What is Schizophrenia and How is it Treated?

You may have heard about schizophrenia, but do you know what that means?

Schizophrenia is a long-term and serious mental health issue. It impacts a person’s thoughts, feelings and actions.

Warning signs often set between the ages of 16 and 30. See below for common signs and what they look like. 

“Losing touch” with reality 

• Sudden and restless body movements
• Believing things that are not real, like thinking you are being followed
• Hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling or even tasting things that are not real

Changes to normal feelings and actions

• Reduced speaking
• Less expression of feelings
• Feeling no joy in everyday life
• Trouble starting and continuing activities

Changes in memory and thinking

• Trouble making decisions
• Trouble focusing or paying attention
• Trouble using what is learned right after learning it

What are some causes?

There isn’t one cause. It may involve genetic makeup and changes in the brain between birth and puberty. These things play a role:

• Environmental causes, like viruses, poor nutrition before birth and problems during birth.
• Family history. Research shows genes play a part. But there is no one gene that causes the health issue by itself.
• Chemical imbalance in the brain. This may be passed genetically or from environmental causes.

How can I help someone?

Caring for and supporting a loved one with schizophrenia can be hard. It can be tough to know how to react to someone whose symptoms you may not fully grasp.

Help them see a mental health provider who may suggest one or more of these:

• Medication
• Psychosocial treatments
• Coordinated Specialty Care. This involves medication, treatment and case management, with family, education and work support. For more help, go to NIMH Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode  (RAISE).

Remember:

• Their thoughts or hallucinations seem very real to them.
• To be respectful, supportive and kind. But do not stand for unsafe or inappropriate actions.
• There are support groups for caregivers.
• This is a chemical imbalance that someone has no control over.

Do you have any further questions? If so, reach out to us at BHQualityImprovement@bcbsnm.com about schizophrenia or any other mental health conditions? 

Reference: National Institute of Mental Health  

Originally published July 31, 2018; Revised 2020