Living with schizophrenia can be difficult, but it is not impossible. Schizophrenia, known for its mix of disorganized thinking, delusions, and hallucinations, is a mental illness that affects how a person thinks, behaves, and feels. Hallucinations from schizophrenia can be auditory or visual and can often cause a person to become detached from reality when their delusion beliefs aren’t based or grounded in true things. Daily living can be very hard because of this loss of touch with reality.
The hardest part about seeking treatment for schizophrenia is that most people who have it don’t know that they do. So even if it is mentioned to them that they may or do have it, they are highly likely not to believe that they do. Lifelong treatment of schizophrenia through individual psychotherapy, medicine, and tools to manage daily life can help to make living with the illness easier. That’s why it’s important to find effective mental health treatment in Orange County like what we offer at Moment of Clarity.
Mental Health Treatment That Works
What Is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is categorized by delusions and hallucinations that may often lead to disorganized thinking and a detachment from reality. This is a prime root cause for what makes living with schizophrenia difficult. Responsible for causing a range of problems in how people think, behave, and feel, schizophrenia is often identifiable by symptoms such as:
- Delusions: A belief in things that aren’t true or based in reality. This could be an exaggerated sense of one’s talent or ability ( a sense that they’re famous), it could be seeing individuals harassing them when no one is, or it could have a feeling that a major disaster is approaching when one isn’t.
- Hallucinations: Auditory and visual hallucinations are common, as people with schizophrenia often see and hear things that aren’t there for others to see or hear in reality. To people with this condition who can’t tell the difference, these things appear to be real. Although hallucinations can occur with any of the various senses that one has, they most often occur with the auditory function and the sense known as hearing. Hearing voices is the most common hallucination for those with schizophrenia.
- Disorganized thinking and speech: Talking with other people can be difficult for someone with schizophrenia because there may be a misalignment in communication. For example, when someone asks them a question, the answer they reply with may have nothing to do with the question they were asked. A phenomenon known as “word salad,” a stringing together unrelated words, is also common.
- Disorganized or unusual motor behavior that can be extreme: Often showing agitation for no reason or child-like behavior, people with schizophrenia may often engage in atypical social behavior, moving through a room or sitting with no movement at all.
- Symptoms that impact negatively: Those with schizophrenia may exhibit a variety of symptoms that negatively impact their ability to function in society. Some of these more negative symptoms can be a lack of eye contact, lapses in bathing, or a detachment from the ability to feel pleasure. Being organized, following directions, or planning can also be difficult.
Schizophrenia symptoms have been known to vary and can sometimes be worse or better.
Managing Symptoms Effectively
Lifelong psychosocial therapy can be effective in managing the symptoms present in schizophrenia. Living with schizophrenia, because it can often interfere with one’s social life or friend and family support systems, is especially disruptive to one’s daily health. Frequently isolated, people with this condition benefit from the support structure psychosocial talk therapy brings, as well as its ability to reintroduce friends and family, as well as social circles, back into their lives. Medicines also have their part to play.
The most prescribed form of drugs for people with schizophrenia is antipsychotic medications that affect a neurotransmitter in the brain called dopamine. Using the lowest possible dose, psychotherapists use medications to manage or lower the prevalence of exhibited symptoms. First-generation and second-generation medications can be used but are often monitored because of their prevalence of side effects. Since many people with schizophrenia don’t want the side effects that come with first-generation medications, psychotherapists usually opt to use second-generation medication where side effects such as tardive dyskinesia (involuntary and repetitive bodily movements) can be monitored. The subscription of medication doses is altered if need be.
Some examples of first-generation antipsychotics are:
- Haloperidol (Haldol).
- Chlorpromazine.
- Perphenazine (Trilafon).
Some examples of second-generation antipsychotics are:
- Risperidone (Risperdal).
- Iloperidone (Fanapt).
- Asenapine (Saphris).
For those who object to pills, injectable antipsychotics through shots are also a possibility. Some examples of injectable antipsychotics are:
- Fluphenazine decanoate.
- Aripiprazole (Aristada, Abilify Maintena, and Abilify Asimtufii).
- Paliperidone (Invega Hafyera, Invega Sustenna, and Invega Trinza).
Building a Support System
Although people with schizophrenia can find progress with medications and injections of antipsychotic drugs, the most important aspect of improving their daily lives comes in the form of social assistance. Once their symptoms are manageable, psychotherapists will switch their attention to the social aspect of their illness to more impactfully assist those living with schizophrenia in the social domain. Some of these forms of therapy are:
- Social skills training: This focuses on improving the patient’s communication and social skills to help them take advantage of social interactions and daily activities and establish a more interconnected and normal social life with friends and family.
- Family therapy: The focus here is placed on the family and friends of the person learning how to deal with and help support and be supported when interacting with someone living with schizophrenia.
The importance of family and friends cannot be understated for the person with schizophrenia to achieve a normal social life devoid of complete isolation
Coping with Social Challenges
Since many people with schizophrenia need assistance to support their daily lives because of their challenges with social circles, many communities have programs geared toward assisting them. A case manager can often help those living with schizophrenia with securing housing, managing crises, job outlook, and getting them into social groups for self-help.
Enhancing Cognitive Function
Cognitive function for people with schizophrenia can be improved through CBT, also known as cognitive-behavioral therapy or talk therapy. It involves a licensed mental health professional assisting you with the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that are associated with schizophrenia, as well as interpersonal skills, positive thought patterns, and social behaviors to build circles of friend groups and family for support.
A psychotherapist will often use CBT to manage auditory hallucinations and sounds (introducing physical activities and daily music as coping mechanisms), improve conversational skills through practice, and address avoidance behaviors. Often, when medications are unsuccessful (for those living with schizophrenia) in addressing safety-seeking behaviors, audio and visual hallucinations, anti-social tendencies, or self-defeating practices, it is CBT that can be helpful for someone with schizophrenia to recognize and challenge negative patterns of symptoms.
Mental Health Treatment That Works
Promoting Physical Health
Osteoporosis (a weakening of one’s bones), which can be a difficult condition for those who take antipsychotics to handle, can be improved with physical activity and exercise. Not only that, but regular exercise can even help you with trends of anti-social behavior by making you more socially engaging, and also with auditory hallucinations because when a person with schizophrenia is exercising, they are more likely to be distracted from their hallucinations.
For those living with schizophrenia, regular sleep decreases stress and crises, and a healthy diet and exercise help to balance moods. It makes one more apt to avoid isolation in favor of social interactions. These healthy patterns also help to alleviate some of the side effects of antipsychotic drugs, such as a sedentary lifestyle and weight gain that can lead to heart issues, diabetes, and other obesity issues at a younger age.
Preparing for Crisis Situations
Knowing the warning signs of a flare-up or upcoming hallucinatory episode will help not only manage the symptoms but also prepare so that when a crisis arises, it can be handled. Some of the warning signs are:
- No interest in friends or usual activities.
- A shortened temper.
- Trouble sleeping and a lack of focus.
- Anxiety, depression, or paranoia that others or no one can be trusted.
- Odd thoughts or an onset of auditory and visual hallucinations.
For those living with schizophrenia, knowing that they have tools in their toolbox to utilize when a crisis arises helps in that they don’t have to fear it and then learn how to manage it—for example, distracting yourself with a good book, a tv show, or an activity like riding a bike or getting a reality check from a friend who wants real or not, and sometimes even decompressing in a quiet environmental space.
How Moment of Clarity Can Help People Living with Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia may not get better on its own. For those living with schizophrenia, this can appear daunting, but there is hope. Professional assistance can help. This means proper schizophrenia treatment is crucial to reduce the impact of the symptoms and avoid co-occurring disorders like depression. If you or a loved one has schizophrenia, take urgent measures to seek medication. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
At Moment of Clarity’s mental health center, we have trained professionals who can support your outpatient mental health treatment in California. We take a comprehensive approach to therapy and develop treatment plans that address your specific needs. Our team of mental health professionals is ready to help you reach better health and wellness. Call 949-625-0564 today to learn more about how we can help.
