Schizophrenia

What is Schizophrenia? How is it

diagnosed?

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia :

• A serious mental illness that affects thinking, emotions, and behavior. The most common form of psychosis

Age of Onset :

• It is most likely to start between the ages of 15 and 35 years, but can sometimes occur in younger children.

(“Brown University Child ,” 2012)

Diagnosing Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is marked by the persistent presence of at least two of these symptoms:

delusions hallucinations frequently derailed or incoherent speech hugely disorganized or catatonic behavior

the absence of feeling or volition

If the delusions are especially bizarre, the hallucinations consist of either a running commentary on what the person is doing or thinking, or multiple voices carrying on a conversation, then that alone qualifies the person as schizophrenic

( Bergley, et al., 2002)

Schizophrenia affects everyone differently!

There are three groups of symptoms :• Positive• Negative• Cognitive

1. Positive Symptoms• Positive symptoms refer to a distortion of a person's normal thinking and

functioning. They are "psychotic" behaviors. People with these symptoms are sometimes unable to tell what's real from what is imagined.

2. Negative Symptoms • refer to difficulty showing emotions or functioning normally. When a person

with schizophrenia has negative symptoms, it may look like depression.

3. Cognitive Symptoms • are not easy to see, but they can make it hard for people to have a job or

take care of themselves

Caffeine & Schizophrenia The observation that caffeine consumption is often high in patients with

schizophrenia is important because :• It has been suggested that caffeine may increase dopaminergic neurotransmission and so

potentially exacerbate psychotic symptoms.

Caffeine may be used to combat negative symptoms• Dysphoria or the sedative effects of antipsychotic drugs• Caffeine is often consumed habitually alongside cigarettes.

Caffeine increases• anxiety• hostility • psychotic symptoms like thought disorder.

(Paton & Beer, 2001, p. 231-236)

Disorganized speech

Communicating with a person who has Schizophrenia

Never discuss something when you are angry or upset.

Never bring up several problems at once. Choose one, focus on it.

Keep your verbal communication simple, brief, and specific. The non-verbal communication is important as well. •Your tone, posture, eye contact and facial expressions.

Express positive feelings

Make positive requests Use phrases :• that display confidence• recognize effort and improvement.

If it is a negative feeling:•Look at the person directly and say exactly what they did that upset you•Tell them how it made you feel

One of Vincent Van Gogh's most famous paintings is "The Starry Night," above. Many medical scholars believe that one source of Van Gogh's psychiatric problems may

have been schizophrenia.

(Paltak, 1997)

Conclusion : Schizophrenics can :

Learn to cope with their disorganized thoughts Be controlled with the use of antipsychotic medications Live normal lives, with good support and medical attention

References

Schizophrenia: What Parents Need to Know. (2012). Brown University Child & Adolescent Behavior Letter, 28I-II. doi:10.1002/cbl.20160

Schizophrenia National Institute of Mental Health. (2012). Schizophrenia (National Institute of Mental Health), 1-8.

Paton, C., & Beer, D. (2001). Caffeine: The forgotten variable. International Journal Of Psychiatry In Clinical Practice, 5(4), 231-236.

Paltak, M. (1997). Schizophrenia. FDA Consumer, 31(6), 23.

Begley, S., Underwood, A., Springen, K., & Gesalman, A. (2002). The Schizophrenic Mind. (Cover story). Newsweek, 139(10), 44.