New Hope for People with Schizophrenia
People with schizophrenia have a long road to recovery. The problem doesn't just end with delusions and hallucinations. Once medication is prescribed, patients encounter a whole new set of problems. How can they find a job while on anti-psychotic drugs? How will they know if they've been cured or if the serious mental illness is simply lying dormant? Where can they get cheap housing or handle the social phobias associated with riding public transit? These questions need to be answered to help them lead successful lives. Decades of schizophrenia research suggest that behavior therapy may be the key.
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A major problem with the treatment of schizophrenia is that it focuses solely on medication to attack the positive symptoms - which include aural and visual hallucinations, disordered thinking and outright delusions. While medication is essential, many schizophrenia patients have trouble staying on their medication. They may dislike the side effects of the anti-psychotic drugs or they may feel like they've been "cured" if the symptoms haven't reappeared in awhile. Yet it is a severe mental illness that most people have for their entire lives that may lie dormant and resurface suddenly and without warning. Therefore, behavior therapy and support are crucial to one's recovery.
The best treatment of schizophrenia addresses the disorder's negative symptoms too. "Negative symptoms" pertains to things that people are lacking. For instance, many schizophrenics have what is called "agoraphobia," meaning a fear of people and social situations. They lack the ability to talk easily with others or the understanding of how to act. They may also lack emotional responsiveness, making it difficult to show love or receive love from others, hindering romantic relationships. They also lack motivation and suffer depression.
Medication became widespread in the 1950s and 1960s when "de-institutionalization" was the focus and many patients were pushed out of treatment centers back into the real world. Doctors believed medication would be enough to allow people to live a healthy life outside the psychiatric center's doors. Patricia Deegan is an ex-patient diagnosed with schizophrenia who now trains other psychologists at the National Empowerment Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
"There is no one out there teaching patients how to cope with stressing voices or how to avoid or get out of the delusional vortexes of thought that you slide into," she comments. "I think psychologists are a decade behind." She argues that many people with schizophrenia lack the social skills required to get a competitive job and therefore lapse into depression and anxiety.
Currently, people with schizophrenia cost the government and tax payers $30 to $65 billion per year, according to the National Institute of Health. Private insurance companies refuse to add social services, counseling and behavior therapy to their plans, therefore leaving the financial burden of recovery on the patients themselves. Despite this hurdle, research continually suggests that the best schizophrenia treatment includes job counseling, education, problem-solving and money management skills, use of public transportation, and social skills training.
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Today's Tip On Schizophrenia
Behavior therapy and clinical psychiatry are important aspects of schizophrenia treatment too. By not only taking drugs, but by understanding the obstacles that lie ahead, many people can go on to live successful lives. Many tactics can be used by psychiatrists from: music therapy, dog therapy and facial recognition software -- to cognitive behavior therapy, a healthy diet and electro convulsive therapy.
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