Schizophrenia is a pathology of the psyche that has a chronic course. The disease affects approximately two percent of the world's population. Its frequency does not depend on race and gender. Mental disorder has a devastating effect on the personality. It should be noted that there are several types of ailment. The article deals with the classification of schizophrenia, its signs and therapy.
Characteristic features of the disorder
Most non-psychiatrists associate this illness with manifestations such as visions and delusions. However, these signs can only be present in the exacerbation phase. They often disappear during treatment. But other manifestations (emotional disorders, problems with mental activity) are difficult to correct. Schizophrenia is a disease that is one of the most common mental illnesses. It affects men and women equally. But there is one caveat: in the representatives of the stronger sex, the disorder manifests itself earlier. The main category of people with this disease is individuals aged 15 to 30 years. Moreover, the severity and nature of symptoms in patients is diverse. According to the classification of schizophrenia, there are several types of the disorder. They are discussed in the next section of the article.
Forms of illness
There are several types of pathology. They were developed by specialists in the field of psychiatry. According to the classification of schizophrenia, the following forms are distinguished:
- Paranoid. Patients with this disease are characterized by the emergence of ideas of a stable, obsessive nature. Also, such people have visions, hallucinations at the tactile, olfactory and auditory levels.
- Hebephrenic. This type, as a rule, begins to appear in puberty. Its symptoms include behavioral disorders, foolishness, unreasonable laughter, frilly manners, difficulties in speech and mental activity.
- Catatonic form of schizophrenia. With this disease, the patient is pathologically closed, constantly silent, stays in one position for a long time, or, conversely, is too excited. Such an individual is characterized by the repetition of other people's words, gestures, facial expressions. This form of the disease is considered one of the most severe.
There is a division and by type:
- Simple type. The main symptoms of pathology are detachment, the patient's cold attitude towards himself and others, conflicting statements and emotions.
- Post-schizophrenic depression. The main symptom of the disease is the extremely depressed mental state of the patient. Other symptoms are mild.
- Undifferentiated type. Atpatients with this diagnosis are equally present with various manifestations of pathology.
- Residual form. It is characterized by a predominance of emotional disorders after exacerbation.
Also, experts identify special forms of schizophrenia. These include:
- Pathology with a sluggish course.
- A disease that manifests itself in the form of seizures.
- Hidden type.
- Febrile.
Characteristic manifestations of the disease
Specialists who developed the classification of schizophrenia emphasize that certain features are characteristic of any type of disorder. These are signs that indicate violations of the psyche in several directions. They are common to all patients. Manifestations of this kind include:
- Illogical thinking (poor vocabulary, inability to complete sentences and have normal conversations).
- Alienation from the outside world, relatives, acquaintances. The individual is unable to establish contacts, understand jokes and hints, his thinking and hobbies are stereotyped. Doctors often mention this criterion when they are asked how to identify schizophrenia in a loved one.
- Atypical reaction to events and statements. The patient may have fun during the funeral, and suddenly feel sad at the birthday party. The behavior of the patient and his emotions are not related to each other. For example, when feeling frightened or excited, the individual smiles and laughs.
- Inconsistency. A person can experience completely different feelings for the same object.or face. He hesitates for a long time before making even a simple decision. His thoughts are also contradictory.
Talking with a patient and identifying the above symptoms is considered an effective way to determine schizophrenia. But there are some aspects that indicate the development of the disease.
Symptomatology and its types
Manifestations of illness are of two types: positive and negative. Experts refer to the first category:
- Visions, auditory, olfactory, tactile and gustatory hallucinations. The individual claims that there are voices that evaluate him, argue, give instructions. The patient tends to pass off his thoughts as someone else's. The distinguishing feature of hallucinations is that they are perceived by a person as real.
- Illusions. The patient clearly sees the object and takes it for something completely different.
- One of the most common positive symptoms is considered delusional. Speaking of this sign, experts mean ideas and conclusions that do not correspond to reality. Some patients believe that they are being watched, wanted to kill, hypnotized, and so on. Others suspect the husband (wife) of infidelity. Still others suddenly discover that they have a serious illness or physical defect.
- Unnatural motor activity or, conversely, a long stay in one position.
- Reactions that don't fit the situation. For example, a person denies being related to family members.
- Long monologues that are distinguished by the absence oflogic, nonsense. Sometimes, during a conversation, an individual suddenly switches from one topic to another. Patients with schizophrenia pay too much attention to details.
- The presence of ideas that play a very important role in a person's life, but are divorced from reality.
Negative symptoms refer to social, emotional and mental abilities that gradually deteriorate as the pathology progresses. These violations in a simple form of schizophrenia are dominant. These are discussed in the next section.
List and description of negative symptoms
Such violations include:
- Weak will.
- Frequent change of emotional background.
- Constant desire to be alone, low activity and indifference to the surrounding reality.
- Violations of speech and mental nature.
- Coldness and callousness towards other people.
- Bingering, alcohol abuse, increased sex drive, masturbation.
- Inability to control one's own actions.
- Reduced ability to plan actions.
- Lack of joy and pleasure from those things that used to bring positive emotions.
- Suicidal thoughts, depression.
- Neglect of hygiene procedures.
- Hobbies that have a monotonous and ridiculous character.
The classification of schizophrenia takes into account the ratio of the above signs with the symptoms of a positivetype.
Factors contributing to the development of the disease
There are several hypotheses about the causes of schizophrenia. Is this disorder hereditary? The exact answer to this question is still unknown. However, there is an assumption about the high probability of the occurrence of pathology in the event that any of the relatives of the individual suffered from a similar ailment. In general, experts identify several different factors that contribute to the development of the disease, for example:
- Viral pathologies at an early age (herpes, rubella, EBV).
- Infectious diseases in the mother during the period of gestation.
- Unfavorable heredity.
- Use of drugs, alcohol-containing products.
- Patient's personality traits (low resistance to emotional stress, underdeveloped communication skills, isolation, stubbornness, lack of initiative).
- Poor living conditions, low income or no job.
- Family disruption (quarrels, overprotectiveness, parental alienation, psychological, physical or sexual abuse, early loss of loved ones).
These factors are only supposed causes of the development of the disorder. To date, scientists cannot give an exact answer to the question of why it occurs.
Recurrent schizophrenia
Experts say that this type of disease has a better prognosis than other forms of the disease. It usually developsin youth and is characterized by the occurrence of seizures. Moreover, in some individuals, exacerbation can occur only once. For others, the condition worsens about twice a year. Most people with recurrent schizophrenia have attacks in a particular season (for example, spring or autumn). Pathology proceeds in several stages:
- Emotional disorders, mood swings from elated to depressed and passive.
- The emergence of delusional thoughts and statements. The patient may claim that someone controls him, directs him. Some patients believe that the people around them represent good and evil forces fighting each other.
- Disorders of consciousness (freezing in one position, lack of reactions to external influences, visions of a fantastic nature).
There is a similar kind of pathology - paroxysmal-progressive schizophrenia. It is characterized by exacerbations that develop rapidly, but with timely and adequate therapy, they do not last long.
Paranoid type
Patients with this disease have delusions that are not related to real life. For example, an individual may be convinced that he has a high origin, or be afraid of surveillance, a possible murder. Sometimes people with schizophrenia in a paranoid form express thoughts about the presence of dangerous diseases. Such statements are explained in an absurd way. For example, a person claims that a microcircuit is inserted into his body, knocking down the work of the body. Or the patient discovershas a physical defect that does not actually exist. Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by auditory hallucinations.
Under their influence, an individual can harm his body or attack others.
Slow disease type
In patients with this disorder, the pathology develops very slowly. The patient can lead a relatively normal life. The manifestations of the disorder are mildly expressed. In the case of indolent schizophrenia, the symptoms and signs are as follows:
- Decrease in activity and circle of hobbies.
- Poverty of emotions.
- Odd behavior.
- Bouts of nervousness, despair and depression.
- Fears that are obsessive. Some patients experience a fear of germs, which prevents them from calmly going to public places, contacting people and forcing them to clean the surrounding objects with wet wipes.
- Loss of connection with reality. Patients say that they are playing a role. Often such patients become callous, soulless.
- The actions of individuals are distinguished by mannerisms, they are prone to deceit and tantrums, they often wander.
Simple pathology
This form is characterized by a predominance of disturbances in the emotional sphere, intellectual activity. The disease occurs most often in adolescents.
Simple schizophrenia is difficult to recognize. Sometimes relatives explainsymptoms of a disorder in a loved one by lack of will or bad manners. However, it seems surprising to the patient's family members that the once accommodating young man becomes impudent, skips classes at school, withdraws into himself, runs away from home, and does not follow the rules of hygiene. There is a tendency to study global world problems, theories. Patients learn new skills and abilities with great difficulty. An individual with simple schizophrenia is characterized by passivity and indifference. He can stay in bed for hours and do nothing. A person has no interest in relatives, irritability, bouts of causeless anger are observed. Such individuals are also characterized by violations of the sexual sphere and eating behavior.
Latent type of pathology
This is the mildest form of the disease. The disease is distinguished by the presence of various, but mild manifestations.
Individuals with mild schizophrenia have the following symptoms and signs:
- Fussy speech, unnatural movements, strange way of dressing.
- The presence of significant thoughts in a person, which he constantly expresses to others. Despite a large number of planned plans and strategies, the activities of such patients do not bring results.
- The patient prefers to be within their own housing, alone. His mood is often passive, there is indifference to the world around him, people, external events.
Schizophrenia in childhood
On the one hand, this disorder is quite easy to diagnose, as babiestend to express their feelings more openly. On the other hand, mental processes in minors are not fully formed. And this creates difficulties in identifying the disease. To make a diagnosis, the doctor needs to clearly know that for six months the child has at least two of the following symptoms:
- Visions and hallucinations of various kinds. Parents may notice that the baby seems to be listening to something or trying to make out an object that does not really exist.
- Reluctance to communicate with others. The child seems to be thought badly of him.
- Loss of interest in games, activities.
- Hysterical behavior.
- Unreasonable anxiety.
The consequences of a mental disorder
Schizophrenia is a pathology that is not fully understood. The exact reasons for its development remain a mystery. To date, there are no medicines that could save the patient from the symptoms of the disease once and for all. The genetic mechanisms of the appearance of schizophrenia have not been fully studied, whether this mental disorder is inherited. But there is evidence that as the pathology develops, changes occur in the mental activity of the individual. Timely diagnosis and therapy make it possible to avoid these undesirable consequences as much as possible.
Identification of pathology. Her treatment
Before asserting that a person is ill with schizophrenia, careful observation of this individual is necessary. Long-term (more than a month) presencesigns such as delusional ideas, visions, various types of hallucinations, behavioral and speech disorders allow the doctor to make a diagnosis. There are also tests and other methods that help identify the disease. Some types of the disorder (for example, a simple form of schizophrenia) are very difficult to define. After all, their manifestations are dimly expressed. This explains the fact that many patients experience various complications due to delayed treatment.
Schizophrenia is a disease that requires constant medication. With the help of drugs, its symptoms can be significantly reduced. Means such as "Haloperidol" and "Aminazin" are quite strong, but hard to perceive by the body. Newer drugs (Ziprasidone, Abilify) are more easily tolerated by patients. They have a complex effect on receptors.
