Introduction

The word schizophrenia—which translates roughly as “splitting of the mind” and comes from the Greek roots schizein (“to split”) and phrēn, phren- ( “mind”)—was coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1908. Despite the fact that the term “splitting of the mind” can relate to a split personality as the media may portray, schizophrenia actually refers to a scattered or fragmented pattern of thought.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia may include hallucinations, delusions, and severely irrational thinking and behavior, which can make it difficult to go about daily activities and be incapacitating.

Definition

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally.

The diagnostic and statistical manual of psychotic disorder (DSM-5) defined as the diagnostic defined schizophrenia as a mental disorder consisting of constellation of symptoms such as delusion, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and abnormal behavior.

Symptoms

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. This can be upsetting for them as well as for their family and friends because it appears they haven’t lost touch with reality. It’s important to recognize the symptoms of schizophrenia and seek helps as early as possible. People with schizophrenia are usually diagnose between the age of 16 and 30 after the first episode of psychosis.

Psychotic symptoms include

Hallucination:

When person sees, hears, smells, tastes or feel things that are not actually there. Hearing voices may hear them for a long time before family or friends notice a problem. Different types of hallucinations that might be present in Schizophrenia are :

• Visual hallucinations.
• Olfactory hallucinations.
• Gustatory hallucinations.
• Auditory hallucinations.
• Tactile hallucinations.

Delusions:

When someone holds firmly held beliefs that are false and may appear unreasonable to others. Most people find these beliefs weird, and it is simple to disprove them. The person affected might think someone is trying to control their brain through TVs or that the FBI is out to get them. They might believe they’re someone else, like a famous actor or the president, or that they have superpowers. Various types of delusions that can be seen in schizophrenia are:

• Delusion of persecutory,
• Delusion of erotomania,
• Delusion of grandiosity,
• Delusion of jealousy,
• Somatic delusion,
• Mixed delusion, and
• Unspecified delusion

Thought disorder:

When a person has strange or irrational methods of thinking. People display strange bodily movements. Moment disorder patients might repeatedly perform the same action.

Negative Symptoms

Negative symptoms includes loss of motivation, loss of interest or enjoyment in daily activities, with drawl from social life difficulty showing emotion and difficulty functioning normally.

• Having trouble planning and sticking with activities, such as grocery shopping.
• Having trouble anticipating and feeling pleasure in everyday life
•  Talking is a dull voice and showing limited facial expression.
• Avoiding social interaction or interfacing in socially awkward ways.
• Having very low energy and spending a lot of time in passive activities. In extreme cases, a person might stop moving or talking for a while, which is a rare condition called catatonia.
  

Cognitive symptoms:

It includes issues with memory, concentration, and attention. These signs can make it difficult to pay attention to a conversation, pick up new information, or recall appointments. A person’s level of cognitive functioning is one of the best predictors of their day to day functioning. Cognitive functioning is evaluated using specific test. People with schizophrenia often also experience persistent difficulties with their cognitive or thinking skills such as memory, attention and problem solving.

At least one third of people with schizophrenia experiences complete remission of symptoms:  Some persons with schizophrenia go through periods of symptom worsening and remission throughout their lifetimes, while others have a slow deterioration of symptoms over time. Positive symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive deficits, and affective dysregulation are just a few of the symptom clusters it has.

Causes of Schizophrenia

The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition.

Because certain people are predisposed to schizophrenia, a difficult or upsetting life event could set off a psychotic break. However, it’s not known why some people develop symptoms while others do not.

Increased risk of Schizophrenia

Genetics

Although schizophrenia frequently runs in families, no one gene is known to be the cause. It’s more likely that particular gene combinations increase a person’s susceptibility to the illness. Nevertheless, schizophrenia is not a guarantee if you have these genes.

Studies on twins provide evidence that the condition is partially hereditary. Twins who are identical have the same genes. If one identical twin experiences schizophrenia, the other twin has a one in two probability of experiencing it as well. Even if they were reared apart, this is still true. When one of two non-identical twins with different genetic makes develops schizophrenia, the other twin only has a 1 in 8 chance of doing so.

This implies that there are other factors impacting the development of schizophrenia in addition to genes, even though the likelihood is higher than in the general population, where it is approximately 1 in 100.

Brain development

Studies of people with schizophrenia have shown there are subtle differences in the structure of their brains. These changes are not seen in everyone with schizophrenia and can occur in people who do not have a mental illness. But they suggest schizophrenia may partly be a disorder of the brain.

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages between brain cells. There’s a connection between neurotransmitters and schizophrenia because drugs that alter the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain are known to relieve some of the symptoms of schizophrenia. 

According to research, a change in the levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine may be the root of schizophrenia.

According to several studies, an imbalance between the two may be the root of the issue. Others have discovered that schizophrenia is partially caused by a shift in the body’s sensitivity to the neurotransmitters.

Pregnancy and birth complications

Research has shown people who develop schizophrenia are more likely to have experienced complications before and during their birth, such as:

• a low birthweight
• premature labor
• a lack of oxygen (asphyxia) during birth

It may be that these things have a subtle effect on brain development.

Triggers

Triggers are things that can cause schizophrenia to develop in people who are at risk. These include:

Stress: The main psychological triggers of schizophrenia are stressful life events, such as:

• bereavement
• losing your job or home
• divorce
• the end of a relationship
• physical, sexual or emotional abuse

These kinds of experiences, although stressful, do not cause schizophrenia. However, they can trigger its development in someone already vulnerable to it.

Drug abuse

Although studies have indicated that drug abuse raises the likelihood of getting schizophrenia or a comparable disorder, drugs do not directly cause schizophrenia.

Certain drugs, particularly cannabis, cocaine, LSD or amphetamines, may trigger symptoms of schizophrenia in people who are susceptible. Using amphetamines or cocaine can lead to psychosis, and can cause a relapse in people recovering from an earlier episode. Research has shown that teenagers and young adults who use cannabis regularly are more likely to develop schizophrenia in later adulthood.

Risk factors

Although the exact etiology of schizophrenia is unknown, a number of factors appear to raise the chance of schizophrenia development or occurrence, including:

Psychosocial therapy: While medication may help relieve symptoms of schizophrenia, various psychosocial treatments can help with the behavioral, psychological, social, and occupational problems that go with the illness. Through therapy, patients also can learn to manage their symptoms, identify early warning signs of relapse, and come up with a relapse prevention plan. Psychosocial therapies include:

• Rehabilitation, which focuses on social skills and job training to help people with schizophrenia function in the community and live as independently as possible.
  
  
• Cognitive remediation, which involves learning techniques to make up for problems with information processing. It often uses drills, coaching, and computer-based exercises to strengthen mental skills that involve attention, memory, planning, and organization.
  
  
• Individual psychotherapy, which can help the person better understand their illness, and learn coping and problem-solving skills.
  
  
• Family therapy, which can help families deal with a loved one who has schizophrenia, enabling them to better help their loved one.
  
  
• Group therapy/support groups, which can provide continuing mutual support.
  
  
  
• Hospitalization: Many people with schizophrenia may be treated as outpatients. But hospitalization may be the best option for people:
• With severe symptoms
• Who might harm themselves or others
• Who can’t take care of themselves at home
  
  
  

Research:
Researchers are looking at a procedure called “Deep brain stimulation (DBS)” to treat schizophrenia. Doctors surgically implant electrodes that stimulate certain brain areas believed to control thinking and perception. DBS is an established treatment for severe Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor, but it’s still experimental for the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Schizophrenia affects approximately 2 million people or 1 in 300 people (0.32%) worldwide. People with schizophrenia are 2 to 3 times more likely to die early than the general population. Approximately, 50% of people in mental hospitals have a schizophrenia diagnosis. Schizophrenia is a relatively common chronic mental illness, which results in substantial disability and has a 10% risk of suicide. So its awareness is really important among people.

Reference

 WHO, Psychiatry.org, nihm.nih, Mayo Clinic, WebMD