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What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a
mental illness. Around one person in 100 will experience
schizophrenia (or a similar illness) at some point in their
lives. Schizophrenia and similar illnesses can affect people
from all walks of life. The first symptoms often develop in
early adulthood, but may remain undiagnosed.
How schizophrenia
begins varies from person to person. For some, the illness starts
suddenly: the (usually) young person becomes unwell very
quickly and quite severely. His or her thoughts may become
muddled or he or she may experience hallucinations.
For others, the change is gradual and the person may
show signs of withdrawal or neglecting themselves.
These changes in behaviour can be very difficult to
understand especially when no one has recognised that
the person is ill.
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Signs and symptoms
Although schizophrenia affects
people in different ways, there are recognised signs
and symptoms which people may experience, for example:
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Hallucinations
The person can see, hear, feel, smell or taste something that does not exist, as if it
were real. Hearing voices is the most common hallucination
experienced with schizophrenia.
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Delusions
The person holds false and often unusual beliefs with
unshakeable conviction. For example, someone fears that
he or she is being watched or followed by another who wants
to control him or her or do him or her harm.
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Emotional blunting
The person appears to
show little emotion or if he or she does express
any it may appear out of context, for example crying
at a joke.
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Apathy
The person may become
withdrawn, avoiding the company of friends and
family and staying in his or her room.
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Speech
difficulties
The person may say very little
and rarely initiate a conversation. Or they may
speak in a way which will seem muddled and illogical,
conveying little meaning.
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Thought disorders and strange behaviour
The person may think or act in a way that cannot
easily be understood. He or she may become
uncharacteristically hostile to members of
the family.
Not everyone will experience all of these symptoms.
It can be difficult to recognise these as symptoms of an
illness and it is easy to perceive the person as disinterested
in life. It is important to remember that this behaviour is not
deliberate or caused by anything that you or the person you
care about have done.
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What causes Schizophrenia?
No one really knows the causes of
schizophrenia, but a combination of certain factors have been
shown to affect the risk of developing it. These include:
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Hereditary factors
Hereditary factors alone do not
determine that a person will go on to develop schizophrenia.
The lifetime risk for schizophrenia in the general population
is one in every 100 individuals. However, the risk for children,
sisters and brothers of someone already diagnosed with schizophrenia
is approximately 1 in 10 - about ten times higher than in the general
population.
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Drug misuse
Cannabis and drugs with hallucinogenic
properties, like LSD and amphetamine or speed, have been shown to bring on schizophrenia in a small
number of their users.
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Stress
Stress arising from sudden
events like a bereavement or leaving
home often occurs shortly
before an episode of schizophrenia. Though it is not technically
a cause, it does appear to bring the illness on. Long-term stress
may also exacerbate symptoms of schizophrenia.
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Do people recover from Schizophrenia?
After a first
episode of schizophrenia, approximately 25% recover within five
years, 50% will have fluctuating problems over decades and may
experience further episodes of the illness in their lives, 15%
will have severe persistent problems and a further 10% will be
permanently incapacitated.
At present there is no known cure
for schizophrenia. However, early treatment has been shown to
improve recovery rates.
Research into the causes of and appropriate
treatments for schizophrenia continues to develop our
understanding of this illness and improve the quality of
life for service users. Treatment for schizophrenia is
discussed in FACT SHEET 4.
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