Schizophrenia

Many people think that getting a serious mental illness like schizophrenia means that a person is going to be institutionalized. That is simply not true. Today, with the help of newer medications and therapy, a person who suffers from this serious mental disorder can go back to living in the community. Most people do not understand much about schizophrenia. The negative stereotypes around this mental disorder cause many people not to seek professional help. The media tends to glorify this mental illnesses as the one of the causes of violent crime. However, statistics show that people who are mentally ill are not more prone to violence than the general population.

Schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder are very similar mental disorders not heard often in the media. Schizophrenia is a mental illness which occurs in 1% of the world population. It is a mental disorder in which the person loses all touch with reality. They may experience visual and/or auditory hallucinations. It is common for people with schizophrenia to have psychotic thoughts. A psychotic thought is not a murderous or violent thought. In clinical terms, a psychotic thought is a thought that is not based in reality. Many times, a person experiencing a psychotic thought is thinking thoughts that don’t make any sense.

Generally, the time period in which schizophrenia starts is between the ages of 15 to 25 years old. That makes teenagers and young adults the main groups to watch for the beginning stages of the illness. Newer medicatons that have come out in the 90’s have been able to treat schizophrenia successfully and have been able to normalize people’s lives. Therapy consists of educating the person who is suffering about the disorder (i.e. symptoms, coping skills, taking medications, getting support). It is important for the person not to give up hope when undergoing therapy. Gaining support whether from family, friends or a counselor you trust is very important in recovery.

Many times, family don’t understand that schizophrenia is an illness that takes a long time for recovery. The person may need rehabilitation after they are hospitalized and going to an outpatient therapy program is helpful. Often, the person is unrecognizable in terms of behavior from the person they were before the mental illness struck. Sometimes, the person sleeps for long periods of time, expresses apathy and cannot concentrate on completing simple tasks. Family members need to be patient with the person.