What to Know About Schizophrenia a Chronic - Article Health

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that alters how a person feels, what they see, and how they behave. It’s a chronic condition, and there's no cure for it. However, many people with schizophrenia are able to become fully or partially free from its symptoms and live full lives with the condition.

Schizophrenia symptoms
There are two kinds of schizophrenia symptoms, called positive symptoms and negative symptoms, Gregory Sayer, MD, faculty psychiatrist at NYU Langone Health, tells Health. "Positive" symptoms are those that mentally healthy people don’t normally exhibit. They usually center around losing touch with reality.

Schizophrenia causes
The exact cause of schizophrenia hasn't been discovered yet, however, there are certain risk factors that make people more likely to develop it.

Diagnosing schizophrenia
If you notice any of the symptoms of schizophrenia in yourself or a loved one, talk to a doctor or mental health professional.

“Just because someone has psychotic symptoms doesn't necessarily mean it's schizophrenia,” Dr. Sayer says. “People can have psychotic symptoms for other reasons. They would need to be evaluated to see if it's caused by a different disorder, a brain tumor, an infection, alcohol or drug use, or something else entirely.”

Schizophrenia treatment
Without a cure, schizophrenia treatment is focused on managing symptoms. This usually involves medication and therapy.

“Antipsychotic medications are dopamine receptor blockers, which can help with the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia,” Dr. Sayer says. These prescription meds are usually taken orally every day, but they can also sometimes be administered as injections. They can have some side effects, so you’ll want to discuss with your doctor before starting one.


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