Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric illness that affects around 1% of the population worldwide, usually appearing between late adolescence and early adulthood.
The diagnosis is typically made at a time when the symptoms become more exuberant and evident, although we often already have some more subtle signs, which impact the person’s normal functioning.
The symptoms
The characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia can be classified as positive and negative symptoms, but this is not in the sense of being good or bad things. We talk about positive symptoms because it implies the appearance of behavioral changes. And negative when it comes to the reduction or absence of characteristics present in healthy people.
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions, which are unrealistic or fanciful beliefs, such as ideas of persecution or conspiracy that cannot be explained in a cultural context. It also includes hallucinations, which cause patients to hear people’s voices, or see things that do not exist in the outside world; and also changes in behavior and disorganization of thought, this makes speech sometimes difficult to understand, as it is incoherent and has little logic.
In negative symptoms, we talk about loss of skills. For example, loss of motivation, loss of ability to relate to other people, loss of pleasure, or loss of logical reasoning and paying attention. All of this inevitably has a huge impact on day-to-day functioning, promoting progressive social isolation.
In addition to positive and negative symptoms, other emotional symptoms may be present, such as anxiety and depression.
The diagnosis
We don’t know exactly why it happens, but we know that it depends on several factors, such as genetics, related factors such as neurodevelopment, environmental factors, exposure to stress and drug use, especially when done at a young age.
There is no specific test to confirm that it is schizophrenia, and the tests that are carried out essentially serve to exclude other causes that explain the clinical picture, such as neurological diseases.
The treatment
Treatment aims to improve symptoms and changes in function. This includes medication, psychotherapy, cognitive rehabilitation and social support interventions. Although there is no cure, with adequate treatment and rehabilitation we can achieve remission and control of symptoms in the vast majority of patients, and this significantly improves quality of life.
The important thing is to stop stigmatizing this disease, and to demystify the idea that people with schizophrenia will forever be incapable or even that they can be dangerous and unpredictable. Because the majority of patients are not violent or dangerous, and there are even studies that show that not only are people with schizophrenia no more dangerous than the rest of the population, but they even have a greater risk of being victims of violence or abuse.
If you know someone who needs help, or if any of these symptoms leave you in doubt, talk to a specialized healthcare professional.
