Schizophrenia Overview
Schizophrenia changes how you think, feel, and act. It might affect you differently from someone else. The symptoms can come and go, too. No one has all of them all of the time.
They usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men often get them earlier than women. Often times there is a gradual worsening before symptoms start. This is sometimes called the prodrome phase.
When the disease is in full swing and symptoms are severe, the person with schizophrenia can’t tell what’s real and what’s not. This happens less often as they get older.
People with the condition usually aren’t aware that they have it until a doctor or counselor tells them. They won’t even realize that something is seriously wrong. If they do happen to notice symptoms, like not being able to think straight, they might chalk it up to things like stress or being tired.
If you’re concerned that you or someone you know is showing signs of schizophrenia, talk to a doctor or counselor.
Things That May Start to Happen (“Positive” Symptoms)
The changes you see are “add-ons” to normal behavior. Doctors may call these “positive” symptoms, but that doesn’t mean that they’re good.
Hallucinations: They might hear, see, smell, or feel things no one else does. Most often they’ll hear voices in their heads. These might tell them what to do, warn them of danger, or say mean things to them. The voices might talk to each other.
Delusions: These are beliefs that seem strange to most people and are easy to prove wrong. The person affected might think someone is trying to control their brain through TVs or that the FBI is out to get them. They might believe they’re someone else, like a famous actor or the president, or that they have superpowers.
Confused thoughts and speech: People with schizophrenia can have a hard time organizing their thoughts. They might not be able to follow along when you talk to them. Instead, it might seem like they’re zoning out or distracted. When they talk, their words can come out jumbled and not make sense.
Trouble concentrating: For example, someone might lose track of what’s going on in a TV show as they’re watching.
Different movements: Some people with schizophrenia can seem jumpy. Sometimes they’ll make the same movements over and over again. But sometimes they might be perfectly still for hours at a stretch, which experts call being catatonic. Contrary to popular belief, people with the disease usually aren’t violent.
Things That Stop Happening (“Negative” Symptoms)
Someone with schizophrenia may lose interest in some things or not be able to do them anymore. One common example is a lack of interest in grooming and hygiene.These symptoms can be hard to spot, especially in teens, because even healthy teens can have big emotional swings between highs and lows.
Depression has some of the same symptoms too
Emotionless: A person with schizophrenia might seem like they have a terrible case of the blahs. They might not talk much or show any feelings. And when they talk, their voice can sound flat, like they have no emotions. Doctors call this a “flat affect.”
Withdrawal: Someone who has the condition might stop making plans with you or become a hermit. Talking with them can feel like pulling teeth: If you want an answer, you have to really work to pry it out of them.
Struggling with the basics of daily life: They may stop bathing or taking care of themselves.
No follow-through: People with schizophrenia have trouble staying on schedule or finishing what they start. Sometimes they can’t get started at all.
Thinking Problems (“Cognitive” Symptoms)
These are about how well your brain learns, stores, and uses information.
Someone with schizophrenia might have a hard time with their working memory. For example, they may not be able to keep track of different kinds of facts at the same time, like a phone number plus instructions.
Along with having trouble paying attention, it can be hard for them to organize their thoughts and make decisions.
If you know someone with schizophrenia, you probably want to know why they have it. The truth is, doctors don’t really know what causes this mental illness.
Research shows it takes a combination of genetics and your environment to trigger the disease. Knowing what increases the chances can help you put together a better picture of your odds of getting schizophrenia.
Genetics
Think of your genes as a blueprint for your body. If there’s a change to these instructions, it can sometimes increase your odds for developing diseases like schizophrenia.
Doctors don’t think there’s just one “schizophrenia gene.” Instead they think it takes many genetic changes, or mutations, to raise your chances of having the mental illness.
They do know that you’re more likely to get schizophrenia if someone in your family has it. If it’s a parent, brother, or sister, your chances go up by 10%. If both your parents have it, you have a 40% chance of getting it, too.
Your chances are greatest — 50% — if you have an identical twin with the disorder.
But some people with schizophrenia have no history of it in their family. Scientists think that in these cases, a gene may have changed and made the condition more likely.
Still, genes aren’t the only thing that matters.
Environmental Triggers
If you were exposed to certain viral infections before you were born, there is some rersearch to suggest that possibly your chances of getting schizophrenia may be higher. This may also be true if you didn’t get proper nutrition from your mom while she was pregnant with you, especially during her first six months of pregnancy. These are both possible theories, but they have not been conclusively proven by scientific studies.
Studies show that taking certain mind-altering drugs called psychoactive or psychotropic drugs, such as methamphetamines or LSD, can expose a person’s biological vulnerabilty to devloping schizophrenia. Some research has shown that marijuana use has a similar risk. The younger you start and the more often you use these drugs, the more likely you are to have symptoms like hallucinations, delusions, inappropriate emotions, and trouble thinking clearly.
Schizophrenia and Your Brain
Scientists are looking at possible differences in brain structure and functioning in people with and people without schizophrenia.. In people with schizophrenia, they found:
Spaces in the brain, called ventricles, were larger.
Parts of the brain that deal with memory, known as the medial temporal lobes, were smaller.
There were fewer connections between brain cells
People with schizophrenia also tend to have differences in the brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These are responsible for “communicating information” in the brain.
Studies of brain tissue in people with schizophrenia after death even show that their brain structure is often different than it was at birth.
Paranoid schizophrenia, or schizophrenia with paranoia as doctors now call it, is the most common example of this mental illness.
Schizophrenia is a kind of psychosis, which means your mind doesn’t agree with reality. It affects how you think and behave. This can show up in different ways and at different times, even in the same person. The illness usually starts in late adolescence or young adulthood.
People with paranoid delusions are unreasonably suspicious of others. This can make it hard for them to hold a job, run errands, have friendships, and even go to the doctor.
Although it’s a lifelong illness, you can take medicines and find help to stop symptoms or make them easier to live with.
Paranoid Symptoms
Delusions are fixed beliefs that seem real to you, even when there’s strong evidence they aren’t. Paranoid delusions, also called delusions of persecution, reflect profound fear and anxiety along with the loss of the ability to tell what’s real and what’s not real. They might make you feel like:
A co-worker is trying to hurt you, like poison your food.
Your spouse or partner is cheating on you.
The government is spying on you.
People in your neighborhood are plotting to harass you.
These beliefs can cause trouble in your relationships. And if you think that strangers are going to hurt you, you may feel like staying inside or being alone.
People with schizophrenia aren’t usually violent. But sometimes, paranoid delusions can make them feel threatened and angry. If someone is pushed over the edge, their actions usually focus on family members, not the public, and it happens at home.
You could also have related hallucinations, in which your senses aren’t working right. For example, you may hear voices that make fun of you or insult you. They might also tell you to do harmful things. Or you might see things that aren’t really there.
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe an antipsychotic drug to make the delusions go away. It could be pills, a liquid, or shots. It can take a few weeks for these drugs to work fully, but you could start to feel a little calmer quickly. You might need to try more than one to find a medication or combination that’s right for you.
Even when you feel better, keep taking your medicine. If you stop, your delusions will probably come back.
Avoid using marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, or other stimulants. They can keep antipsychotic drugs from working well. They can also cause paranoia or make it worse.
You might have to take different kinds of drugs for other symptoms, too.
Counseling
Once your delusions are under control, counseling can help you get along with others, hold a job, go to school, take care of yourself, and have friends.
People with schizophrenia who get counseling are also more likely to stick with their medications.
A kind of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy can teach you how to manage symptoms that don’t go away, even when you take your medicine. You’ll learn to test whether you’re having delusions and how to ignore voices inside your head.
Positive, encouraging support from family and friends really helps, too.
Because some antipsychotic drugs can make you gain weight, you might also want to get help with diet and exercise.
Hospitalization
There might be times when your paranoid delusions or other symptoms are so severe that you have to go to the hospital. You’ll be cared for so you and your loved ones stay safe.
If you recognize that you’re having trouble, you can be admitted voluntarily. But if you think you don’t need help when you really do, the law may allow a doctor or other mental health professional to admit you involuntarily if you are unable to care for yourself or may be dangerous to yourself or someone else.
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