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Hello! As promised, this is a thread on one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented mental health conditions: schizophrenia.
This seems to be the condition that people often associate with the term “baliw” and “may sayad”. If you remember Sisa from Noli Me Tangere, she makes a simplistic representation of what schizophrenia is (simplistic as we only know that she went crazy after Crispin’s death).
Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder, which means they exp psychosis. Psychosis is a syndrome (for non-healthcare folk, a syndrome is a collection of symptoms). To put it simply, psychosis is the loss of reality contact; the person cannot distinguish what‘s real and what isn’t.
Psychosis has two types of symptoms: positive and negative. Positive symptoms are abnormal behaviors that manifest; negative symptoms are the lack of normal behaviors.
Let’s discuss the positive symptoms first: hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech and behavior.
Let’s discuss the positive symptoms first: hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized speech and behavior.
Hallucinations are external; these are “stimuli” that only the person with schizophrenia can sense despite the absence of it. The most common form is auditory (they hear voices). Visual, tactile, and gustatory hallucinations are also reported by some patients.
Delusions are internal; these are erroneous beliefs that the individual desperately holds on to, and they insist these beliefs to be true. There are different types of delusions, persecutory and grandiose delusions as the most common ones.
Disorganized speech/behavior:
• Flight of ideas: they talk fast abt many diff things
• Word salad: they talk but the ideas don’t make sense
• Echolalia: repeating what is said to them
• Waxy flexibility: the ability to maintain a certain position for a long period of time
• Flight of ideas: they talk fast abt many diff things
• Word salad: they talk but the ideas don’t make sense
• Echolalia: repeating what is said to them
• Waxy flexibility: the ability to maintain a certain position for a long period of time
On the other hand, negative symptoms are the absence of normal behaviors. People with schizophrenia often have flat affect, which is the lack of emotion seen in their faces. They also experience alogia (very little speech) and avolition (inability to do goal-oriented tasks).
What causes schizophrenia? Well, it’s a mix of genetics and environment. The diathesis-stress model explains how schizophrenia occurs. Some of us are born with a higher predisposition, but if raised in a healthy environment, the likelihood of developing the illness is decreased.
How do we treat people with schizophrenia? Well for starters, we don’t shoot them.
The answer is medication, and there are two types: 1st generation (typical) and 2nd generation (atypical). Not gonna dive into specifics here as I‘m not qualified to thoroughly discuss this.
The answer is medication, and there are two types: 1st generation (typical) and 2nd generation (atypical). Not gonna dive into specifics here as I‘m not qualified to thoroughly discuss this.
Are people with schizophrenia really violent? No. In fact, they’re more likely to be victims of violence due to the stigma of their illness. They only ever become violent when their symptoms are left untreated, but majority of patients with schizophrenia are harmless.
In conclusion, people with schizophrenia are not hopeless cases. This is one of the most studied conditions, although one of the most misunderstood due to the lack of mental health education. I hope this sheds light on anyone confused about this topic.
#JusticeForWinstonRagos
#JusticeForWinstonRagos
