Schizophrenia ( symptoms & treatment )

 

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. It is characterized by a range of symptoms that can include hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking and speech, and abnormal behavior.

What are some symptoms of schizophrenia?

Everyone has different symptoms when first developing schizophrenia, so my symptoms might be completely different than someone with the same diagnosis. However, I will still state what happened to me.

For the first time in my life, I was tired. I was 14 years old. Before this, I could wake up for school and stay awake. I wasn’t quite a morning person, but I had no trouble staying awake after getting out of bed. This suddenly changed. I would be in class, and my eyes would start rolling in the back of my head without me even closing my eyes. I’d have microsleeps all day despite getting a full night of sleep. It felt terrible. I was constantly exhausted no matter how many hours of sleep I got the night before.

My feelings toward my family suddenly changed. I felt that they were against me in some way, I’d constantly argue with them. I was always on edge around them, I was afraid they would hurt me. This fear lead to me hating them for a bit, sadly.

I developed very odd rituals. If I did not throw ice cubes into my pool, I would die. Every time I went onto my back patio, ice had to be thrown into the pool.

I loved being alone during this time. I looked forward to being home alone, but once I was actually home alone, I still felt as though there were people there. I’d walk around the house asking who was there. I looked for cameras, as I thought my parents were trying to catch me doing something I was not supposed to do. I would look up at the ceiling and say things like, “I know you’re there.” “Stop recording me, I know what you’re doing”, ect.

I had what I called my “emotion breaks”, which were little voices that would pop into my head. If they said something mean, I’d think it was my anger trying to talk to me. If they said something happy, I’d think it was my happiness trying to talk to me. I believed that my emotions had come to life in my brain, and they were talking to me.

I had very odd moments of confusion. I would be doing my normal thing, like homework, and suddenly, my brain would shift. I would very suddenly believe something very strange. For example, one time I thought that there were secret tunnels in my house that lead to the mall, I thought I had to find them to get to the mall. I would get up and look for them, wandering around my house, then I would think myself out of it. I would start having rational thoughts, like “Have I ever seen the inside of these tunnels before?” “Wouldn’t I know where the entrance was?” “I thought I got to the mall by car” Then I would realize, after a few minutes, there really aren’t any tunnels.

How can I best treat my schizophrenia?

Treatment for schizophrenia typically involves a combination of medication and therapy. Antipsychotic medications can help to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions, while therapy can help you to develop coping skills, improve your relationships, and manage your symptoms.

It's important to work closely with a qualified mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, to develop a personalized treatment plan that is tailored to your specific needs and symptoms. It may take some time to find the right combination of medication and therapy that works best for you, so it's important to be patient and persistent in your treatment.