Mental Illness - Psychotic disorders
Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, center around psychoses, which refer to mental disorders that involve a dramatic impairment in thinking,
SUICIDE: A DEADLY SIDE-EFFECT OF DEPRESSION
Suicide is when a person takes his or her own life. Not all people who kill themselves do so solely because of depression. However, many depressed people entertain the thought of ending their lives, attempt to end their lives, or sadly, succeed in ending their lives. Often times, the first sign of a person's depression may be a suicide attempt.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is very common among teenagers and young adults. Studies have shown that teens who are depressed, abusing substances, or acting out on violent feelings are all at high risk for suicide. In fact, among teens and young adults between the ages of 15 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. It is estimated that 5,000 teens commit suicide each year.
Suicide prevention centers around the country offer twenty-four-hour assistance to people in despair and considering suicide. However, the most important mechanism in preventing suicide can usually come from the depressed or despondent person or the people around that individual. Watching for warning signs of depression or reckless behavior and helping someone get professional counseling is crucial in preventing this senseless act. These warning signs can include: sleep disturbances (sleeping too much or too little), a change in appetite and weight, feelings of restlessness, lack of concentration, withdrawal from friends and activities once considered fun, sudden mood swings, and feelings of guilt and hopelessness.
such that an individual is almost completely out of contact with reality. Most often this means that a person is experiencing hallucinations, or having delusions. Hallucinations are the perception of things that aren't present (seeing things, hearing things, etc.); delusions are false or irrational beliefs that an individual holds in spite of proof that those beliefs are untrue. It is these qualities that render psychotic disorders frightening and mysterious, especially for those afflicted by them.
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia, perhaps the most severe psychotic disorder, is still not fully understood by the mental health community. When it strikes, more often than not, sufferers need to be on medication for the rest of their lives in order to keep the disorder under control. Furthermore, many schizophrenics are unable to resume normal lives; this tragedy is compounded by the fact that schizophrenia often develops when individuals are in their late teens through mid-thirties. This means that some persons could have been working toward building a full life only to find themselves in jeopardy of losing everything they have worked for.
SYMPTOMS. Symptoms of schizophrenia include having scattered, disorganized thoughts. People with schizophrenia will lose their train of thought when conversing with others, often bringing up completely different issues and causing others to become confused. Delusions are another symptom of schizophrenia. Delusions can include anything from a person's belief that others are plotting against him or her, or that a person's food is being poisoned because someone is trying to kill him or that another person can read his mind. Hallucinations often accompany delusions as well. Many times, schizophrenics hear strange voices inside their heads. Naturally, this is extremely disturbing and feeds a schizophrenic's fear.
Other symptoms include a lack of motivation to engage in normal daily activities, such as maintaining one's hygiene or doing chores. Also, although schizophrenics will tend to speak, they will have less to say; their conversations may be repetitive and nonsensical. The inability to experience pleasure, known as anhedonia, may also be present, as may problems with a person's affect (an individual's emotional response and demeanor); often times, a schizophrenic's affect may be flat (lacking in emotional response) or inappropriate (for example, laughing upon hearing that someone has died).
CAUSES. There is no single, definitive answer as to why some people develop schizophrenia. It is believed that it is genetic and that if a person has a schizophrenic relative in his or her family, there is an increased incidence of the person developing schizophrenia. Studies on families and twins have supported the genetic link, although the statistics are not very high, meaning that there may be schizophrenia in a family's gene pool, but the likelihood of someone developing it isn't all that great. Among twins with schizophrenia, the incidence of both having the disorder is quite high in identical twins (almost 44.30 percent according to one 1987 study); further, fraternal (nonidentical) twins also have an increased risk, although it's not as high as in identical twins.
It has also been suggested that chemical imbalances in the brain could account for the development of schizophrenia, something that certain researchers believe may also be inherited as well. Finally, psychological stress has been identified as being a possible cause.
TREATMENTS. Schizophrenia is almost always treated with antipsychotic drugs, such as Thorazine, which reduce psychotic symptoms, particularly because hallucinations and delusions can cause schizophrenics to engage in behaviors that make them a risk to themselves and even others around them. Medication is usually successful in suppressing symptoms but, alone, it is not enough. Therapy is a necessary ingredient in treatment to help the individuals accept and cope with their situations and understand the importance of continuing to take medication even if they feel "cured." Therapy can also be useful in helping a schizophrenic's family understand the patient's plight and contribute to helping manage and maintain a person's plan of care.
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