Schizophrenia

#14
Imagine hearing voices, having hallucinations, or losing total interest in aspects of your life such as your hygiene or appearance, your family and your friends, your career or schooling. These are some of the things schizophrenic patients, like my uncle; go through on a day to day basis. The cause of this disorder is not completely known, but is assumed to be affected by two different factors. 40% of patients are diagnosed with this disorder due to genetics. If this disorder is hereditary, relatives have and increased 10% chance of developing this order as well. The second assumed cause of schizophrenia is environmental impacts. Studies show that people with schizophrenia in their family are more vulnerable to this disorder, which is then triggered due to environmental causes such as; early parental loss, low oxygen levels during birth or exposure to a virus in your infant years. Because the cause of this disorder is not completely known, there is no cure for this disorder, but there are medicines such as antipsychotic, antidepressant, or anti-anxiety medications to maintain the patients health.
Like most patients, the medicines my uncle is required to take are not enough to maintain his heath, so, like many other schizophrenic’s he receives psychotherapy treatments on a regular basis. With out medicines, psychotherapy treatment, or a combination of both, a schizophrenic can go into relapse mode, which is when their symptoms worsen. When my uncle forgets to take his medicines he does not take good care of himself, and communication is difficult, he also become aggravated easily and is very argumentative. But once they are back on track, and are in a state of remission, they seem as though they are not affected by their disorder and are better able to function in society. Although this disorder can be difficult to handle, you need to constantly provide support so they can stay in a healthy state and live a normal life.

References:
www.cmha.ca
http://psychcentral.com
http://helpguide.org