Schizophrenia is a disorder of the mind and many people suffer from it. A person can live with it, function in the world, and be happy. Medications are the treatment most often used for this disorder; better drugs are being discovered all the time which make life better for the schizophrenic.
Antipsychotic medications are the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. They change the balance of chemicals in the brain and can help control symptoms.
These medications are usually helpful, but they can cause side effects. Many side effects can be managed, and they should not prevent you from seeking treatment for this serious condition.
Common side effects from antipsychotics may include:
Dizziness
Feelings of restlessness or "jitters"
Sleepiness (sedation)
Slowed movements
Tremor
Weight gain
Long-term use of antipsychotic medications may increase your risk for a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia. This condition causes repeated movements that you cannot control, especially around the mouth. Call your health care provider right away if you think you may have this condition.
When schizophrenia does not improve with several antipsychotics, the medication clozapine can be helpful. Clozapine is the most effective medication for reducing schizophrenia symptoms, but it also tends to cause more side effects than other antipsychotics.
Schizophrenia is a life-long illness. Most people with this condition need to stay on antipsychotic medication for life.
SUPPORT PROGRAMS AND THERAPIES
Supportive therapy may be helpful for many people with schizophrenia. Behavioral techniques, such as social skills training, can be used to improve social and work functioning. Job training and relationship-building classes are important.
Family members of a person with schizophrenia should be educated about the disease and offered support. Programs that offer outreach and community support services can help people who lack family and social support.
Family members and caregivers are often encouraged to help people with schizophrenia stay with their treatment.
It is important that the person with schizophrenia learns how to:
Take medications correctly and manage side effects
Notice the early signs of a relapse and what to do if symptoms return
Cope with symptoms that occur even while taking medication (a therapist can help)
Manage money
Use public transportation
As of now, we know no cure for schizophrenia, though it can be treated and controlled through anti-psychotics.
Not that I know of because it is i think caused by curtain parts of your brain not connecting like nerves in your brain I think
There are cures for mental sickness yet psychiatrists and psychologists don't actually know how to cure schizophrenia. They say they can only control it.
Yes. Schizophrenia is partly genetic, meaning that if you have a relative with schizophrenia you are likely to also have schizophrenia. About 1/10 of people with a relative with schizophrenia develop schizophrenia, compared to 1/100 people without a relative with schizophrenia.
People with schizophrenia usually have normal cognitive function at the beginning of the course of schizophrenia.
Residual schizophrenia is caused by a partial recovery from schizophrenia. For an explanation of what causes schizophrenia, please see the related question.
Teenagers and young adults are most likely to get schizophrenia. Women with schizophrenia are more likely to have less severe schizophrenia and have paranoid schizophrenia, as well as developing schizophrenia at an average age of 25; men have a more severe course, with higher rates of disorganized and catatonic schizophrenia as well as developing schizophrenia at the average age of 18.
Catatonic schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is on Axis I.
paranoid schizophrenia
Dyslexia schizophrenia does not exist. The two conditions, dyslexia and schizophrenia, are completely different.
No, you cannot choose to have schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness. Because we don't know exactly what causes schizophrenia, it cannot be induced either.
Paranoid schizophrenia is one of a few types of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness in which reality is interpreted abnormally.
Schizophrenia. Yes, the same.