Are you willing to know about Schizophrenia: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal? Looking for the best psychiatrist in Nepal for the treatment of schizophrenia? Read the article and consult with our expert psychiatrist.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is one of the severe form of mental illness characterized by the features of abnormality in the way the person think, feel and behave. Some sort of touch to reality is lost in the patient with schizophrenia. Also, there is interference with day to day activities and it is troubling for patient, family and caretakers. Long term treatment with medicine and some sort of therapy is needed for managing day to day activities for patient with schizophrenia.
Causes of schizophrenia
Bio-psycho-social model has been well studied for the causation of psychiatric illness. Mainly genetic and environmental factors are the major one that plays role in the cause of schizophrenia. There may be more than one cause for the particular patient to have schizophrenia. In some cases exact cause for schizophrenia is not identified.
Symptoms of schizophrenia
In active phase of illness, the person is unable to differentiate between real and unreal things. The patient may hear the sounds that are not heard by normal person or patient may have false belief. The symptoms are increased in severity and frequency if it is not treated in time and more the relapse of disease more severe is the symptoms.
The symptoms of schizophrenia are generally divided to following types:
a. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia
These are the symptoms that are present abnormally.
- Hallucinations: They are false perceptions like: hearing the voices and sounds that are not present in real or seeing the images that are not seen by others
- Delusion: It is false belief that patient carries like as if someone is talking about him/her or someone is trying to kill the patient, belie by the patient that there is extraordinary power with him/her though it is not in real
b. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia
These are the symptoms that are abnormally absent
- Lack of emotional expression
- Decreased speech
- Not interacting with other people
- Lack of drive or initiation
- Decreased interest in pleasurable activities
c. Disorganized symptoms of schizophrenia
It includes the odd or eccentric behaviors that are abnormal or bizarre. The thinking and speech is also not organized or it does not make sense in real.
d. Cognitive decline in schizophrenia
Problem in attention, memory, concentration and social as well as academic performance
e. Lack of insight in schizophrenia
It is one of the main problems of patient with schizophrenia. The patient does not admit that he or she has any problem and thinks that there is no illness. Due to the reason, patient has to be forcefully brought to treatment. They frequently quit the medicine thinking that they do not require taking medicine. So there is frequent re-occurrence of symptoms. Poor family support further worsens the illness as they themselves also do not take medicine and if there is no one to supervise them, the illness further increases.
Treatment of schizophrenia
Treatment of schizophrenia includes following two methods
a. Medicines
It is the mainstay of treatment. Antipsychotics are the medicine of choice for the treatment of schizophrenia. It includes medicines like: olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, amisulpride, clozapine etc.
Medicine has to be taken at least for one year for the first episode of illness and if there multiple episodes, medicine has to be taken for long term or may be even lifelong.
b. Psychotherapy and counseling
It is not useful in active phase of illness. But when the illness is gradually subsiding, it has role. Patient has to be told about the illness and need to take the medicine as prescribed by psychiatrist. Also patient has to be taught life skills and cognitive skills as it gradually declines over the course of illness.
c. Rehabilitation for schizophrenia
Rehabilitation is the important part in schizophrenia where patient is taught about the life skills and ways to behave with other, how to act in social situations, greeting and to perform the activity of daily living. Rehabilitation of patient for certain period of time would help patient to function well in community.
Treatment of schizophrenia in Kathmandu, Nepal
If your family, relative, close ones are suffering from schizophrenia or you yourself have thoughts if you are suffering from schizophrenia, we can come to our clinic by booking an appointment and have it checked. Timely treatment is necessary in case of schizophrenia for to letting the disease worsen further.
Book the appointment with us and consult psychiatrist for the best treatment of schizophrenia in Kathmandu, Nepa