Schizophrenia is a disease caused by the interaction of genetic factors and environmental factors. Schizophrenia starts at an earlier age in men and is more severe in men than in women.
Risk factors include being born in winter or spring, living in the city, being the child of an elderly father, and the mother spending the pregnancy period under stress.
Psychiatry specialist Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yosmaoğlu from Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital said that schizophrenia occurs with the interaction of genetic structure and environmental factors. Stating that a single gene that causes schizophrenia has not been identified, Yosmaoğlu said, "Schizophrenia genetics involves the interaction of many genes with each other. If the number or activity of genes that increase the tendency to schizophrenia is higher, the risk of getting sick is higher; the person will get sick with less environmental stimuli (such as stress, trauma, life events)."
Stating that the word schizophrenia is a combination of the ancient Greek words s'chizein, which means splitting, splitting, splitting, splitting, and phren, which means mind, soul, Yosmaoğlu said, "Schizophrenia has historically been considered as 'soul splitting'. It is a subset of a type of mental disorders called psychosis that impairs a person's assessment and judgment of external reality. The illness causes impairment in the areas of affect, perception, thought and behavior to the extent that daily functioning is impaired. The patient becomes withdrawn and starts to live in a reality of his/her own."
THEY SAY THEY HEAR VOICES FROM BEYOND!
Noting that the symptoms of schizophrenia are evaluated by dividing them into two clusters, Ahmet Yosmaoğlu said, "Positive symptoms include features that do not exist in normal people but are present in the sick person: Hearing voices, seeing people and objects that do not exist, being suspicious of the people around them, receiving messages on television. Negative symptoms are characteristics that should be present in a normal person but are eliminated by the disease process: Social withdrawal, loss of willpower, decrease in the amount of speech, low personal care, etc."
MEN ARE MORE AT RISK
Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yosmaoğlu stated that those born in winter or spring, those living in the city and those who have migrated are at higher risk and said, "Children of elderly fathers, those exposed to infection in the womb, children of stressed pregnant women, those exposed to negative life events and trauma, socially isolated people, alcohol/substance users and those with a family history of schizophrenia are at higher risk. In addition, being male increases the likelihood of early onset and severe course of schizophrenia."
SCHIZOPHRENIA IS A TREATABLE DISEASE
Stating that the symptoms of schizophrenia can be controlled with medication and other biological treatments, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yosmaoğlu said, "Some patients become functional again in areas of functionality such as work, family functions and social life. However, in some patients, despite all treatments, the disease is progressive and mental functions gradually progress to the point of 'no thought'. In such patients, drug treatment is important in terms of behavior control."
AGGRESSION RATE IS LOW
Stating that schizophrenia also causes disruptions in the affective system and suicide is common in patients with schizophrenia due to depressive affect, Yosmaoğlu said, "In some patients, death may also occur as a result of delusional behaviors, for example, the patient who believes that he can fly jumps from a height. Although there is some risk of aggression in paranoid patients who believe that people around them will harm them, considering schizophrenia in general, the rate of aggression is lower than that seen in the 'normal' population."
THOSE WHO RECEIVE REGULAR TREATMENT CAN LEAD THEIR LIVES WITHOUT ASSISTANCE
Noting that since schizophrenia is a disorder with periods of improvement with treatment and periods of exacerbation, schizophrenia patients may need the help of their relatives from time to time to maintain their daily lives, Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yosmaoğlu said, "During periods of exacerbation, the person may refuse treatment, as the person's awareness of the mental disorder will be reduced. During these periods, daily life activities will also be disrupted and the patient will need support.
Schizophrenia patients who receive their treatment regularly and are not in an exacerbation period can continue their work life and daily life without assistance."
NOT ONLY TREATMENT BUT ALSO COMPASSION AND CARE
Stating that antipsychotic drugs, electroconvulsive therapy and other biological therapies, family therapies, individual therapies and social work approaches are used in the treatment of schizophrenia, Asst. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yosmaoğlu said, "Focusing only on biological treatments and excluding the psychosocial approach reduces the success of treatment. Because schizophrenia patients need interaction, attention and compassion as much as the rest of us. Even the most mentally devastated patients can perceive positive affect very well."
A BALANCED APPROACH SHOULD BE TAKEN
Assist. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yosmaoğlu said that families should first of all remember that the patient is an individual before a schizophrenia patient, "Criticism about the symptoms of the disorder does not do any good, as it will increase the stress level of the patient even more, making the exacerbations of the disease more frequent. An overprotective approach is also an obstacle to the patient's ability to function. A balanced combination of protection and support through isolation and remote monitoring helps patients to stay well."