Many people who are living with schizophrenia can work and want to have a job. When their condition is managed well, people with schizophrenia can lead healthy and accomplished work lives. With the right type of job and a supportive work environment, working can be highly beneficial for people with schizophrenia.
Many people with schizophrenia can manage their condition and hold a job. However, depending on the severity of a person's symptoms, schizophrenia may limit their ability to find and maintain gainful employment. People with severe or unmanaged symptoms may find obtaining or keeping a job difficult.
Schizophrenia treatment includes medication, therapy, social and family support, and the use of social services. Treatment must be ongoing, as this is a chronic illness without a cure. When schizophrenia is treated and managed over the long-term, most people can live normal, productive, and fulfilling lives.
Hiring a person with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a protected condition under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Like with any candidate, HR and hiring managers need to decide if someone with schizophrenia has the right qualifications for the role and can do the job with reasonable accommodations.
To receive protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you have to tell your employer that you have a mental illness. If you do talk to your employer, they cannot discriminate against you, including firing you, rejecting you for a job promotion, or forcing you to take leave.
Driving with Schizophrenia
A letter from the treating doctor may be required stating the person is capable of driving safely. An additional challenge is that a physician's-office-based assessment of a person's driving skills correlates only minimally with scores on standardized road tests.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the decline in life expectancy among people with more severe mental illness ranges from 10–25 years . Most studies of schizophrenia show a life expectancy reduction of 10–20 years.
While schizophrenia is a treatable condition, if your symptoms have reached the point where your work is affected, then you may qualify for long-term disability benefits. The ability to qualify will depend on the terms of your policy and proof of your diagnosis and its impact on you.
There were 817 individuals with schizophrenia who were employed and 413 who received age care pension. The employment rate (full time and part time) among those of working age was 10.24%–10.5% of the men and 9.8% of the women.
Eduard Einstein
The youngest child of Albert Einstein was studying medicine when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20. He spent many years in and out of a psychiatric clinic in Zurich, Switzerland.
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
Supervised Group Housing
These group homes provide their residents with their own bed, dresser and closet space, and shared bathrooms and common areas. This is the best type of housing for people experiencing a serious mental illness which may affect their ability to perform their daily tasks.
High functioning schizophrenia means you still experience symptoms but you're able to participate at work, school, and in your personal life to a higher degree than others with the condition. There is no particular diagnosis. With the right treatment plan, schizophrenia symptoms can be managed.
Schizophrenia involves a range of problems with thinking (cognition), behavior and emotions. Signs and symptoms may vary, but usually involve delusions, hallucinations or disorganized speech, and reflect an impaired ability to function.
“Adults with schizophrenia are about 10 times more likely to die of COPD and 7 times more likely to die of diabetes,” says a co-author of the study, Mark Olfson, MD, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
Older adults with schizophrenia have significant cognitive deficits in executive functioning, speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning, and problem-solving.
The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition. Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.
If left untreated, schizophrenia can worsen at any age, especially if you continue to experience episodes and symptoms. Typically, early onset schizophrenia in the late teens tends to be associated more with severe symptoms than later-life onset. But aging can change the trajectory of how symptoms show up.
Drug and alcohol use
If you already have schizophrenia, research shows that using recreational drugs may worsen your symptoms. Some studies suggest that people who use high-potency cannabis ('skunk') when in recovery are more likely to have a relapse too.
Residual Stage
This is known as the final stage of schizophrenia. These symptoms are very similar to those of the prodromal stage. Patients in this stage are often not seen to be psychotic, but their symptoms shift from positive to negative (i.e. they take something away from the person).
Many people with schizophrenia have trouble with sleep, but getting regular exercise, reducing sugar in your diet, and avoiding caffeine can help. Avoid alcohol and drugs. It can be tempting to try to self-medicate the symptoms of schizophrenia with drugs and alcohol.