Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a disease and disorder of the mind, a psychological disease known for thousands of years, and is widespread in women usually more than men, where the period of the disease is the stage between adolescence and the age of thirty years, and infected by men at the time More early than women. According to studies, the spread of the disease is more in the industrial cities than in the countryside or villages.
Meaning of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a schizophrenic term, a term derived from the word schizo meaning schizophrenia, which means the mind, by indicating that the disease is dividing or secluded in the patient’s mental processes. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that causes disorder, behavioral, intellectual and cognitive disorders, accompanied by illusions and hallucinations that make the patient unable to distinguish between reality and imagination, unable to communicate with others or express himself.
Causes of schizophrenia
There are a number of factors that lead to schizophrenia and not a factor in itself, these factors are important because prevention is better than treatment, and knowledge of the causes and understanding of their impact contributes significantly to the treatment and essential, and these factors are:
- Genetic factors , Which is one of the most important reasons for this serious psychological disorder, where studies have been conducted to prove the role of inheritance and its impact on the disease, as the proportion of infection increases the relationship with a person with this disease, and despite the importance of this factor and high proportions, but researchers tend to believe that he considered a genetic predisposition Leads to disease and becomes effective by the availability of other factors.
- Pregnancy and Birth : Studies have shown a large proportion of patients with schizophrenia affected by complications in pregnancy and childbirth was exposed to mothers, and this was considered a factor in helping to get ready for the disease, but not directly causing it.
- Psychological factors : The conflicts and maturation problems that a teenager may face and experience repeated failures or severe psychological trauma in early childhood may make the adolescent return to a safer stage to satisfy himself or resort to fantasy to escape reality. It is important to note that these factors are not only associated with the environment, but are also affected by the nervous system and the endocrine system.
- Social factors or family problems : Studies have shown that the role of the family affects patients with schizophrenia; patients living in families with a high degree of emotional change, hyperactivity, criticism and aggression are most likely to relapse, and these factors increase the chance of disease and hinder its improvement.
- Substance Abuse and Addiction : Many studies have shown that those who smoke cannabis are more likely to become schizophrenic than others, and that alcoholics, sedatives and steroids often develop the disease as a result of their use of these drugs.
- Chemical agents : And go from saying this principle as a cause of schizophrenia that patients with schizophrenia suffer from excessive sensitivity to the receptors of dopamine, and dopamine is a substance of neurotransmitters that help to transfer nerve signals between the nerve cell and the other, and this led scientists that the disease may be caused by a defect in chemicals in the brain, But this theory is a secondary factor in some students, as the excessive dopamine in the brain leads to the narrowing of thought and identify, while schizophrenic patients have a fluency in thought and analyze the logical coherence.
- Changes in brain composition : Where modern techniques such as magnetic resonance showed that people with schizophrenia suffer from difficulty in linking activity in different areas of the brain and the lack of coordination between them.
Diagnosis of schizophrenia
The specialists diagnose the disease by hearing and recording the patient’s history of the patient personally and those who surround him and interact with him daily. They also rely on clinical examination and x-rays in the diagnosis of the disease. A special evaluation is conducted for schizophrenic patients and special assessment tools. They are monitored for at least six months before vaccination In the case.
Treatment of schizophrenia
Early detection of schizophrenia plays a major role in treatment. Treatment at its beginnings is easier and the benefit is greater. As the patient develops, it becomes difficult to treat, and may result in death or self-harm or others.
Schizophrenia patients are treated in two ways: treating symptoms of the disease, improving the performance of social functions, and therapists are closely linked. Studies show that there is a possibility of social recovery from the disease and the ability to move forward especially in women, but some symptoms of the disease may still exist. 87% of patients recover from the first relapse, 80% suffer a second relapse within five years, and 8% do not get out of the first relapse and deteriorate their condition With relapses continuing, and 10% die of suicide in severe relapses. Therefore, treatment of the disease must be continuous, controlled and uninterrupted so as not to get setbacks and deteriorate the patient’s situation to the worst.
Treatment of schizophrenia usually occurs in outpatient psychiatric clinics, or may require hospitalization for a period of time, depending on the condition of the disease, whether it is dangerous to itself or not, and whether the environment in which it is located is suitable for treatment. The treatment of the patient is an integrated treatment through the use of medical drugs, the use of individual psychotherapy for the patient, the rehabilitation of the patient to be able to deal with others, the involvement of the patient in the group therapy programs, and the work of family counseling sessions that will support the patient and help him to overcome setbacks.