How to Know if You or a Loved One Suffer from Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder. Those suffering from schizophrenia have a skewed sense of reality. It affects the way a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Schizophrenia can be very confusing for people because their world is perceived differently than those who do not have the disorder. Schizophrenia is not a common mental disorder but when it does occur, the symptoms can be very debilitating to the individual.
There are three categories of symptoms: Positive, Negative, and Cognitive (taken from the National Institute of Mental Health)
- Positive: psychotic behaviors
- Hallucinations (hearing, seeing, or experiencing things that other do not)
- Delusions (false beliefs)
- Dysfunctional ways of thinking
- Agitated physical movements
- Negative: disruptions of normal behaviors or emotions
- Reduced expression of emotions in their face or vocal tone
- Decrease of pleasure in day to day life
- Trouble with starting or staying with activities
- Decrease in speaking
- Cognitive: problems with function or memory
- Unable to understand information and use it to make decisions
- Problems with attention span or focusing
- Trouble with short term memory use
How American Behavioral Clinics Can Help
American Behavioral Clinics offers both psychiatry and psychology services for individuals who suffer from Schizophrenia. We have a dedicated team of providers that will help you control your symptoms and get control of your life back. ABC offers medication management, individual, family, and group therapies to help you through every aspect of your disorder.
Our providers work with patients to find the antipsychotic medication that works best for them. Through medication and psychosocial treatments, together we will work on helping patients pursue all that they wish to accomplish in life. Patients can live a full, successful life with Schizophrenia, we are here to help get there.
How to Help Loved Ones
Family members or friends are able to help loved ones who suffer from Schizophrenia. One of the main things anyone can do is to get them into treatment and to stick with it. It is necessary to realize that hallucinations and delusions are real to individuals who suffer from schizophrenia. Therefore, do not mock what they see or feel, instead tell them that they have the right to see they world as they want to. Also, be supportive and kind. Anyone suffering from schizophrenia needs support if they are going to get through their disorder; however, do not tolerate inappropriate or dangerous behavior.
Bipolar treatment is available at American Behavioral Clinics, contact your nearest location to make an appointment today!
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