It is with some concern that I read in "A word with the doctor" by Dr John Winsor (The Sunday Times, March 31) that people suffering from schizophrenia are being labelled "schizophrenics".
There are people who suffer from schizophrenia in the same way that others suffer from cancer, heart problems and other illnesses. The emphasis is on the person, not the illness.
Our society needs to be educated on issues of mental illness and mental health, as it is the lack of information that increases the stigma attached to mental illness. Therefore, further to Dr Winsor`s information, I would like to add the following.
Schizophrenia is a type of psychotic illness. The term psychosis refers to any illness that distorts the normal pattern of thought so that a person has ideas or experiences not shared by other people around him.
Recognising schizophrenia is not always easy, as often there are no outward physical signs. The symptoms may take a while to show and some people experiencing the illness may not want to talk about what they are going through.
There is no single main cause. It is now believed that it is caused by certain problems in brain functioning. There is evidence that genes may play a role in some cases. Those with a relative with schizophrenia are more likely to develop the illness but this is not always true.
People with schizophrenia can be affected in different ways. No two people will experience exactly the same symptoms. However, symptoms normally cause an individual`s perception of the world around them to alter. This affects their thinking, behaviour and feelings.
The most common symptoms are: false beliefs, thinking that people are conspiring against you when they are not or believing that you are someone else, such as a famous person, hearing voices that no one else can hear, seeing, tasting, smelling or feeling things that are not there, believing that people, events or objects control your thoughts or actions in a way that cannot be explained, confused thinking, loss of feeling and emotions such as showing less affection to family and friends.
Schizophrenia is not about split personalities. This refers to a very rare condition called multiple personality disorder.
Schizophrenia is the most common form of severe mental illness. It begins in the late teens or early twenties. One in every 100 people will probably experience schizophrenia before the age of 45. Some people have one attack and move on to recover and lead full and active lives. Others have repeated attacks with well periods in between and some require continuing care.
The main treatment is medication. Drugs can generally control the symptoms of schizophrenia but they cannot cure it. Advances in medical research are resulting in better treatment and management with fewer side effects from medication.
As at times schizophrenia can be potentially very disabling rehabilitation may be beneficial. In fact the combination of medication and rehabilitation has been found to provide the best possible treatment for persons with schizophrenia.