Living with Schizophrenia

For severe cases of schizophrenia, it may mean a lifetime on anti-psychotic drugs like Clozapine, Zyprexa, Olanzapine or Perphenazine. These drugs can help schizophrenia patients overcome debilitating delusions, auditory and visual hallucinations, paranoia and anxiety. An anti-depressant, like Lithium, has also been effective.

While some people may require hospitalization, many schizophrenic patients find living with the illness quite bearable with medication. Take, for example, 27-year-old Charlie Chastain, a schizophrenic who was recently profiled by CNN. He was first diagnosed around age 15 when he began hiding in his room all the time, feeling constant paranoia and anxiety. Charlie has a college degree in psychology and works full-time at a mental health center in Clayton, Georgia. "I really think that if I went off my medication, I would end up in a psychiatric hospital," he relates.

However, the drugs can only help most patients so much. The ultimate goal for anyone suffering from a mental illness is the ability to live independently. Living with this illness is often difficult because listlessness, depression and social isolation block normalcy. Duke University researchers found that only 10% of the 1,500 schizophrenia patients surveyed held a job.

"Families of schizophrenics have known this stuff for years - that medications aren't enough on their own," Ken Duckworth, medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told USA Today. "We know that the counseling and job services are underplayed and underpaid for by insurance... Finally, the scientific community is catching up with the families."

Sometimes just one little tweak can make the difference between living in a sane world and plummeting into a relapse. For Jong, a schizophrenia patient in a Driftwood Media documentary, a helpful tactic is turning on music early in the morning if the voices start to resurface. Other schizophrenia patients find that having chores to do or a daily routine of gardening can be very calming and create a sense of connectedness with the seemingly out of control external world. Many psychologists feel that having a sense of religion, God and a meaningful purpose in life is critical to recovery or simply living with schizophrenia.

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