Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which is described as a collapse of thought process and poor emotional responsiveness. Schizophrenia contains five subtypes: paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, residual, post-schizophrenic, and simple schizophrenia. Some scholars distinguish even more sub-classifications of this illness (Bertelsen, 89).
Paranoid schizophrenia is one of the most widespread schizophrenia types all over the world. It reveals with a roughly stable and oftentimes paranoid visions, usually as an adjunct to hallucinations, mostly of the acoustic diversity, and disturbances of perceptual character. Affect disturbances, will power, and speech, or catatonic symptoms, are not full-bodied. People who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia have extravagant delusions. They may believe, for example, that others are intentionally swindling, bothering, envenoming and shadowing them.
Delusions and hallucinations are the key symptoms which make paranoid schizophrenia most divergent from other types of this kind of mental disorder. A delusion is a confidence detained with powerful belief, despite superior proof to the opposite. The most common delusion for paranoid schizophrenia is the sensation of being singled out for harm. On the contrary, a patient may believe that the administration is supervising every move he makes, or that a colleague is poisoning this patient’s food. There are also delusions of splendor, beliefs in being able to fly, or assurance to be famous and have relations with a famous person. There is a steady holding up to these false thoughts, despite proofs on the contrary. Delusions can be the result in belligerence or aggression if it is a strict belief in need to act in self-defense against anybody with harmful intentions (Bertelsen, 91).
Hallucination is a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind. It is usually caused by physical or mental disorders. Auditory hallucinations are more common for paranoid schizophrenia than visual ones. Auditory hallucination is the perception of sound nobody else could hear. In most cases patient hears voices. These voices are usually repulsive and even terrifying. There could be critics in these voices and even orders to some actions. There are a lot of incidents, especially in books or films, when hearing of these voices led to suicidal consequences. To those, having paranoid schizophrenia, the voices seem real and they talk or shout to them.
Such symptoms as anxiety, anger, detachment, aggression, violence, quarrels, condescension, and suicidal thoughts also could be rendered to the features of schizophrenia, not only to paranoid one. That is why, when some of these symptoms occur, it is better to consult a doctor. Unfortunately, paranoid schizophrenia does not get better on its own and may even worsen. However, most people with paranoid schizophrenia do not consider themselves as those who need help and treatment. This mental disorder is a chronic condition and it needs lifelong treatment. For the most part, the ways, any kind of schizophrenia is treated, are similar, but each person needs individual approach. It depends on any patient’s particular situation and the severity of symptoms.
The treatment of paranoid schizophrenia is usually conducted by a skilled psychiatrist. Surely, this psychiatrist is not the only one who can help, because being schizophrenic can affect a lot of areas in patient’s life. As for medical intervention in its whole meaning, the first line treatment is antipsychotic medication, which is aimed to reduce the positive symptoms in one or two weeks. Long term usage of such medications can decrease the chances to relapse. Surely, there are people who refuse, forget, or just do not want to take medications regularly. In such cases, it is better to use long-acting depot preparations of antipsychotics. Every day medicine makes a step up, but it is still unclear whether newer medications are better than time-tested ones. However, any, even the best medication, cannot fight this illness by itself. Psychological interventions, such as family therapy assertive community treatment, supported employment, cognitive remediation, skills training, etc may be useful (Pharoah, Mari, Rathborne & Wong, 12). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be really the best treatment for most cases of paranoid schizophrenia. It is a procedure in which electric currents are passed through one’s brain to trigger a brief seizure. However, the decision whether to take this therapy or not is extremely important and it is needed to understand both advantages and disadvantages.
Some celebrities were diagnosed with schizophrenia, but managed to cope with it. Peter Green, Lionel Aldridge, Jim Gordon, Brian Wilson, and some others were diagnosed to have this mental disorder. Unfortunately, schizophrenia does not choose who you are. There is a family in thirty miles from Los-Angeles, in a community in the Santa Clarity Valley. They fight every day for their schizophrenic daughter. One day the girl came to mother and said, “Mommy, I can’t tell the real world from my imaginary world” (Stohler, 2012). Nowadays this girl attends school, thanks to the unique program. While she was in the hospital, Jani met another girl, Rebecca, with the same diagnosis. Since that time two families are fighting together to help their children not to feel unequal in the society.
Surely, if they are untreated, people with paranoid schizophrenia will not live long. On the other hand, everyday care, patience, and understanding can make their life full-fledged; illness will be just a “unique quality” of this person.
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