Schizophrenia easily qualifies as a disproportionately devastating mental health disorder. While the disease is among the rarest of conditions, schizophrenia treatment is one of the most essential therapies available. Failing to treat this chronic and severe brain disorder can have disastrous consequences. Over time, psychosis will worsen without therapeutic intervention.
Transformations at Mending Fences is staffed with certified professionals who have faced schizophrenia head on. They understand the nuances of the disease and the importance of customized plans for overcoming this debilitating condition. Review the following information to become informed, but then reach out to us immediately if you feel you need help.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that presents as disruptions to a person’s perceptions, social interactions, emotional responsiveness and thought processes. It is a form of psychosis, and while it affects only about 1 percent of the population, its symptoms are among the most serious. The disease is neurological in nature, and many people with the condition are undiagnosed.
Professionals involved in schizophrenia treatment often witness the following symptoms:
Researchers link schizophrenia to biological and environmental causes. While it’s impossible to predict the disease with certainty, it does typically emerge in age groups between the late teens and early thirties. Comorbid and co-occurring disorders are common, and around half of individuals seeking schizophrenia treatment will need treatment for other conditions.
While no mental illness should go undiagnosed, failure to treat schizophrenia can be particularly devastating. Sufferers can lose their grip on reality without proper therapies, and this can make it impossible to live any semblance of a normal life. If you or a family member has experienced symptoms of this disease, contact Transformations at Mending Fences today.
After hearing horror stories in the news and watching cinematic dramatizations featuring the disease, many people feel that schizophrenia treatment simply isn’t effective. In reality, many of the negative outcomes involving individuals with the condition occur due to a lack of treatment. Between 70 and 90 percent of patients actually respond to the most common treatment regimen.
Unfortunately, these medications (i.e. first-generation antipsychotics, or FGA) don’t work for everyone. Around 10 to 30 percent show little symptomatic improvement with FGAs. Among the small cohort of those with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, 30 percent will benefit from doses of clozapine. Even if this doesn’t work, augmentation and combination therapy may help.
The question of whether schizophrenia treatment works is easy to answer: yes. As with any mental illness or substance abuse disorder, though, it really comes down to finding the right therapeutic approach for the right patient.
Until 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) recognized five separate types of schizophrenia. The current version of the DSM, however, now only recognizes these types as features of the disease. This was necessary due to the number of overlapping symptoms between subtypes.
Understanding these former types of schizophrenia, however, provides a better understanding of the disease:
Trying to pigeonhole various symptoms into distinct subtypes provided low diagnostic precision. Unfortunately, this could interfere with effective schizophrenia treatment. We now see the disorder as more of a spectrum. To receive a diagnosis of the disease, though, it’s important to exclude other potential causes of psychosis.
While the following mental illnesses could relate to or resemble the condition, they do not meet the threshold of diagnosable schizophrenia:
Other mood disorders can lead to psychosis as well. For a diagnosis of schizophrenia, though, a person must experience either delusions, disorganized speech or hallucinations along with one other symptom.
Many people believe they’re capable of functioning when dealing with mental illness. For those dealing with mild symptoms of a minor condition, this could be possible. If you’re showing signs of schizophrenia, though, not getting treatment isn’t really an option. Even if symptoms have a gradual onset, their severity can increase without warning.
It’s impossible to overstate the necessity of schizophrenia treatment. Studies show that individuals with the disease have a lifetime suicide risk of 5 percent. The average person’s risk is only 0.3 percent. Unfortunately, self-harm isn’t the only danger that exists. Sufferers of the disease are also 2-3 times more likely than the general population to die early from preventable diseases.
If you think a friend, family member or yourself are showing signs of schizophrenia, the time to seek help is now. The risk of suicide is greatest during onset of the disease, and catching the illness early offers the best hope of successful treatment.
While schizophrenia is an increasingly rare disease, it’s still among the most disabling illnesses in the world. It’s certainly a scary diagnosis, but schizophrenia treatment can help. Many people with the condition live fulfilling lives, but around 40 percent of sufferers receive no treatment at all. Do not risk becoming part of this dangerous statistic.
Transformations at Mending Fences has all the resources necessary to help you take control of your life. A combination of psychotherapy, medication and specialty services can help you overcome the difficulties ahead. While schizophrenia treatment may be a lifelong endeavor, the normalcy that you can achieve makes it worthwhile.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you take your life back from mental illness.
Sources
Medical News Today
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/192770
Treatment Advocacy Center
Journal of Psychopharmacology
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951591/
World Health Organization
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/schizophrenia
Pharmacy and Therapeutics
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159061/
Dr. Amiel is a psychiatrist in Gainesville, FL, and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area… Read More
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