|  | Mental Health | Schizophrenia

What Is a Schizophrenic Person?

A schizophrenic is a person who suffers from schizophrenia. There are varied symptoms of schizophrenia that range from delusions and hallucinations to catatonic behavior to disorganized speech and thought processes. This type of behavior interferes with the person's daily living. There is not a specific gender, age or ethnicity that will predict whether or not someone will have schizophrenia; however, there are features common among people who suffer from the disorder. With proper treatment, someone with schizophrenia may be able to lead a normal life.

  1. Symptoms

    • There are positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. An exaggeration of normal functioning is evidence of the positive symptoms. A loss of normal functioning is evidence of negative symptoms. Delusions, hallucinations, catatonic behavior, disorganized speech/thought and disorganized behaviors are positive symptoms. Lack of goal-directed behavior, lack of emotional expression and a decrease in effective thought and speech are negative behaviors.

    Behaviors

    • The symptoms of schizophrenia are apparent through a person's behavior. The person can react based upon those symptoms. With delusions, the person believes he is being followed or tormented and believes song lyrics, or even gestures, are directed to him. Hallucinations can involve the five senses; for example, the person may react to nonexistent voices. Someone suffering from schizophrenia may even be catatonic. Her posture or body language may be very rigid and there may be a resistance to being moved. A lack of emotion is also evidence of schizophrenia, another term for it is flat affect. The person may lack facial expressions. According to a study by Drs. Eronen, Angermeyer and Schulze published in the November 1998 issue of Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, people with schizophrenia are more likely to be violent.

    Gender, Age, Culture Features

    • Typically, schizophrenia begins in the late teens to mid-30s. It manifests differently in men and women. Women have more delusions and hallucinations, while men show less emotion and more social withdrawal. Those with close relatives who suffered from schizophrenia have a 10 times greater chance of getting it than those in the general population. According to the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition), there is evidence that doctors over diagnose schizophrenia in African Americans and Asian Americans due to cultural differences.

    Treatment

    • There are numerous medications to treat schizophrenia. The classification for medications is antipsychotic. One of the more common medications is Haldol. It is an approved medication for the treatment of schizophrenia and is especially effective for treating delusions and hallucinations. Psychotherapy is also a viable treatment. The individual and the entire family are a part of the treatment. The person with schizophrenia is taught to manage the disorder through behavior modification. At the same time, the family is taught about providing a support system for the patient. Both the patient and the family are provided education about the disease. Another treatment is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). ECT occurs by sending electrical currents to the brain. The patient may experience seizures or seizure-like reactions. ECT treatments occur two to three times per week over a period of two to four weeks. In severe cases, hospitalization may be necessary. The person with schizophrenia is under 24-hour care from licensed practitioners. These treatments may be stand-alone or in combination with one another.

    Warning

    • People with schizophrenia are people outside of their disorder; they are to be treated with dignity and care. Understand that they are suffering and desire to lead a normal, quiet life. If the person with schizophrenia is taking medications, be aware of the side effects and how the medications react with one another. Stay in close contact with doctors and caregivers to keep them abreast of changes in behavior. Get a proper diagnosis from a reputable doctor, if a friend or relative may be suffering from schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia - Related Articles