Have you ever walked on the other side of the lane because you found a man standing in your path mumbling to himself or talking in the air? "Pagal hai, sambhal ke jaao" (he seems crazy, let's move carefully) is the very first thing you think to yourself or you heard your company voice out. This what you just did is stigma. Stigma against today's disorder of discussion: Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia, as described by the WHO, is a psychosis, a type of mental illness characterized by distortions in thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self and behaviour. Around 20 million people worldwide suffer from this disorder.
What are these "distortions"?
(Also, the symptoms of Schizophrenia)
1. Delusions - These are false beliefs based on no actual backing. Delusions can range from thinking someone is madly in love with them to thinking that someone is conspiring against them or that they're being harassed or being targeting or, even, deluding themselves and viewing themselves on a higher pedestal.
2. Hallucinations - Hallucinations involve seeing or hearing things that don't actually exist. Teenagers suffering from this may experience visual hallucinations while adults experience auditory hallucinations.
3. Disorganised speech and thinking- Their thoughts are not in one place and thus, they may mumble random words, yell for no reason and have irrelevant speech.
4. Abnormal behaviour: They might be found wandering aimlessly, mumbling and laughing to themselves, they may have no sense of personal hygiene.
5. Disturbances in emotions: Their emotions may either fluctuate suddenly, or they may seem completely monotone and emotionless, with irrelevant facial expression and body language (sometimes even inappropriate).
What causes Schizophrenia?
Although the exact cause of this disorder is unknown, scientists believe it is related to genetics, brain chemistry (neurotransmitters like dopamine and glutamate) and environmental factors. Pregnancy or birth-related complications may affect brain development. If the affected person was addicted to drugs in their teen ages, that could also lead to schizophrenia.
How bad really is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a long time disorder and almost untreatable. Medications, therapies have proved to show a marvellous positive effect on the patient however, the treatment must be continued life-long. If not treated properly, the disorder can worsen until the person reaches what we call the "crazy" state (this is, however, an extreme case. There are patients with milder symptoms, who are also undergoing treatment). Hence, early intervention in this case holds utmost importance.
• WHO found out that about 69% of schizophrenia patients never receive proper treatment or any treatment at all.
Schizophrenia is a serious illness because it can lead to many complications.
- Further abuse of alcohol or drugs
- Suicidal tendencies
- Inability to work, difficulty in carrying out everyday tasks
- This may further lead to other mental illnesses such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety Disorders and Depression.
• It has been found out that people with schizophrenia have a lower life expectancy (2-3times lesser) as compared to a healthy person. This is because, physical illness, such as cardiovascular diseases, also accompany this mental condition.
How to deal with someone with schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia may be difficult to self-diagnose/diagnose in teenagers because the symptoms are mild are common with some of the effects of adolescence. If you find your close one displaying any of these symptoms, rather than feeling afraid of them, learn to approach them rationally. You cannot put them into therapy and denial is a very basic step in the process of being treated, understand them, emphasise with them and make them understand why they need help.
The stigma around Schizophrenia is huge, many people don't receive treatment all because of the stigma, or are denied their basic human rights. So, let's understand their problems and learn to embrace them so that they can get treated without being called "crazy".
By Ketki Kabir
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