As a psychotic condition, schizophrenia can cause some very troubling symptoms, like hallucinations and delusions, that make daily life challenging. Without treatment it can lead to isolation, an inability to work or go to school, depression, suicide, and other complications.
Living with someone with schizophrenia is challenging. Understanding and compassion are key for coping with the symptoms, helping your loved one, and looking after yourself.
Schizophrenia affects the way you think and cope with daily life. Someone living with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking and lack motivation for daily activities.
People with schizophrenia often also experience persistent difficulties with their cognitive or thinking skills, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving. At least one third of people with schizophrenia experiences complete remission of symptoms (1).
Schizophrenia patients also have high rates of co-occurring disorders, like substance abuse and depression. These additional disorders can make the underlying schizophrenia more difficult to treat and it is possible schizophrenia may even be misdiagnosed due to the existence of the other disorders.
Supervised Group Housing
This type of housing provides the most support for its residents. Trained staff members are present 24/7 to provide care and assistance with things like medication, daily living skills, meals, paying bills, transportation and treatment management.
Thoughts and speech may become jumbled or confused, making conversation difficult and hard for other people to understand. Some people describe their thoughts as being controlled by someone else, that their thoughts are not their own, or that thoughts have been planted in their mind by someone else.
This can include disorganized thinking, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, agitation, or a loss of interest in activities. These symptoms can affect almost every aspect of a person's life. That's why it's 10/10 important you talk with a healthcare professional if you suspect you or a loved one has schizophrenia.
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.
Living with family can be a good option for someone with schizophrenia if their family members understand the illness well, have a strong support system of their own, and are able to provide whatever assistance is needed.
Hallucinations and delusions may be the public face of schizophrenia, but the hidden cognitive symptoms — which include difficulty focusing on mental tasks, understanding speech, and remembering what just happened — make it very hard for people with the condition to live satisfying, productive lives.
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.
Psychotic symptoms, difficulty expressing emotions and making social connections, a tendency to be isolated, and other issues get in the way of meeting friends and establishing relationships. Finding love while living with schizophrenia, however, is far from impossible.
People with paranoid schizophrenia have an altered perception of reality. They may see or hear things that don't exist, speak in confusing ways, believe that others are trying to harm them, or feel like they're being constantly watched.
Voices may seem angry or urgent and often make demands on the hallucinating person. Visual hallucinations involve seeing objects, people, lights, or patterns that are not actually present. Visualizing dead loved ones, friends, or other people they knew can be particularly distressing.
Stressful experiences during childhood, such as abuse and neglect, may make a person more susceptible to schizophrenia. And stressors throughout life, including trauma, pregnancy, and sleep deprivation, can cause psychosis in rare cases.
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.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental health condition that can involve delusions and paranoia. A person with paranoia may fear that other people are pursuing and intending to harm them. This can have a severe impact on their safety and overall well-being.