Written by: Evangeline Halim
Edited by: Maggie Huang
While many are familiar with the mental disorder, schizophrenia, there is much to unpack in terms of how individuals who are diagnosed with this experience everyday life. Firstly, schizophrenia is a chronic disorder that doesn’t have any single pathogenic symptom (Patel, 2014). This is similar to many other disorders, meaning no individual symptom can definitively diagnose the condition. Many think that diagnosing schizophrenia consists simply of hallucinations, but this is simply not the case.
According to the DSM-5, the criteria for diagnosis would consist of at least two symptoms of either delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech/behavior for a month- most importantly, these all have to negatively impact the individual’s social life, such as work, relationships, or self-care. These all must continue for at least six months, and even though schizophrenia can be confused with other mental disorders, these symptoms must be thoroughly examined before making a diagnosis (Patel, 2014). Therefore, an individual who is diagnosed with schizophrenia isn’t simply just seeing things that are imagined but is undergoing an overall reduced level of social functioning.
Additionally, it’s important to note how schizophrenia currently affects a considerable amount of people- nearly one percent of the population worldwide, and specifically, three million men and women in the United States have schizophrenia (Aquino, 2009). This is especially significant to acknowledge since these individuals continue to struggle with the environment’s inability to suit their needs. Although millions of people are diagnosed with schizophrenia, we see that only half receive treatment (Aquino, 2009). Perhaps after spreading education and awareness of this, several solutions can be made to make healthcare more accessible for those diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The disorder, schizophrenia, itself is also known to be vague in terms of its genetic causes. After doing extensive research, what several researchers have found about the disorder is that several chemical messengers in the brain, such as dopamine and glutamate, undergo changes and cause the symptoms that are associated with schizophrenia (Stępnicki, 2018). Due to how difficult it is to understand what truly causes this mental disorder, many of the current pharmaceutical treatments have undesirable side effects. For instance, many antipsychotic medications lead to stiffness and drowsiness- which is very poor in aiding the side of schizophrenia that causes social withdrawal (Stępnicki, 2018). It’s crucial to continue more research into this field to help those diagnosed with schizophrenia improve their interpersonal relationships and everyday lives, not just the surface of the disorder.
Even though people know about schizophrenia generally, the impact this mental disorder has on the social lives of individuals still presents significant challenges. Despite the progress researchers have made regarding the symptoms and treatment of schizophrenia, there is inevitably a necessity for further research. Not only will this allow individuals to understand the mental disorder better, but it will also bring light to potentially better, more accessible treatments and more effective medications. Having schizophrenia is not just about undergoing hallucinations, nor is it simply about “fixing” them. It’s mainly about how these individuals are impacted every day socially and independently due to these symptoms, and they deserve more effective interventions as soon as possible.
References:
Aquino, P. (2009, January 1). Diagnosing and Treating Schizophrenia. AMA Journal of Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1001/virtualmentor.2009.11.1.cprl1-0901
Patel, K. R., Cherian, J., Gohil, K., & Atkinson, D. (2014). Schizophrenia: Overview and Treatment Options. P&T: a peer-reviewed journal for formulary management, 39(9), 638–645. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4159061/
Stępnicki, P., Kondej, M., & Kaczor, A. A. (2018). Current Concepts and Treatments of Schizophrenia. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23(8), 2087. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23082087
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