Psychotic disorder due to another medical condition: Hallucinations, delusions, or other symptoms may happen because of another illness that affects brain function, such as a head injury or brain tumor. Paraphrenia: This condition has symptoms similar to schizophrenia. It starts late in life, when people are elderly.
Complications that schizophrenia may cause or be associated with include:Suicide, suicide attempts and thoughts of suicide.Self-injury.Anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)Depression.Abuse of alcohol or other drugs, including tobacco.Inability to work or attend school.More items...
Symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions usually start between ages 16 and 30. Men tend to experience symptoms a little earlier than women. Most of the time, people do not get schizophrenia after age 45. Schizophrenia rarely occurs in children, but awareness of childhood-onset schizophrenia is increasing.
While there is no known cure for schizophrenia, it is a very treatable disease. Most of those afflicted by schizophrenia respond to drug therapy, and many are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
Residual schizophrenia — delusions or hallucinations may go away, but motivation or interest in life is gone. Schizoaffective disorder — symptoms of both schizophrenia and a major mood disorder, such as depression.
The disease can also affect families. Individuals with schizophrenia usually have difficulty keeping a job and caring for themselves. They must rely on family and friends for help. The disease is often misunderstood, but it is treatable, and in many cases, the individual can go on to lead a productive and normal life.
But it's important to understand that medication is just one component of schizophrenia treatment. Medication is not a cure for schizophrenia and only treats some of the symptoms. Antipsychotic medication reduces psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and disordered thinking.
Schizophrenia and Work: Holding Down a Job. People who are living with schizophrenia and have a fairly good level of functioning will fare better if they are in work than when they are living “on the sick”. ... However there are some human skills that are needed in all jobs where you will be working alongside others.
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. Although schizophrenia is not as common as other mental disorders, the symptoms can be very disabling.