch with reality. These are called delusions. Their thinking might also become confused.

These hallucinations, delusions and thinking problems are called the "positive symptoms" of schizophrenia.
The negative symptoms are things like poor sleep patterns, loss of energy, poor concentration, and depression. Suicidal behaviour can occur if the patient is not treated or does not receive good support.

Combination of therapies
The treatment of schizophrenia usually involves a combination of medication and psychosocial therapies. Sometimes the patient must be admitted to hospital to adjust their medication.

The treatment is aimed at reducing the delusions and hallucinations, and to help the patient to think more clearly and increase their energy. The psychosocial therapy helps the person to identify problems that they might have and to work out new ways to cope with their illness.

All responsible citizens need to have knowledge about this illness, to encourage patients to stay on their medications, help them avoid substances like alcohol and drugs and to support their families.

QdotPharma is a clinical research organisation that helps to test new medications for a variety of illnesses.
Contact them on 044 803 0200 and visit their website, www.qdotpharma.com, for information on their studies.