Schizophrenia Explained - Symptoms, Causes, Risk factors & Treatment - Doctor Explains
In this video we will cover Schizophrenia. In addition we will discuss some tips and tricks for dealing with it and lastly we will highlight some common treatment options. So make sure to watch the whole video so you won’t miss any valuable information. This video is part of a videoseries on mental health problems. Find the playlists here: • Mental Health Problems and Solutions What is Schizophrenia? The DSM-5 characterizes schizophrenia as following: It is the presence of 2 (or more) of the following symptoms for at least 1 month and they must have a damaging impact on someone general functioning. For example these symptoms prevent someone from functioning at his/hers work, prevent maintaining interpersonal relationships and/or prevent someone from providing in self-care. 1. Experiencing delusions: Which are fixed believes maintained despite being contradicted by reality or rational arguments. 2. Hallucinations: Which are sensory experiences that appear real but are created by your mind. They can affect all five of your senses. So a person with schizophrenia could hear, smell, see, feel and/or taste things, which are not really there. 3. Disorganized speech. 4. Catatonic behavior: This is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors and a lack of communication. In addition it can also include agitation, confusion, and restlessness. 5. Negative symptoms: :Losing interest and motivation in life and activities, a lack of concentration, not wanting to leave the house, changes in sleeping patterns, being less likely to initiate conversations and feeling uncomfortable with other people. Risk Factors: Genetics (which supposedly causes 70-80% of the risk), oxygen deprivation during birth, certain infection, malnutrition, living in an urban area, social isolation, immigration, racial discrimination, family dysfunction, unemployment, poor housing conditions and substance abuse. Treatment plan: Visit your doctor for a medical examination. Take good care for yourself. Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night, maintain a structured sleeping schedule, eat enough vegetables and vitamines, drink about 2L of water each day and try to exercise regularly. Antipsychotics. They can reduce most of the symptoms, like feelings of aggression, anxiety, hallucinations and delusions. However it can take a few hours op to severals weeks before you might experience this reduction in symptoms. Examples of commonly used antipsychotics are: Aripiprazole, Olanzapine and Quetiapine. Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy. This can be followed individually or in a group-setting. In psychotherapy the underlying psychological problems and the symptoms are address, with the aim to overcome these and replace these with healthier behavior. Psychotherapy usually lasts 6 up to several months. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) aims to help you manage problems by changing how you think and act. It uses a range of psychological techniques to help you come to terms with your symptoms. Family therapy is aimed at helping you and your family to cope better with schizophrenia. It consists out of a series of informal meetings over a period of around 6 months. Disclaimer: this video and the comments are meant purely informational! This is not medical advice! If you are looking for medical advice always contact your own doctor. - I want to give special thanks to my sponsors on Patreon: Sebastian Houwing: Investor Literature: 1: Frankenburg F. Xiong G. (2020). What are the DSM-5 criteria for schizophrenia? Medscape 2: NHS. (2019). Schizophrenia. 3: Mentalhelp.net. The New DSM-5: Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders 4: Owen MJ. Sawa A. Mortensen PB. (2016). Schizophrenia. Lancet. 388 (10039): 86–97. The images in this video are used for educational purposes only. Most of the images and video material in this video come from https://www.canva.com/. Music: 1. Verified Picasso, Fish Room 2. Patrick Patrikos, Good Times 3: Patrick Patrikios, Rockville 4: Patrick Patrikios, Grut 5: Kevin MacLeod, Merry Go - Silent Film Light Follow me on instagram: @HOWTOMEDICATE Follow me on twitter: @HOWTOMEDICATE Support me on Patreon: / howtomedicate
