PERMANENT CURE TO SCHIZOPHRENIA
Schizophrenia is a serious/severe mental disorder often characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to recognize what is real. It affects the way a person thinks, behaves, and sees the world. Individuals with this condition typically aren’t aware that they have it until a healthcare specialist tells them. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world population, In the United States, over 2.2 million individuals have the disorder. It is also common worldwide. Signs and symptoms may vary but usually involve false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and lack of motivation. The symptoms can come and go. The most common form is paranoid schizophrenia. People with paranoid schizophrenia have an altered perception of reality. They may see or hear things that don’t exist, speak in strange or confusing ways, believe that others are trying to harm them, or feel like they’re being constantly watched. This can cause relationship problems, disrupt normal daily activities like bathing, eating, or running errands, and lead to alcohol and drug abuse in an attempt to self-medicate. Other signs can include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability—common and nonspecific adolescent behavior, isolating oneself and withdrawing from others, act out in confusion and fear, and are at an increased risk of attempting suicide, especially during psychotic episodes and periods of depression. an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis. Although schizophrenia can occur at any age, the average age of onset tends to be in the late teens to the early 20s for men, and the late 20s to early 30s for women. It is uncommon for schizophrenia to be diagnosed in a person younger than 12 or older than 40.
What Causes Schizophrenia?
The causes of schizophrenia include: genetics (heredity), biology (abnormalities in the brain’s chemistry or structure); and/or possible viral infections and immune disorders. Some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms.
Genetics (Heredity)
Think of your genes as a blueprint for your body. If there’s a change to these instructions, it can sometimes increase your odds for developing schizophrenia. You’re more likely to get schizophrenia if someone in your family has it. If it’s a parent, brother, or sister, your chances go up by 10%. If both your parents have it, you have a 40% chance of getting it, too. Your chances are greatest -- 50% -- if you have an identical twin with the disorder. So, it is belief that the disorder tends to run in families and that a person inherits a tendency to develop the disease. But some people about --60%-- with schizophrenia have no history of it in their family.
Environmental
Schizophrenia may also be triggered by environmental events, such as viral infections or highly stressful situations or a combination of both e.g. If you were exposed to certain viral infections before you were born or low oxygen levels during birth (from prolonged labor or premature birth) your chances of getting schizophrenia are higher. This may also be true if you didn’t get proper nutrition (malnutrition) from your mom while she was pregnant with you, especially during her first six months of pregnancy or exposure to toxins or viruses that may impact brain development, Early parental loss or separation, Physical or sexual abuse in childhood. Schizophrenia appears when the body undergoes hormonal and physical changes, like those that occur during puberty in the teen and young adult years or after dealing with highly stressful situations.
Biology
Chemistry - People with schizophrenia have a chemical imbalance of brain chemicals (serotonin, glutamate and dopamine) which are neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters allow nerve cells in the brain to send messages to each other.These are responsible for “communicating information” in the brain. The imbalance of these chemicals affects the way a person’s brain reacts to stimuli--which explains why a person with schizophrenia may be overwhelmed by sensory information (loud music or bright lights) which other people can easily handle. This problem in processing different sounds, sights, smells and tastes can also lead to hallucinations or delusions.
Structure - The development of connections and pathways in the brain while in the womb may later lead to schizophrenia.
Symptoms
Schizophrenia involves a range of problems with thinking (cognition), behavior or emotions. Signs and symptoms may vary. Generally, most patients suffering from schizophrenia/schizoaffective are often portrayed as being unpredictably aggressive, having an extensive network of paranoid thoughts (including suicidal thoughts) or ideas and sometimes very impulsive. The symptoms may further lead to physical and emotional detachment, social withdrawal, depression, hallucination, delusion, anger, anxiety, lack of concentration, disorganized speech (word salad or mumbling words), a stressful or emotional life, and some will be fearful and seek to avoid others. Sleep disturbance is also major problem for people with schizophrenia. Those symptoms result from an imbalance of dopamine and possibly serotonin, both of which are neurotransmitters, also increased stigmatization and poorer treatment outcomes. Multiple factors, including insufficient social support and substance abuse(smoking and excessive drinking).
Delusions
A delusion is a firmly-held idea that a person has despite clear and obvious evidence that it isn’t true. Delusions are extremely common in schizophrenia, occurring in more than 90% of those who have the disorder. Often, these delusions involve illogical or bizarre ideas or fantasies. Common schizophrenic delusions include:
Delusions of persecution – Belief that others, often a vague “they,” are out to get him or her. These persecutory delusions often involve bizarre ideas and plots (e.g. “My Mom is trying to poison me with radioactive particles delivered through my tap water”). These are false beliefs that are not based in reality.
Delusions of reference – A neutral environmental event is believed to have a special and personal meaning. For example, a person with schizophrenia might believe a billboard or a person on TV is sending a message meant specifically for them. Delusions occur in most people with schizophrenia.
Delusions of grandeur – Belief that one is a famous or important figure, such Napoleon. Alternatively, delusions of grandeur may involve the belief that one has unusual powers that no one else has (e.g. the ability to fly).
Delusions of control – Belief that one’s thoughts or actions are being controlled by outside, alien forces. Common delusions of control include thought broadcasting
Hallucinations
These are sounds or other sensations experienced as real when they exist only in the person's mind. This usually involve seeing or hearing things that don't exist. Yet for the person with schizophrenia, they have the full force and impact of a normal experience. Hallucinations can be in any of the senses (any of the five senses), but hearing voices is the most common hallucination. Schizophrenic hallucinations are usually meaningful to the person experiencing them. Many times, the voices are those of someone they know. Most commonly, the voices are critical, vulgar, or abusive. Hallucinations also tend to be worse when the person is alone.
Disorganized thinking (speech)
Disorganized thinking is inferred from disorganized speech. Fragmented thinking is characteristic of schizophrenia. Externally, it can be observed in the way a person speaks. People with schizophrenia tend to have trouble concentrating and maintaining a train of thought. They may respond to queries with an completely unrelated answer, start sentences with one topic and end somewhere completely different, speak incoherently, or say illogical things. Rarely, speech may include putting together meaningless words that can't be understood, sometimes known as word salad.
Disorganized behavior
Extremely disorganized or abnormal motor behavior. This may show in a number of ways, from childlike silliness to unpredictable agitation. Behavior isn't focused on a goal, so it's hard to do tasks. Behavior can include A decline in overall daily functioning (resistance to instructions), inappropriate or bizarre posture, useless and excessive movement, Unpredictable or inappropriate emotional responses
Negative symptoms
The Negative symptoms of schizophrenia refer to the absence of normal behaviors found in healthy individuals. In another word, it refers to reduced or lack of ability to function normally. For example, the person may neglect personal hygiene or Lack of emotional expression - Inexpressive face, including a flat voice, lack of eye contact, and blank or restricted facial expressions. Lack of interest or enthusiasm – Problems with motivation; lack of self-care in everyday activities
Seeming lack of interest in the world – Apparent unawareness of the environment; social withdrawal.
Speech difficulties and abnormalities – Inability to carry a conversation; short and sometimes disconnected replies to questions; speaking in monotone.
Schizophrenia symptoms in teenagers are similar to those in adults, but the condition may be more difficult to recognize. This may be in part because some of the early symptoms of schizophrenia in teenagers are common for typical development during teen years, such as:
Withdrawal from friends and family
A drop in performance at school
Trouble sleeping
Irritability or depressed mood
Lack of motivation
Complications
If left untreated, schizophrenia can result in severe problems that affect every area of life. Complications that schizophrenia may cause or be associated with include:
Suicide: Suicidal thoughts and behavior are common among people with schizophrenia. Which is why If you have a loved one who is in danger of attempting suicide or has made a suicide attempt, make sure someone stays with that person. Any suicidal talk, threats, or gestures should be taken very seriously. People with schizophrenia are especially likely to commit suicide during psychotic episodes, during periods of depression, and in the first six months after they’ve started treatment.
Relationship problems. Relationships suffer because people with schizophrenia often withdraw and isolate themselves. Paranoia can also cause a person with schizophrenia to be suspicious of friends and family.
Disruption to normal daily activities. Schizophrenia causes significant disruptions to daily functioning, both because of social difficulties and because everyday tasks become hard, if not impossible to do. A schizophrenic person’s delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thoughts typically prevent him or her from doing normal things like bathing, eating, or running errands.
Depression: This is also frequently occurring symptom in schizophrenia, is major depressive disorder, is a mental health condition marked by an extended sense of sadness and despair that affects how a person thinks, feels and functions. The condition may significantly interfere with a person's daily life and may prompt thoughts of suicide. Depression isn't the same as sadness and grief caused by a challenging life experience, such as the death of a loved one.There are many causes of depression, some resulting from abnormal brain chemistry, while others are associated with low blood pressure, low thyroid, low blood sugar or low (or high) levels of various essential nutrients such as calcium, copper, lithium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, tin, protein, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B10, vitamin B12 and others.
Abuse of alcohol or other drugs, including tobacco: People with schizophrenia frequently develop problems with alcohol or drugs, which are often used in an attempt to self-medicate, or relieve symptoms. In addition, they may also be heavy smokers, a complicating situation as cigarette smoke can interfere with the effectiveness of medications prescribed for the disorder.
Others may include the following but not limited to:
Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Self-injury
Inability to work or attend school
Legal and financial problems and homelessness
Social isolation
Health and medical problems
Being victimized
Aggressive behavior, although it's uncommon
Generally, around 10 percent of patients with this disorder are more likely to have an alcohol or drug abuse problem and commit suicide. Moreover, these individuals are at increased risk of having other mental-health conditions as well as dying earlier than individuals without this brain disorder.
Anti-psychotic drugs and their debilitating effect
There is one schizophrenia treatment medication that is known to most people; antipsychotics, but what happens when the medication has side effects that are worse than the disease itself? Anti-psychotic drugs have ‘limited’ efficacy and ‘horrible’ side-effects. When schizophrenia is diagnosed, antipsychotic drugs are the common prescriptions. This can be given as a patch, a pill, or an injection. You must know that most over-the-counter and almost all prescribed drug treatments merely mask symptoms, or control health problems or in some way alter the way organs or systems functions. They come with a host of damaging side effects not just to the mind but the body. It destroys all emotions, motivation and slows down your metabolism. Some patients/caregivers have extensive knowledge on this, but failed to find viable natural alternative so they go back to the usual medication doctors prescribe, most patients take these drugs as a last resort. In many people symptoms may come back (recur) or persist long-term after using the those medicine, further create severe problem. You can't fix nutritional deficiencies or detoxify the mind/body with pharmaceutical drugs/anti-psychotic. More than two million people in the United States have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and the treatment for most of them mainly involves strong doses of anti-psychotic drugs that blunt hallucinations and delusions that come with unbearable side effects, like severe weight gain or debilitating tremors. Anti-psychotic medications (in general) [sertralina Litio, Ziprexa, Seroquel, Haldol, Sinogan, Olanzapina, Risperidona, Amparax] have been available since the mid-1950s, Anti-psychotic does not “cure” schizophrenia. Antipsychotic drugs are thought to act in schizophrenia by blocking dopaminergic receptors, thereby interfering with dopaminergic transmission. There is, however, growing evidence to suggest that typical antipsychotics also affect other neurotransmitter systems such as the cholinergic (muscarinic), alfa-adrenergic, histaminergic and serotonergic mechanisms. Typical antipsychotics are, therefore, essentially pharmacologically 'dirty' drugs and their use may consequently increase the risk of a wide variety of undesirable side-effects. For example, their anticholinergic side-effects include dry mouth, urinary hesitancy (and even retention), constipation and visual disturbance, while their effects on noradrenergic mechanisms lead to postural hypotension, disturbances of sexual functions and nasal congestion. As a consequence of their antihistaminic action, many of these compounds are sedative. Furthermore, their prolonged use may lead to weight gain. Interference with dopaminergic transmission can lead to both endocrinological side-effects such as hyperprolactinaemia, which may manifest itself as galactorrhoea, amenorrhoea and gynaecomastia, and extrapyramidal side-effects. Which explain why there side effect like stiffness and shakiness, uncomfortable restlessness (akathisia), movements of the jaw, lips and tongue, sexual problems due to hormonal changes, sleepiness and slowness, severe weight gain, a higher risk of getting diabetes, and alot more. Some patients would rather take medication than take a serious look at how they became so disturbed, even if the field of psychiatry did offer much in the way of helping an upset person try to understand his or her psychosis—which it usually does not.
A long-term study of 33 patients with schizophrenia, along with 71 control subjects for comparison, confirmed that those taking anti-psychotic drugs lost brain volume more quickly than average through the aging process. Whereas study subjects in the control group lost brain volume at a rate of 0.5 percent per year over a nine-year period, patients treated with anti-psychotic drugs for schizophrenia lost 0.7 percent per year — consistent with the average cognitive aging process for someone aged 34 to 43. These promising’ drugs that actually gained FDA approval have turned into disasters for many patients.
