Describe all of your symptoms of Schizophrenia and how did you overcome it.

Like many mental illnesses, the diagnosis of schizophrenia is based upon the behavior of the person being assessed. There is a list of criteria that must be met for someone to be so diagnosed. these depend on both the presence and duration of certain signs and symptoms.

The most commonly used criteria for diagnosing schizophrenia are from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). The most recent versions are ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR.

Below is an abbreviated version of the diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV-TR; the full version is available here.

To be diagnosed as having schizophrenia, a person must display:

* A) Characteristic symptoms: two or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period (or less, if successfully treated)
o delusions
o hallucinations
o disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence; speaking in abstracts). see thought disorder.
o grossly disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behavior
o negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening (lack or decline in emotional response), alogia (lack or decline in speech), or avolition (lack or decline in motivation).

Note: Only one Criterion a symptom is required if hallucinations consist of hearing one voice participating in a running commentary of the patient's actions or of hearing two or more voices conversing with each other.

* B) Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work or interpersonal relations are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset.

* C) Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months. this six-month period must include at least one month of symptoms that meet Criterion a.

Additional criteria (D, E and F) are also given that exclude a diagnosis of schizophrenia if symptoms of mood disorder or pervasive developmental disorder are present. Additionally a diagnosis of schizophrenia is excluded if the symptoms are the direct result of a substance (e.g., abuse of a drug, medication) or a general medical condition.

Treatment

edication and hospitalization

The first line pharmacological therapy for schizophrenia is usually the use of antipsychotic medication 72. The concept of 'curing' schizophrenia is controversial as there are no clear criteria for what might constitute a cure, although some criteria for the remission of symptoms have recently been suggested63. therefore, antipsychotic drugs are only thought to provide symptomatic relief from the positive symptoms of psychosis. The newer atypical antipsychotic medications (such as clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone and aripiprazole) are usually preferred over older typical antipsychotic medications (such as chlorpromazine and haloperidol) due to their favorable side-effect profile. Compared to the typical antipsychotics, the atypicals are associated with a lower incident rate of extra pyramidal side-effects (EPS) and tardive dyskinesia (TD) although they are more likely to induce weight gain and so increase risk for obesity-related diseases62. it is still unclear whether newer drugs reduce the chances of developing the rare but potentially life-threatening neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). While the atypical antipsychotics are associated with less EPS and TD than the conventional antipsychotics, some of the agents in this class (especially olanzapine and clozapine) appear to be associated with metabolic side effects such as weight gain, hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia that must be considered when choosing appropriate pharmacotherapy.

Atypical and typical antipsychotics are generally thought to be equivalent for the treatment of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. it has been suggested by some researchers that the atypicals have some beneficial effects on negative symptoms and cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia, although the clinical significance of these effects has yet to be established. However, recent reviews have suggested that typical antipsychotics, when dosed conservatively, may have similar effects to atypicals.36 The atypical antipsychotics are much more costly as they are still within patent, whereas the older drugs are available in inexpensive generic forms. Aripiprazole is a drug from a new class of antipsychotic drugs (variously named 'dopamine system stabilizers' or 'partial dopamine agonists'37) that recently been developed and is now widely licensed to treat schizophrenia.

The efficacy of schizophrenia treatment is often assessed by using standardized assessment methods, one of the most common being the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS).68

Hospitalization may occur with severe episodes. this can be voluntary or (if mental health legislation allows it) involuntary (called civil or involuntary commitment). Mental health legislation may also allow people to be treated against their will. However, in many countries such legislation does not exist, or does not have the power to enforce involuntary hospitalization or treatment.
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Therapy and community support

Psychotherapy or other forms of talk therapy may be offered, with cognitive behavioral therapy being the most frequently used. this may focus on the direct reduction of the symptoms, or on related aspects, such as issues of self-esteem, social functioning, and insight. Although the results of early trials with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were inconclusive38, more recent reviews suggest that CBT can be an effective treatment for the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia39.

A relatively new approach has been the use of cognitive remediation therapy, a technique aimed at remediating the neurocognitive deficits sometimes present in schizophrenia. Based on techniques of neuropsychological rehabilitation, early evidence has shown it to be cognitively effective, with some improvements related to measurable changes in brain activation as measured by fMRI.40

Electroconvulsive therapy (also known as ECT or 'electroshock therapy') may be used in countries where it is legal. it is not considered a first line treatment but may be prescribed in cases where other treatments have failed. Psychosurgery has now become a rare procedure and is not a recommended treatment for schizophrenia.

Other support services may also be available, such as drop-in centers, visits from members of a 'community mental health team', and patient-led support groups. in recent years the importance of service-user led recovery based movements has grown substantially throughout Europe and America. Groups such as the Hearing Voices Network and more recently, the Paranoia Network, have developed a self-help approach that aims to provide support and assistance outside of the traditional medical model adopted by mainstream psychiatry. by avoiding framing personal experience in terms of criteria for mental illness or mental health, they aim to destigmatize the experience and encourage individual responsibility and a positive self-image.

In many non-Western societies, schizophrenia may be treated with more informal, community-led methods. a particularly sobering thought for Western psychiatry is that the outcome for people diagnosed with schizophrenia in non-Western countries may actually be much better41 than for people in the West. The reasons for this recently discovered fact are still far from clear, although cross-cultural studies are being conducted to find out why.
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Dietary supplements

Omega-3 fatty acids (found naturally in foods such as oily fish, flax seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts and canola oil) have recently been studied as a treatment for schizophrenia. Although the number of research trials has been limited, the majority of randomized controlled trials have found omega-3 supplements to be effective when used as a dietary supplement.

Schizophrenia is something that's rarely overcome, but it depends on how severe it is. it could also be linked to anxiety, which I have. Schizophrenia at its worst can make you belive you are jesus Christ, or like me, satan. it can make you think people are watching you all the time, or maybe that life is just a game and we are all playing it because the gods were bored. Maybe life is just a blink of an eyes time for life after death. Maybe gravity will end and we'll all fall of the face of the earth. Maybe the core of the earth will be crushed under intense pressure from all the enironmental waste and pollution and we will all go under. Maybe Sadam husain is in your basement. Maybe your mom is a heroin addict. Maybe your in a comma. . . . get it . You can control it by smoking marijuana and sleeping. good luck.

Here are some sources that can help. The sooner one is diagnosed, the better, that person will be. There is a better way. some vitamin deficiencies can make a person appear to be schizophrenic when they are not. The first site listed has an online test. Vitamin therapy is recommended. I have the list. You can contact me and I will give it to you.