Understanding Schizophrenia

It can be awkward to talk about a psychological disorder, like schizophrenia. Learning about schizophrenia can reduce the stigma around mental illness, opening the possibility for more positive discussions, and making it more likely that people with schizophrenia will seek help. In this post, we will be discussing what schizophrenia is, its symptoms, risk factors, neural basis, and the treatment options available.

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is described to be a complex psychological disorder that affects one’s state of mind. This influences how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. There are many symptoms unique to schizophrenia, and some that overlap with other disorders, which we go through below. Overall, schizophrenia is a disconnect between the mind and reality (Myers, 2021).

How do/does Schizophrenia affect your life?

Schizophrenia can impact someone’s life if not treated, but lots of help is available. Some people have trouble maintaining relationships with friends or family because of how they think and express emotions. This can lead to isolation and depression (Mayo Clinic, 2020). 40% of people with schizophrenia are also diagnosed with depression (Golubović et. al 2020). Cognitive impairments might make it hard to stay organized and participate in school or at a part-time job, leading to further stress and lower self-esteem (Mayo Clinic, 2020).

Examples of Symptoms           

Schizophrenia has several symptoms. To be diagnosed, a person must have at least 2 of the symptoms, all the time for at least a month, and at least one of them must be hallucinations, delusions, or disorganized speech.  

• Hallucinations are experiencing sensory things, like hearing voices or seeing people, that aren’t there.

• Delusions are believing in things that aren’t within the normal scope of reality. They can be extreme, like thinking you have been abducted by aliens, or less extreme, like thinking the weatherman is speaking directly to you.

• Disorganized speech means you are unable to properly communicate information understandably.

• Catatonic behavior is moving in odd ways or staying in the same position for hours.

• Grossly disorganized behavior makes it hard to achieve goals or complete tasks.

• Negative symptoms may include not displaying emotions, not socializing, or having difficulties with thinking.
  

Risk Factors

Schizophrenia can be inherited through genes, but having the genes for schizophrenia does not mean you will have it. For example, if someone has an identical twin with schizophrenia (who would have the exact same genes), they have a 48% chance of having schizophrenia. This means that other things, like life experiences, might be the things that unlock these genes. Experiencing certain complications during pregnancy has made future connections with schizophrenia (Patel et al., 2014). Environmental and social stressors are also included in risk factors.

Neural Basis

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that is characterized by emotions, behaviors, and disturbances in thought processes. There are many ways schizophrenia affects your brain. For example, people with schizophrenia in their first episode have less brain tissue than an average healthy person (Gustafson, 2013). Schizophrenia affects the frontal lobe, which helps with memory, thinking, and attention. This explains why people with schizophrenia often have trouble with executive function. Schizophrenia also affects the temporal lobe, just above each ear, and explains the symptoms related to speech and auditory hallucinations (Carr, 2023). Genetics also plays a big role in the development of schizophrenia. If the gene is present, it increases the risk of being diagnosed with this psychological disorder. All of this shows how schizophrenia affects the brain and affects your life.

Treatment Options

Dealing with schizophrenia can be tough, but there are different ways to help manage it, depending on whether someone is experiencing symptoms suddenly, or has been dealing with them for a long time.

1. Medications for Symptom Control: Doctors often prescribe medications called antipsychotics to help manage symptoms like hearing voices or having unusual beliefs. These medications usually help to lower dopamine levels in the brain.

2. Psychotherapy: Talking to someone can help. One type of talk therapy, called CBT, teaches practical ways to deal with symptoms by changing how you think. There's also therapy for families to help everyone understand and support each other better.

3. Learning Skills for Everyday Life: Some classes teach skills for everyday life, like how to talk to people, solve problems, and manage time. These skills can help you live on your own and find work you like.

4. Getting Help in a Crisis: Sometimes, things get really bad, and you might need to go to the hospital for a bit. It's to make sure you're safe and to give you extra help until you feel better. Crisis help means stepping in quickly when things are tough because of schizophrenia.

Through a combination of medication, psychotherapy, skills training, and crisis intervention, individuals with schizophrenia can effectively manage their symptoms and lead fulfilling lives. Talking about schizophrenia doesn’t need to be scary or awkward. Learning more and talking about it with others can build awareness and make it more likely that someone will get help.

Call to Action

Now that you have some more information about schizophrenia, we hope you will share it with others so people can get the help they need. Schizophrenia is a treatable psychological condition. Please feel free to leave a comment below to tell us about something cool you learned about schizophrenia.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596  

Boeree, G. (n.d.). Schizophrenia. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/genpsyschiz.html#:~:text=Grossly%20disorganized%20behavior%20includes%20difficulty,that%20are%20bizarre%20to%20onlookers

Carr, N. (2024, January 3). How does schizophrenia affect the brain? MentalHealth.com. https://www.mentalhealth.com/disorder/schizophrenia/how-does-schizophrenia-affect-the-brain

Cleveland Clinic. (2022, July 18). Catatonia: Definition, causes, symptoms & treatment. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23503-catatonia

Cleveland Clinic. (2022, May 22). Delusional disorder: Causes, symptoms, types & treatment. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9599 -delusional-disorder

Cleveland Clinic. (2022, June 26). Hallucinations: Definition, causes, treatment & types. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/23350-hallucinations

Golubović, B., Gajić, Z., Ivetić, O., Milatović, J., Vuleković, P.,  Đilvesi, D., Golubović, S., Vrban, F., Subašić, A., Rasulić, L. (2020). Factors associated with depression in patients with Schizophrenia. 59(4), 605–614. https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2020.59.04.06

Gustafson, J. (2013, September 10). How schizophrenia affects the brain. Iowa Now - The University of Iowa. https://now.uiowa.edu/news/2013/09/how-schizophrenia-affects-brain-0

Karlsgodt, K. H., Sun, D., & Cannon, T. D. (2010, August). Structural and functional brain abnormalities in schizophrenia. Current directions in psychological science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235761/#:~:text=Schizophrenia%20is%20associated%20with%20changes,memory%20and%20declarative%20memory%2C%20respectively

Liberman, R. P., Glynn, S. M., Blair, K. E., Ross, D., Marder, S. R., & Inui, T. S. (2002).Development of skills training programs. Psychiatric Services, 53(7), 871–877. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1521/psyc.65.2.137.19931

Mayo Clinic. (2020, January 7). Schizophrenia. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443#:~:text=Schizophrenia%20is%20a%20serious%20mental,with%20schizophrenia%20require%20lifelong%20treatment

Myers, D. G., DeWall, N. C. (2021). Psychology (13 ed.). VitalSource Bookshelf. Retrieved March 21, 2024, from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781319347970/epubcfi/6/2[mye_9781319132101_cover]!/4/2[dav_9781319347970_R7lfzAD3WM]/4[dav_9781319347970_BRcgCWsWqz]/2[dav_9781319347970_lBnonINgj2]%4051:32

Mueser, K. T., & Gingerich, S. (2013). Treatment of schizophrenia. In J. D. Herbert (Ed.), Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies (4th ed., pp. 313–341). Guilford Press .https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299474453_Treatment_of_Schizophrenia  

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). (2021). Schizophrenia. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml

Patel, K. R., Cherian, J., Gohil, K., & Atkinson, D. (2014b, September). Schizophrenia: Overview and treatment options. P & T : a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159061/

Team, B. E. (2024, March 2). Disorganized speech: What it is and how to respond. BetterHelp. https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/how-to-recognize-disorganized-speech-and-what-to-do-about-it/#