Schizophrenia in Relationships (Reaction Post)
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In the last post, we saw how:
- Among the subtypes of schizophrenia are Orenoid and Paraphrenia. The paraphrenia type can hardly be described.
- There are so many conflicting ideas on the use of cannabis and how it affects psychosis and schizophrenia
- Extrapyramidal symptoms are common when using antipsychotics
Link between schizophrenia and cannabis use
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Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for three consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to Schizophrenia. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We just finished with Bipolar affective disorder. We are done looking at research work done in Nigeria on schizophrenia.
In this post, we are looking at a Quora. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.
This is when a patient who is having anxiety disorders starts to have clinical features like difficulty thinking and psychosis. There is a distinct feature of disorder sexual habits, they express anxiety about everything and fear similarly. The anxiety does not go away after some time unlike the anxiety seen in anxiety disorder.
In this disorder, there is a gradual loss of goal-driven behaviour and the patient becomes less ambitious. There are hardly psychotic disorders in these patients but they have social withdrawal and can not function normally at work.
The patient may be mistaken for a person who has a phobia or some personality traits but to progress with treatment the patient should meet the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia in Relationships
Michael Bevel is the adult child of a mother with schizophrenia
He explains that schizophrenia is a very depressing condition for a loved one to have. He explains that the most important thing is to be with your loved ones while they take their drugs. If you do, he says it is possible to make things work.
When they are left on their own the patient can not be predicted and the episodes of psychosis can come up at any time the patient could give warning signs that will let you know that they are about to have an episode.
He explains some abnormal things his mother would do when he was about to have episodes like asking him to marry her. She would use the word salads, for example, use words that on their own have meaning but when they are put together they don’t mean anything.
He explains that each feature she shows comes with a different character and each is unique but they all seem to have the paranoid type of schizophrenia.
Dis does not mean that you’ll become a psychiatrist but you can try to ask questions to the professional, read articles on the topic, and get rid of the myths that you believe may be true but are likely not the case. You can also educate yourself from your loved one by listening to what they have to say and not being dismissive of the information they are giving. When they open up to you this way you need to be attentive and be distracted by different things like phones and the like.
It is important that you know when they are ready to talk about a certain thing and pay attention to those times. It should not be a problem if there are certain topics they are not ready to go into as soon as you are.
It is important that you keep in mind what is best for them at that time. Sometimes this is going to be against their will. This does not mean that you are trying to start a fighting battle about it. The patient will have symptoms of delusion and hallucinations, these are not necessarily about you and this should not be taken personally. The best thing you can do is to make attempts to help your loved one.
Sometimes the experiences that your loved one might have might cause them genuine distress and the best thing you can do is to assure them that you are with them through it all.
Taking care of a loved one with schizophrenia can be very exhausting and you can end up running out of energy if you are not careful. It is important that you keep up with the regular activities that you do daily. You can ask for help from other family members so that you can maintain a healthy life for yourself. This will help you be a better loved one to the person and will not build resentment towards them.
While taking care of yourself you should keep close contact with people who want the best for you like friends and family. It is very important that you start to see life with other people so you can recharge and be a better loved one.
The patient may find it difficult to take their drugs and unless they are your child you are not supposed to take full responsibility for their treatment. Reminding them of their hospital appointment, giving them feedback and when they need help is very important.
No matter how much you want to help with everything, it is more important to encourage them to be faithful with their treatment than to take charge of the whole process.
It is also important that you are watchful especially if they show suicidal thoughts and ideas. At this point, you need to take action o their behalf. They may need hospital admission so they are observed under the care of a psychiatrist.
Treatment
Tardive Dyskinesia is a side effect of antipsychotic use. These are one of the main drugs used to treat schizophrenia. When a patient has Adversative Dyskinesia, the patient becomes stiff, and the body goes out of control. Some jerks happen on the face. The movements are abnormal and could have features like raising the arms when the patient doesn't feel like it or bringing out the tongue abnormally,
Not everyone who takes an antipsychotic drug will get it. But if it happens, it’s sometimes permanent. So if you have movements you can't control, let your doctor know right away. To ease your symptoms, your doctor may:
This not see in every patient using antipsychotics but when it does happen, the doctor may be required to reduce the treatment or might prescribe medication to help reduce this symptom or place the patient on another drug entirely.
Questions
- What did you learn about Schizophrenia?
Conclusion
- Pseudoneurotic Schizophrenia and Simple detorieative disorder are two forms of schizophrenia that are not added to the common forms of this condition.
- If you are in a relationship with someone with schizophrenia, you can be of use to make the person better
- Tardive Dyskinesia presents with abnormal movements.
References
- Kaplan-Sadocks-Comprehensive-Textbook-Psychiatry
- Page demarcations made with Inkscape.org
- Healthline
- WebMD
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