Sunday, November 24, 2013

living and maintaining with schizophrenia

To the general society, people may not think it is possible to lead a functional life while having schizophrenia because of the sterotype that comes along with it. If the person is willing to get treatment or are harmful to themselves or others, actions can be taken so that they are able to get help. Often the schizophrenic gets treated by a doctor or mental health care professional. The doctor can prescribe antipsychotic medications to make their symptoms less severe but it is up to the schizophrenic to actually take their medication as recommended by the doctor. If the schizophrenic does not take the medication as it is recommended, their symptoms can come back. Having a positive and supporting family to help the schizophrenic set and achieve realistic goals will also help managing the illness easier. With the right support system, medication, and doctor living a functional life with schizophrenia can be possible.



http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml#part6

Sunday, November 3, 2013

How Schizophrenia Affects Other Body Systems

As you may have read in my previous blogs, schizophrenia mainly affects the brain. In some schizophrenics the ventricles of the brain have become larger than a person that does not have the illness. In some studies, it suggest that a malfunction in the temporal lobes, hippocampus, and amygdala play a role in the positive symptoms that some schizophrenics may experience. 
 The different bodily affect schizophrenia has depends on which type you have. The main type of schizophrenia with affects that can be seen is catatonic schizophrenia. A person with this type of schizophrenia may suffer from abnormal motor movements known as exited motor signs. The person may pace back and forth, shout, be harmful to themselves or others, and talk fast. On the other hand, they can assume unusual positions for long periods of time and have little to no motor movement which is known as stuporous motor signs. The picture below shows a catatonic schizophrenic with stuporous motor signs.




I've tried to find what other body systems schizophrenia affect but it is hard to find since it mainly affects the brain and no other system in the body besides the skeletal muscle in catatonic schizophrenics. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that disrupts cognitive functions and mood.




http://www.helpguide.org/mental/schizophrenia_symptom.htm
http://www.livestrong.com/article/103076-schizophrenia-affect-body/