Just like any other ailments, it can be very hard to diagnose psychiatric disorders accurately among them being Schizophrenia disorder. Schizophrenia is rare, and it affects the brain leaving behind a combination of mood disorder and schizophrenia. At first, the disease might be hard to diagnose as it shares symptoms similar to two conditions which include bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Compared to these two ailments, schizoaffective is less studied and not many people are well informed about the disease, and this explains why schizoaffective treatment is borrowed from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Many individuals who have Schizophrenia disorder at first were diagnosed to be having manic depression. What helps differ manic disorder from schizoaffective disorder is the fact that a patient is having bipolar disorder experiences hallucinations and delusions that eventually go away after about two weeks leaving the mood standard as it was before. An individual who experiences psychosis has hallucinations and delusions for more than three weeks. In some instances, a patient’s hallucinations and delusions might come back again after the mood had already stabilized together with other symptoms such as paranoia, catatonia.
In such cases, the patient is often diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. In adolescents, it has been noted that it is very hard to distinguish between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder due to psychotic behaviors are common at that age. According to Castle (2014) schizoaffective disorder is widely diagnosed in women because women are always more depressed more than men. If not treated, schizoaffective disorder might lead to other problems that are likely to affect the way an individual socializes with people in the society and how one perceive other people. The mere fact that schizoaffective is complicated and in some cases misdiagnosed, it is important to understand what some of the causes, types, symptoms and how it can be treated.
Causes
It’s unknown of what might be exact cause of a person being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. With this in mind, professionals have been forced to rely on combining various factors such as brain structure to help in understanding what causes the development of schizophrenia. Some of these factors that have been seen to play a large part in the development of this disorder include; altering medication, having a relative with bipolar disorder and undergoing stressful events. These are among the factors that have been noted to increase the chances of an individual developing and acquiring schizoaffective disorder.
Types of Schizophrenia
- Catatonic schizophrenia: – in this kind of schizophrenia, a person is extremely isolated and withdrawn. A patient with this sort of schizophrenia also experiences psychomotor disturbances.
- Schizoaffective disorder: – a patient with this type of schizophrenia has symptoms of both mood disorders such as bipolar mania, depression as well as schizophrenia.
- Paranoid schizophrenia: – in this case, a person is highly suspicious of what everyone around him/her and experiences hallucinations and delusions frequently.
- Undifferentiated Schizophrenia: -this type of schizophrenia has all the symptoms of schizophrenia but differs completely to other subtypes of schizophrenia or encompasses more than one type of schizophrenia.
- Residual schizophrenia: -in this instance, an individual is reluctant and uninterested in undertaking day-to-day activities nut has no cases of suffering from hallucinations, disorganized behavior or delusions.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
In most cases, Schizophrenia is characterized by profound disruption of an individual emotion and cognition, and this affects a person’s sense of self, language, perception and other human attributes. Depending on how far the disorder is and what type of schizophrenia an individual has, symptoms may vary from one person to another. No single symptom can be used to diagnose what a person suffers from as diagnosis entails examining a series of signs and symptoms. With regards to schizophrenia, symptoms are majorly divided into two namely; positive and negative symptoms due to the way they will impact the treatment and diagnosis.
Positive symptoms
These symptoms in many instances affect and distort the normal functions of an individual. An individual’s personality is disturbed and affected. These symptoms include;
- Hallucinations: – an individual see, hears, feels and taste things that do not exist. One of the most common experiences entails hearing sound and imaginary voices that talk to you.
- Disorganized behavior: – an individual experiences problem when it comes to performing routine chores like taking a shower, selecting an outfit among others. An individual can also experience impulsive outburst that is unprovoked.
- Delusions: -this is where an individual has a false idea and believes in them completely. One can think that someone is spying on them or they are famous.
Negative symptoms
These include symptoms that diminish an individual capability to practice standard functions. These symptoms are hard to evaluate as they aren’t very vivid and can be due to other factors. Among these symptoms include lack of drive or ambition, isolation, lack of enthusiasm or even emotional flatness.
Treatment
It is important for someone to undergo treatment after experiencing the above symptoms or after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Early treatment can result in a better outcome for a patient in the near future. Through gaining proper treatment, you are assured of keeping your symptoms in check and have a managed condition which is not out of control. With regards to acquiring Schizophrenia treatment, one can undergo;
Rehabilitation
Because no cure exists for proper schizophrenia treat is important to help this person suffering from this disorder live a productive life. One can recover through undergoing medical and rehabilitation programs. With the aid of recovery, a patient is in a position of recovering the lost self-esteem and confidence while having a purpose in life. Some of these programs include;
- Psychotherapy: -This is where an individual undergoes counseling with the aim of learning more about the illness and be in a position of managing problem related to the disease. Family therapies are one of the counseling where the family gets a chance to learn more about what might be the problem with one of them and know what to do to help them.
- Case management: patients have a chance and opportunity of accessing services, financial assistance, and resources that they require.
Medication
The type of medicines one takes depends on how the condition is and how fast it’s getting out of control. The primary drug given to an individual experiencing psychotic symptom is identified as antipsychotics. With the help of this medication, Schizophrenia disorder can be monitored and also managed. When it comes to dealing with mood symptoms the medication prescribed, include antidepressants or mood stabilizers like lithium. However, taking these drugs and medication will help in managing the disorder, but side effects are bound to be experienced. These side effects vary from one person to another, but some of the most common ones include; blur vision, dry mouth, dizziness and even drowsiness.
Conclusion
When it comes to dealing with psychotic disorder, optimism is one element that plays a significant role during the recovery process. Families and friends should be there to support people with psychotic behavior as some of these disorders cannot be prevented. Starting treatment once you notice funny symptoms goes a long way in shaping your future and preventing further replaces. An individual with Schizophrenia should not be afraid to face the world and should be positive in everything they undertake.
Work Cited
Castle, David, and Peter F Buckley. Schizophrenia. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.
Kasper, S. Schizophrenia Explained. 1st ed. St. Albans, England: Altman Publishing, 2003. Print.
Tsuang, Ming T. Schizophrenia. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
