Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that usually involves hallucinations and significant difficulties in coping with everyday life. However, studies show that you can recover from schizophrenia partially or even completely.
Schizophrenia is the most common psychotic disorder. According to the definition by MentalHub, psychosis is a general term for mental health disorders in which the sense of reality is distorted. In these disorders, it’s difficult to tell what is true and what is not. Psychosis may involve hallucinations and unusual behaviour.
In Finland, slightly less than one per cent of the population develop schizophrenia, which means that approximately 50,000 people have personal experience of it.
Schizophrenia most commonly develops at a relatively young age, 15 to 45, and the outbreak often occurs at a major moment of change in life. These may include starting studies, the first relationship and the connected challenges, or military service. However, the reasons are diverse, from genetic factors to biological and environmental factors.
What are the symptoms of schizophrenia?
A person with schizophrenia usually experiences hallucinations, the most common of which are auditory hallucinations. Visual, tactile, odour or taste hallucinations are also possible. Unfounded but persistent delusions are also characteristic. The person with schizophrenia may hear accusing or even threatening speech in their head or fear that they are persecuted or spied on. It’s also common to experience, for example, newspaper articles or television programmes referring to precisely you.
The symptoms often take place in periods, and there are also asymptomatic periods. The symptoms vary from person to person – some do not have them at all when the illness is not at its worst. It’s common that the ill person doesn’t feel ill, but their family and friends still notice the symptoms. In fact, loved ones are often needed to receive appropriate help and treatment.
For some, the illness lasts a lifetime, but some heal completely or almost completely. Schizophrenia is also not an obstacle to anything in life: studies, work, hobbies, relationships or having children.
What helps and is important?
- Support from loved ones: it’s especially important in the early stages of schizophrenia, when the person who has fallen ill may not yet notice their illness.
- Contact with other people: because the illness involves retreating to solitude and suspicions about the environment, encouragement from loved ones and care personnel as well as encouraging social situations is important.
- Meaningful activities, work, studies, hobbies – belief in your own abilities to grow.
- Creating routines in daily life: you should stay inside four walls alone, and at the worst moments, keeping yourself busy can help.
- Identifying your stress and avoiding and managing stressful situations, as stress increases susceptibility to psychosis.
- Exchanging ideas and understanding with others who have experienced the same things.
- Medication, long-term professional help and the knowledge that, at a difficult moment, you can find help in a hospital if necessary.
Schizophrenia does not involve aggression. However, delusions and prejudices may cause fear, feelings of shame and isolation from other people. It’s not good to stay alone: it’s important to maintain contact with other people and participate in social situations. This often requires encouragement and maybe a bit of pushing, both from loved ones and care personnel.
Schizophrenia may also appear as illogical speech, unwillingness and bottomless fatigue. In this case, coping with daily life, doing the laundry, groceries, cleaning or managing financial matters may seem impossible. A person with schizophrenia often needs support in managing daily life. There may also be problems with concentration and attention, receiving information and short-term memory after the illness begins. These skills can be supported and maintained through exercises in rehabilitation programmes.
How is schizophrenia treated?
Schizophrenia is usually treated with medication, psychosocial treatment and various therapies. A large share of patients benefit from anti-psychotic medication, but the need is individual. Some of them can do without medication. The benefits and adverse effects of medicines should be reviewed with a physician.
Some of the patients return to work or studies, and for some, supported work is the option most suited to their resources. If your resources are not sufficient for working life, it’s good to focus on other meaningful activities that are pleasant to you and live a life that looks like you regardless of the illness.
