Schizophrenia
Tiffany Becker
Denise Keown
Heather Baltz
Overview of Schizophrenia
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What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia behaviors
Does schizophrenia affect the brain?
What causes schizophrenia?
Who gets schizophrenia?
Early Onset Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Facts
What is Schizophrenia?
• It is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease
• It affects a person’s ability to “think straight”
• It maybe one disorder, or it may be many
disorders
• Thoughts of a schizophrenic may come and go
rapidly
• The severity of the symptoms and long-lasting,
chronic pattern of schizophrenia often cause a
high degree of disability
Schizophrenia Behaviors
• A schizophrenic person may exhibit very
different kinds of behaviors at different
times
• People with it often suffer with terrifying
symptoms
• Just as normal individuals view the word
from their own perspectives, schizophrenic
people have their own perceptions of
reality
Does Schizophrenia affect the
brain?
Schizophrenia can affect the way your brain
receives information in several ways.
-Your brain receives an overload of information
-You become more sensitive to stimuli around
you
-Your brain receives information that is not
accurate
-Your brain may store information incorrectly
What causes schizophrenia?
• There is no known cause of it
• No specific gene has been found
• No biomedical defect has been proven
responsible
• Scientist do not yet understand all the factors
necessary to produce it
• It runs in families
• Children of a parent with it have a 10% chance
of developing it, by comparison to the risk of the
general population having a 1% chance
• Studies indicate it has some heredity basis
Who gets schizophrenia?
• Nearly 3 million Americans, approx. 1%,
will develop it during their lives
• It affects men and women with equal
frequency
• Most men start to see signs in their teen or
twenties
• Most women start to see signs in their
twenties or early thirties
Continued
• Children under the age of 13 very rarely
will develop it, but it is possible for children
as young as 6
• It is found all over the world
Early Onset Schizophrenia
• The term early onset is used when children
develop it before adolescence
• Early onset affects about 1 in 40,000 children,
compared to 1 in 100 adults
• Children with early onset experience difficulty in
managing everyday life and have hallucinations,
delusions, social withdrawal, flattened emotions,
increased risk of suicide, and loss of social and
personal care skills
Schizophrenia Facts
• It is not split personality
• Individuals with it are not violent, more
typically they prefer to withdrawal and be
left alone
• Individuals with it have a higher rate of
suicide than the general population, often
prediction is difficult
• Not everyone who acts paranoid or
distrustful has schizophrenia
Continued
• Many people with it sleep too little, or too much
• Where are people with schizophrenia?
-6% homeless and living in shelters
-6% live in jails or prisons
-5-6% live in hospitals
-10% live in nursing homes
-20% live in supervised housing
-25% live with a family member
-28% live independently
Symptoms of schizophrenia
• Hallucinations- Person senses things that
don’t really exist
• Delusions- Personal belief that has no
basis on reality
• Disorganized Speech- Occurs when the
person’s speech becomes hard to follow
“Negative Symptoms”
• Face shows no expression
• When talking, the person does not give
much information
• Person has problems being motivated to
anything
• Extremely confused, disorganized, or
withdrawn behavior
Types of Schizophrenia
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Paranoid schizophrenia
Disorganized schizophrenia
Catatonic schizophrenia
Undifferentiated schizophrenia
Residual schizophrenia
Types of Schizophrenia
• Paranoid Schizophrenia
– Most common
– May have frightening thoughts and hear
threatening voices
– Usually develops later in life
Symptoms
• Confusion
• Withdrawal
• Anger
• Hallucinations and delusions
Disorganized Schizophrenia
• Also know as hebephrenic
• Rare type
• Unpredictable behaviors
• Inappropriate reactions to a situation
Catatonic Schizophrenia
• Very rare type
• Statue like characteristics
• Followed by periods of intense activity
Undifferentiated Schizophrenia
• Symptoms do not fit any category
• Symptoms of many types
Residual Schizophrenia
• No symptoms, but signs of illness still exist
Lifestyle Changes
• Have regular appointments with doctor or
case manager
• Be very cautious about what you put in
your body
• Learn and practice good stress
management techniques
• Do what is necessary to be as well as you
can
Lifestyle continued
• Symptom monitor
How is it diagnosed?
• Present symptoms
• Medical history
• Use of substances such as alcohol,
cocaine, heroine, or other street drugs
• Response to medications that treat
schizophrenia
What else can it be?
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Borderline Schizophrenia
Schizoaffective Disorder
Bipolar Disorder/Manic Depression
Personality Disorder
Dual Diagnosis
Childhood Mental Illness
Books for dealing with
schizophrenia
• Coping with Schizophrenia: A Guide for
Families by Kim Tornval Mueser
• I Am Not Sick, I Don’t Need Help! By
Xavier Amador, Anna Lica Johanson
(contributor)
Treatment Options
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Old “ Typical” Antipsychotics
New “Atypical” Antipsychotics
Antipsychotic Injections
Talking Treatments/Education/Support
Groups
Treatment Facts
• Antipsychotics also called neurotics
• Medication is used to treat symptoms
• Medicines work in 3 ways and serve as a
foundation
• May take 2-3 weeks to notice the benefits
of medication
• Medication and other changes necessary
for children/teens
Continued
• Medication misconceptions- a “chemical
straightjacket”
• Why would an individual with
schizophrenia not want to take medicines?
Old “Atypical” Antipsychotics
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Haldol
Mellaril
Thorazine- first drug produced
Effective in 50-60% of people
If continued, reduces relapse rates for at
least 2 years
Continued
• Side effects: drowsiness, restlessness, dry
mouth, blurred vision, sedation, weight
gain, epileptic fits, rapid heart beat,
constipation, movement disorders.
• Movement Disorders: Tardire Dyskinesia
(15-20% of patients who have taken
medicines for many years)
New “Atypical” Antipsychotics
• Number of meds has greatly increased
since the 1990’s
• Clozapine
• Risperdol
• Seroquel
• Zyprexa
• Side Effects- Similar to those of old
antipsychotics without the TD.
Continued
• Clozapine side effects also
agranulocytosis (loss of white blood cells
that fight infection. Usually the last med
prescribed for those that aren’t responding
to treatment.
Anitpsychotic Injections
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Haldol
Prolixin
Trilafon
Injectable preparation of typical
antipsychotic drugs
• Used as maintenance treatment in chronic
schizophrenia, to ensure compliance and
reduce relapse
Talking Treatment/Ed./Support
Groups
• Medications don’t relieve the behavioral
symptoms of schizophrenia
• Inpatient care and residential placement
• Case management available in most
states
• Regular contact with psychiatrist for
medicine reviews is necessary
Continued
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Counseling
Education
Therapeutic Recreation
Rehabilitation
Support Groups
Most common reason for relapse
• Stop taking medication
• Use of alcohol or street drugs
Case Study