Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder that causes difficulty in differentiating between real and imagined events, with symptoms including hallucinations, delusions, and social withdrawal. Antipsychotic drugs and psychological therapy can help manage symptoms, but there is no known cure.
Acute schizophrenia occurs when a previously healthy person exhibits schizophrenia symptoms and increasingly unusual behaviors for a relatively short period of time, sometimes just a few weeks. Schizophrenia is a severe and disabling brain disorder that causes people with the disorder to have difficulty determining the difference between real and imagined events. They may hear voices that aren’t there, experience hallucinations, and become extremely paranoid, sincerely thinking that others are conspiring against them. Many schizophrenic patients have suicidal thoughts. These severe experiences can make people with schizophrenia fearful of other people and afraid to go out in public, and they can make interpersonal relationships very difficult to maintain.
Generally, patients can lead a normal life between attacks of acute schizophrenia, which can occur multiple times during a person’s life. Statistics show that 25% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia will have only one acute schizophrenic episode in their lifetime and have no further problems. Another 25% will develop the chronic form of schizophrenia, with no periods of remission. The remaining half will also develop chronic schizophrenia, but will have periods of remission, during which the disease relapses.
In addition to chronic and acute schizophrenia, there are five types of paranoid schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia, residual schizophrenia, disorganized or hebephrenic schizophrenia, and undifferentiated disorder. Symptoms of both chronic and acute schizophrenia first develop in late males, often in their teens or early 20s. The onset of symptoms in females occurs when they are in their 20s and 30s. In rare cases, schizophrenia can occur in children. Common symptoms of all types of the disease include hallucinations, auditory delusions, disordered thinking, movement disorders, lack of expression, social withdrawal, and other cognitive deficits.
There is no known cure for schizophrenia, but antipsychotic drugs greatly improve symptoms and can help prevent relapses. Psychological therapy could also reduce relapse rates and help patients function. The outlook for finding a cure and more treatment options for schizophrenia depends on continued research into its causes, prevention, and treatment outcomes. Progress has been reported and a greater understanding of the symptoms and treatment of schizophrenia has been achieved.
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