Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition affecting how you think, feel, and perceive reality. It can often cause symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions.
According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), schizophrenia affects less than 1% of the U.S. population. The condition accounts for around 50% of people who are in hospital for mental health reasons worldwide.
While schizophrenia is incurable, it is a treatable condition. If you think you may be at risk of developing the condition, it can help to be able to recognize how it feels to have schizophrenia. This will help you receive effective treatment earlier to prevent the condition from progressing.
Schizophrenia can cause changes to your day-to-day life, mood, thinking patterns, and behavior.
Some common early signs of schizophrenia include:
- social withdrawal
- decline in academic or work performance
- unusual beliefs or thoughts
- suspiciousness
- difficulty organizing thoughts and expressing them clearly
- emotional changes like unusual emotional responses ranging from flat affect (lack of emotional expression) to inappropriate or exaggerated emotional reactions
- lack of motivation
- reduced personal grooming and self-care
- difficulty concentrating
Symptoms
If you have schizophrenia, you may start to notice symptoms during your teenage years. People most often receive diagnoses between the ages of 16–30 years.
Schizophrenia affects everyone differently, but certain symptoms can be common. These include the following:
- delusions and fixed beliefs that will not change despite conflicting evidence
- hallucinations that include smell, sight, hearing, and feeling things that are not there
- poor memory
- slow movements, such as slow walking
Episodes of psychosis are often the trigger for someone to seek help and receive a diagnosis for schizophrenia. Looking out for more subtle symptoms, like poor memory, can help you receive effective treatment and prevent your symptoms from worsening.
Doctors categorize these symptoms, and less typical ones, into three key types. These include the following:
- Psychotic symptoms: These are changes to the way a person thinks and experiences the world around them, often losing their sense of reality. Symptoms include hallucinations and delusions.
- Negative symptoms: Loss of motivation, interest, or enjoyment of activities that typically bring you joy are all negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Someone experiencing negative symptoms may show low energy levels and avoid social interaction.
- Cognitive symptoms: These can include problems with maintaining concentration and attention, as well as having difficulty processing information. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), cognitive symptoms are some of the best predictors of how well a person with schizophrenia can function during day-to-day activities.
Causes
No one is entirely certain about what causes schizophrenia. Environmental changes to your brain chemistry from life events that cause trauma or malnutrition can increase your risk of developing schizophrenia. Infection during pregnancy may also result in an increased risk of schizophrenia in children.
Researchers note that your family history and the genes you inherit from your parents and grandparents may play a role in schizophrenia. For example, if two parents have schizophrenia, there is a 40% chance that their child will also go on to develop the condition.
An NIH study from 2016 notes that one gene has the biggest influence on the development of schizophrenia. This is the complement component 4 gene, or C4. As research continues, it will hopefully become clear whether this gene can increase your chance of developing the condition.
Treatment
There are different types of treatment available for people with schizophrenia, including prescription medications and behavioral and nutritional therapies. A healthcare professional can help you find the best treatment plan for you and your needs.
Medication
Typically, doctors recommend antipsychotic medications for managing schizophrenia. Depending on your symptoms, a doctor may suggest other medications alongside antipsychotics.
These can include:
- mood stabilizing medications, like lithium (Lithobid)
- antidepressant medications, like sertraline (Zoloft)
- anxiety medications like benzodiazepines (Diazepam, Lorazepam)
Antipsychotic medications work by adjusting the levels of a certain neurotransmitter in your brain called dopamine. These medications can help manage psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and delusions. They typically take several days or weeks to start working.
Examples of these medications include:
- clozapine (Clozaril)
- ziprasidone (Zeldox)
- haloperidol (Haldol)
- asenapine (Saphris)
- lurasidone (Latuda)
- aripiprazole lauroxil (Aristada)
- risperidone (Risperidone)
If you need help covering the cost of medications, the free Optum Perks Discount Card could help you save up to 80% on prescription drugs. Follow the links on drug names for savings on that medication, or search for a specific drug here.
