You might have heard somewhere about schizophrenia or watched a movie on it or read about it in magazines. This disorder does exist in reality and affects men and women in their late teens and early 20’s. In contradiction to the popular belief, schizophrenia is neither a split or multiple personality disorder. Schizophrenia is the severe debilitating disorder of the brain that a person cannot distinguish what is real and what is imagined. It can distort the way the person thinks, acts, perceives reality, expresses emotions and relates to others. People with schizophrenia often have problems functioning in society, at work, at school and being in relationships.Although this is a life-long disease and it cannot be completely cured but can be controlled with proper treatment. Our renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anil Yadav is providing schizophrenia treatment in Delhi that effectively keeps all your symptoms at bay.
Schizophrenia Affects Your Body Too, Not Just Brain
People with schizophrenia exhibit a range of symptoms that affect their thinking, behavior or emotions. The period in which the symptoms of this disorder first start to appear before the onset of full psychosis is called the prodromal period. It can last for weeks, months or even years.The most common symptoms are categorized into three major groups such as positive symptoms, cognitive symptoms and negative symptoms. All these symptoms affect not only your brain and thinking ability but also take a toll on your body and its movements.
schizophrenia treatment
Positive symptoms
Those who have positive symptoms are not wise thinkers rather they exceed the level of their imagination and experience irrational forms of thinking and behavior which are not based in reality.
- Delusions – These are false beliefs that are not based on reality. For instance, a person may think that they have supernatural powers and abilities.
- Hallucinations – These usually involve seeing or hearing things that usually don’t exist in reality. The most common type of hallucination is hearing abnormal voices.
- Catatonia – A condition during which a person becomes physically mounted in a single position for a long time
- Cognitive Symptoms
These symptoms will have an effect on a person’s memory and intellectual ability.
- A difficulty with the ability to understand information and to make an independent decision.
- Trouble focusing or paying attention.
- A difficulty with the ability to recollect things after learning it.
Negative symptoms
The word negative indicates no bad but the absence of certain normal behaviors in people with schizophrenia. These include:
- Lack of emotions and being insensitive
- Withdrawal from family, friends, and social activities
- Low energy level
- Reduced speech
- Lack of motivation
- Loss of pleasure or interest in life
- Poor hygiene and grooming habits
Schizophrenia Causes:
However, the right cause for the schizophrenia is still not known. There are a number of factors that can trigger this disease. Like cancer and diabetes, the real illness of this disorder is of a biological basis. The possible causes include:
Genetics
It is more likely to develop this disease when you have someone in your family affected with this disease. Schizophrenia runs in families and can be passed to the next generations too.
Brain chemistry
The abnormal regulation of certain chemicals called neurotransmitters in the brain can affect the thinking and behaviour that can possibly cause schizophrenia.
Environmental Factors
Certain environmental factors such as viral functions and exposure to toxins like marijuana or extreme stress can trigger this disorder in people who have inherited a tendency to develop this disorder.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis is performed in the following methods:
- Our doctor performs a complete physical exam and analyses medical history to rule out any other physical illness as the cause of symptoms.
- Some blood tests and certain screenings are performed to rule out any similar conditions provoking the same symptoms.
- Psychiatric evaluation – Our psychiatrist uses some specially designed interviews and assessment tools to evaluate the person for any psychotic disorder. He has a counseling with the patient asking for moods, though process, delusions and hallucinations and any thoughts for violence or suicide. He also discusses with the person’s family members. With this diagnostic approach, appropriate treatment is planned.
- A person is considered to have this disorder if they have these symptoms persist for at least six months.
Treatment methods
As there is no complete cure for schizophrenia, our doctor focuses on controlling the symptoms of the disease and to decrease the chances of relapse.
- Medications
Antipsychotics are the primary medications which are used to treat schizophrenia. They help in relieving the more troubling symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and thinking problems.
- Psychosocial therapy
This therapy help with the behavioral, psychological, social and occupational problems that are associated with the illness. It makes them understand the problem of their illness and aids them in coping up and solving problems.
- Hospitalization
People who exhibit severe symptoms and who cannot able to take care of themselves at home may require hospitalization to stabilize their condition.
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
This is actually a shock treatment in which electrodes are attached to a person’s scalp and while they are asleep or under general anesthesia, a small electric shock is given to the brain. With the series of treatments, there will be an improvement in a person’s mood and thinking.
Dr. Anil Yadav is proficient in rightly diagnosing your psychiatric disorder, analysing it, rendering proper counseling and treatment. If you are so anxious about your delusions and hallucinations and are looking for Schizophrenia treatment in Delhi, fix an appointment with our doctor now.
