Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that makes it hard to think clearly, manage emotions, and interact with other people. It can cause:

• Delusions. These are beliefs that are not real.
• Hallucinations. These are things that you may see or hear that are not really there.
• Disorganized speech or behavior. You may struggle to talk clearly or may have unusual or slow movements.
• Negative symptoms. These are things that might stop happening because of the condition. You may be less social, not express emotions, or lose your ability to enjoy life.

Because of these symptoms, you may often feel afraid or worry that someone is trying to harm you (paranoia). You may also lose interest in caring for your personal hygiene.

You may need lifelong treatment with medicines and counseling. These can help you manage your symptoms and decrease your chance of relapse.

When schizophrenia is not treated, the risks are higher for suicide, a hospital stay, and other problems. Early treatment called coordinated specialty care (CSC) may help a person who is having their first episode of psychotic thoughts. Ask your doctor about CSC.

Experts don't know what causes schizophrenia. It may have different causes for different people. Some causes may be related to:

• Genetics. Your chances of getting schizophrenia are greater if your parent or sibling has it. But most people who have a family member with schizophrenia don't get it.
• Changes in brain chemistry. Neurotransmitters send messages between parts of the brain. They may not work the right way in people who have schizophrenia.
• Changes in brain structure. Certain regions of the brain may be larger or smaller than they are in most people.

Schizophrenia isn't caused by anything you did, by personal weakness or bad choices, or by the way your parents raised you.

Symptoms of schizophrenia include:

• Negative symptoms. "Negative" doesn't mean "bad." Negative symptoms are things that are "lost" from your personality or how you experience life. You may:
  • Not care about things.
  • Have no interest in or drive to do things.
  • Not take care of yourself, such as not bathing or not eating regularly.
  • Find it hard to say how you feel.
• Positive symptoms. "Positive" doesn't mean "good." Positive symptoms are things "added" or "new" to your personality or how you experience life. They include:
  • Hearing or seeing things that aren't there (hallucinations).
  • Having thoughts or ideas that aren't true (delusions).
  • Thoughts and speech that are confusing.
• Cognitive symptoms. These symptoms have to do with how you think. They can include:
  • Memory loss.
  • Not being able to understand things well enough to make decisions.
  • Having trouble talking clearly to others.

Symptoms usually start as a teen or young adult, but they may start later in life.

When schizophrenia is not treated, the risks are higher for suicide, a hospital stay, and other problems. Medicines can help your symptoms. Counseling and therapy can help you change how you think about things and cope with the condition.

Early treatment called coordinated specialty care (CSC) may help a person who is having their first episode of psychotic thoughts. Ask your doctor about CSC.

The goals of treatment are to:

• Reduce or stop symptoms.
• Reduce the number of relapses.
• Make a personal plan for your recovery by setting and meeting goals for home, work, and relationships.

If medicine and therapy aren't helping you, your doctor may suggest electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In this procedure, your doctor uses electricity to create a brief and mild seizure. This may change your brain chemistry and help your symptoms.

If you struggle with alcohol, drugs, or tobacco or have other mental health conditions, such as depression, you will need to treat these too.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental health condition. Experts don't know what causes it or why some people get it and others don't. But some things increase your chances of getting it. These are called risk factors.

You may be at risk for schizophrenia if:

• A parent or sibling has it.
• Before you were born, there were certain problems during the pregnancy. For example, you may have a higher risk if your mother didn't get enough to eat (malnutrition) or had a viral infection.

Life stressors may also play a role in the start of symptoms or cause them to start up again. This may include substance use, especially marijuana use, and major life events like the loss of a job or leaving home for the first time.

When you have schizophrenia, your symptoms can sometimes come back. This is called a relapse. There are things you can do to help prevent a relapse.

• Be active in your own recovery. Work with your doctor and take care of yourself.
• Take your medicine, even if you're feeling better. Not taking medicine is the main cause of relapse.
• Talk to your doctor about your medicines. If side effects are making your life hard, talk with your doctor to see whether you can try a different medicine. Your doctor may be able to change the medicine or how much you take.
• Stay in counseling or therapy. Go to your sessions, and continue with your recovery plan.
• Get support from family. If your doctor recommends family therapy, be sure to have all family members attend each session.
• Join a self-help or support group. Self-help and support groups are usually run by the members of the group, not health professionals.
• Find ways to reduce stress in your life.
• Avoid drinking alcohol or using drugs.
• Learn how to recognize the first signs of relapse. And share them with your friends and family. Have a plan for what you'll do when you notice signs, and get help right away. Common signs of relapse include:
  • Staying away from or not being interested in other people.
  • Forgetting things.
  • Having problems concentrating.
  • Daydreaming.
  • Not paying attention to what is going on.