Schizophrenia

  • Schizophrenia
    Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the world population and has a ubiquitous distribution. Schizophrenia  cuts across boundaries of gender, socioeconomic class, race, caste, creed and geographic location. This implies that anybody can be affected by schizophrenia. It is considered as the “greatest disabler of youth” as it most commonly affects persons in the productive period of their life between 15 and 35 years of age. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified schizophrenia as one of the ten most disabling disorders affecting all human beings.
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 18 May 2016

What is Schizophrenia

“A slowly progressive deterioration of the entire personality which involves mainly the affective life and expresses itself in disorders of feeling thought and conduct and a tendency to withdraw from reality”          -  Eugen Bleuler 

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe multi-faceted and complex disorder of the mind, now being increasingly considered a brain disorder. It affects approximately 1% of the world population and has a ubiquitous distribution. It is considered as the “greatest disabler of youth” as it most commonly affects persons in the productive period of their life between15 and 35 years of age. Schizophrenia cuts across boundaries of gender, socioeconomic class, race, caste, creed and geographic location. This implies that anybody can be affected by schizophrenia.

It causes distortion in the thought process and behavior and affects emotions. So, it affects how a person thinks feels and behaves. There is distortion of reality and so the sufferer is unaware of his ailment.

 

Community
SCARF Schizophrenia Exchange
Condition
Schizophrenia
Changed
Sun, 01/24/2021 - 19:30

Stories

  • Stock image of clasped hands of a woman with mental illness in the foreground and a partial woman in the background
    सिज़ोफ्रेनिया के प्रबंधन के लिए पूरे परिवार का समर्थन चाहिए
    वर्षा (अनुरोध पर बदला गया नाम) को पिछले 18 वर्षों से सिज़ोफ्रेनिया है – वे अपना अनुभव को साझा करती हैं, उन्होंने सिज़ोफ्रेनिया को कैसे स्वीकार किया, और सिज़ोफ्रेनिया का उनके जीवन और काम के विकल्पों पर क्या असर पड़ा। मेरे बारे में मुझे लगता है कि 21 साल की उम्र में मुझे सिज़ोफ्रेनिया का पता चलने से पहले मैं बहुत अलग व्यक्ति थी। मैं अपने इंजीनियरिंग कॉलेज में थी और सब ठीक चल रहा था जब अचानक मेरे जीवन में यह समस्या आ गई। और फिर मैं उस 'यह मेरे साथ क्यों?' दौर से गुज़री, क्योंकि मेरे अन्य सभी दोस्त…
  • Stock image of clasped hands of a woman with mental illness in the foreground and a partial woman in the background
    It Takes The Support Of An Entire Family To Wrestle With Schizophrenia
    Varsha (name changed on request) shares her experience of living with Schizophrenia for the last 18 years, how she has come to terms with it and how it has affected life and work choices.  WHO AM I  I feel I was a very different person before I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia at the age of 21. I was in my BTech college and things were fine, when suddenly this medical condition was shoved on me. And then I also went through a ‘Why Me?’ phase, because all my other friends were normal.…
  • Are Sleep Disturbances Indicative of Mental Illness?
    Sleep disorders may make a person more vulnerable to psychiatric illnesses, intensify the severity of the symptoms points out Dr Nileena N.K.M, Specialist in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and stresses the importance of better sleep for better life. Plus Tips For Good Sleep. What is the correlation between mental health and sleep? Sleep and mental health go very much hand in hand in our day to day life. Many of the psychiatric illnesses are seen to be associated with sleep complaints and…
  • Sisters Act to Fight Depression With Purpose
    Here is a real life narrative of three sisters who rally around their fourth sibling who has severe depression and schizophrenia to save and support her from spiralling out of control and giving her a purpose in life. *** Trigger Warning We are four sisters. My third sister (Ranu*) suffers from depression and schizophrenia. We have been taking care of her since our earliest recollection. The Early Years We had a very difficult childhood. We lost our father early. He was a patient of depression…
  • Challenges of Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness
    A full day conference organised by Schizophrenia Awareness Association in Pune covered a wide range of issues that impact caregivers of persons with mental illness and provided a platform for fellowship among caregivers and other stakeholders. The Schizophrenia Awareness Association-SAA, organized a full day, All India Conference of Caregivers of Persons with Mental Illness – CAME,in Pune on Tuesday, the 10th September 2019 in memory of its Canada based founder Dr. Jagannath Wani, a caregiver…
  • A profile pic of a smiling Ganesh N. Rajan with spectacles and a black and white peppered beard in a red shirt with black background
    Schizophrenia Certainly Contributed To My Decision To Look After My Body
    Ganesh N Rajan, 59 from Chennai, a management consultant and now an author shares the symptoms that led to his diagnosis of Schizophrenia at 19 and how pro-active treatment and management allowed him to lead a full and productive life in terms of family relationships and at work. Ganesh, please tell us a little bit about yourself I was born into a semi-orthodox ‘TamBram’ family. I have two brothers, one older and one younger, and one sister, the youngest. I was given a lot of freedom and never…
  • Webinar: Living Productively With Schizophrenia
    Announcing the next webinar in our ‘Living Better’ series and focus on the importance of employment for user-survivors of Schizophrenia. In partnership with SCARF (Schizohrenia Research Foundation). Schizophrenia can be managed effectively with the help of the right medications and a management plan leading to a full and healthy life with meaningful employment and relationships. In our next Live Q&A session of 'Living Better' series we talk to user-survivors/ persons living with…
  • A young person in a printed blue and gold dress standing next to a red stool which has a green artifact on top. In the background a window panel and a half open door through which you can see a room inside
    I Love My Sister Who Has Schizophrenia
    Karishma Valliapan, 28 talks of her bond with her older sister Reshma Valliapan, the challenges of living with a sister who has schizophrenia and how it has affected her life choices and her coping mechanisms. How do you Introduce yourself A sibling that will never give up on any of her siblings even if they are or are not suffering from schizophrenia. A loving and supportive person who is devoted to helping people through their challenging journeys and therefore chose a path in neuropsychology…
  • Stock pic of a young woman supporting a young man in distress
    An Unshakeable Pillar of Support For Person With Mental Illness
    Mala (not her real name) has been the primary caregiver for her brother Ram (not his real name) who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia for more than 15 years. Indra Venkatram writes about the challenges Mala faced as a sole caregiver in Singapore. About Ram Ram was a very bright and intelligent boy who did very well in school, studying in top secondary and junior college and also topping his cohort in his overseas university.  He was the pride of his family and had great plans for his…
  • A Kind Word Might Light Up Our Days
    Yuna Angell, who has schizophrenia, advocates it is important to be empathic and sensitive to people living with mental illness and advises how best to communicate with them. Although I have schizophrenia and depression, it still does make me feel awkward when people tell me they have mental illness. I’m at a loss as to what to respond afterwards sometimes. For me, I’ll just say, “Me too. I have schizophrenia and depression. How are you coping with your medication or counselling sessions?” I…