Causes of schizophrenia. Causes of schizophrenia Negative signs of schizophrenia

For schizophrenia, the most significant are the peculiar disorders that characterize changes in the patient’s personality. The severity of these changes reflects the malignancy of the disease process. These changes affect all mental properties of the individual. However, the most typical are intellectual and emotional.

Intellectual disorders manifest themselves in various types of thinking disorders: patients complain of an uncontrollable flow of thoughts, their blockage, and parallelism. Schizophrenia is also characterized by symbolic thinking, when the patient explains individual objects and phenomena in his own, meaningful meaning only for him. For example, he regards a cherry pit as his loneliness, and an unextinguished cigarette butt as his dying life. Due to a violation of internal inhibition, the patient experiences gluing (agglutination) of concepts.

He loses the ability to distinguish one concept from another. The patient grasps a special meaning in words and sentences; new words appear in speech - neologisms. Thinking is often vague; statements seem to slip from one topic to another without a visible logical connection. Logical inconsistency in statements in a number of patients with far-reaching painful changes takes on the character of speech fragmentation of thinking in the form of “verbal hash” (schizophasia). This occurs as a result of the loss of unity of mental activity.

Emotional disturbances begin with the loss of moral and ethical properties, feelings of affection and compassion for loved ones, and sometimes this is accompanied by hostility and malice. Interest in what you love decreases and eventually disappears completely. Patients become sloppy and do not observe basic hygienic self-care. An essential sign of the disease is also the behavior of patients. An early sign of it may be the appearance of autism: isolation, alienation from loved ones, oddities in behavior (unusual actions, a manner of behavior that were previously unusual for the individual and the motives of which cannot be associated with any circumstances). The patient withdraws into himself, into the world of his own painful experiences. The patient’s thinking is based on a perverted reflection of the surrounding reality in the consciousness.

During a conversation with a patient with schizophrenia, when analyzing their letters and writings, in a number of cases it is possible to identify their tendency to reasoning. Reasoning is empty philosophizing, for example, the ethereal reasoning of a patient about the design of an office table, about the expediency of four legs for chairs, etc.

In the early stages of this disease, emotional changes such as depression, guilt, fear, and frequent mood swings may occur. At later stages, a decrease in the emotional background is characteristic, in which it seems that the patient is not able to experience any emotions at all. In the early stages of schizophrenia, depression is a common symptom. The picture of depression can be very clear, long-lasting and observable, or it can be disguised, implicit, the signs of which are visible only to the eye of a specialist.

Emotional and volitional impoverishment develops a certain time after the start of the process and is clearly expressed with an exacerbation of painful symptoms. Initially, the disease may have the character of a dissociation of the patient’s sensory sphere. He can laugh during sad events and cry during joyful ones. This state is replaced by emotional dullness, affective indifference to everything around and especially emotional coldness towards loved ones and relatives.

Emotionally - volitional impoverishment is accompanied by lack of will - abulia. Patients do not care about anything, are not interested in anything, they have no real plans for the future, or they talk about them extremely reluctantly, in monosyllables, without showing any desire to implement them. The events of the surrounding reality hardly attract their attention. They lie indifferently in bed all day long, are not interested in anything, do nothing.

A change in the interpretation of the environment associated with a change in perception is especially noticeable in the initial stages of schizophrenia and, judging by some studies, can be detected in almost two thirds of all patients. These changes can be expressed both in increased perception (which is more common) and in its weakening. Changes related to visual perception are more common. Colors appear more vibrant and shades appear more saturated. The transformation of familiar objects into something else is also noted. Changes in perception distort the outlines of objects and make them threatening. The color shades and structure of the material can seem to transform into each other. The heightened perception is closely related to the overabundance of incoming signals. The point is not that the senses become more receptive, but that the brain, which usually filters out most of the incoming signals, for some reason does not do this. Such a multitude of external signals bombarding the brain makes it difficult for the patient to concentrate and concentrate. According to some reports, more than half of patients with schizophrenia report disturbances in attention and sense of time.

A significant group of symptoms in the diagnosis of early schizophrenia are disorders associated with difficulty or inability to interpret incoming signals from the outside world. Auditory, visual and kinesthetic contacts with the environment cease to be understandable to the patient, forcing him to adapt to the surrounding reality in a new way. This can be reflected both in his speech and in his actions. With such violations, the information received by the patient ceases to be integral for him and very often appears in the form of fragmented, separated elements. For example, when watching television, the patient cannot watch and listen at the same time, and vision and hearing appear to him as two separate entities. The vision of everyday objects and concepts - words, objects, semantic features of what is happening - is disrupted.

Various peculiar senestopathic manifestations are also typical for schizophrenia: unpleasant sensations in the head and other parts of the body. Senestopathies are fanciful in nature: patients complain of a feeling of distension of one hemisphere in the head, dry stomach, etc. The localization of senestopathic manifestations does not correspond to the painful sensations that can occur with somatic diseases.

The strongest impression on others and on the entire culture as a whole, which is expressed even in dozens of works on this topic, is made by the delusions and hallucinations of a patient with schizophrenia. Delusions and hallucinations are the most well-known symptoms of mental illness and, in particular, schizophrenia. Of course, it should be remembered that delusions and hallucinations do not necessarily indicate schizophrenia and schizophrenic nosology. In some cases, these symptoms do not even reflect general psychotic nosology, being a consequence, for example, of acute poisoning, severe alcohol intoxication and some other painful conditions.

Delirium is a false judgment (inference) that arises without an appropriate reason. It cannot be dissuaded, despite the fact that it contradicts reality and all the previous experience of the sick person. Delusion resists any compelling argument, which is why it differs from simple errors of judgment. According to the content, they distinguish: delusions of grandeur (wealth, special origin, invention, reformation, genius, love), delusions of persecution (poisoning, accusations, robbery, jealousy); delirium of self-abasement (sinfulness, self-blame, illness, destruction of internal organs).

One should also distinguish between unsystematized and systematized delirium. In the first case, we are usually talking about such an acute and intense course of the disease that the patient does not even have time to explain to himself what is happening. In the second, it should be remembered that delusion, having the nature of self-evident for the patient, can be disguised for years under some socially controversial theories and communications. Hallucinations are considered a typical phenomenon in schizophrenia; they complete the spectrum of symptoms based on changes in perception. If illusions are erroneous perceptions of something that really exists, then hallucinations are imaginary perceptions, perceptions without an object.

Hallucinations are one of the forms of impaired perception of the surrounding world. In these cases, perceptions arise without a real stimulus, a real object, have sensory vividness and are indistinguishable from objects that actually exist. There are visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and tactile hallucinations. At this time, patients really see, hear, smell, and do not imagine or imagine.

The hallucinating person hears voices that do not exist and sees people (objects, phenomena) that do not exist. At the same time, he has complete confidence in the reality of perception. In schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations are the most common. They are so characteristic of this disease that, based on the fact of their presence, the patient can be given a primary diagnosis of “suspicious schizophrenia.” The appearance of hallucinations indicates a significant severity of mental disorders. Hallucinations, which are very common in psychoses, never occur in patients with neuroses. By observing the dynamics of hallucinosis, it is possible to more accurately determine whether it belongs to one or another nosological form. For example, with alcoholic hallucinosis, “voices” talk about the patient in the third person, and in schizophrenic hallucinosis, they more often turn to him, comment on his actions or order him to do something. It is especially important to pay attention to the fact that the presence of hallucinations can be learned not only from the patient’s stories, but also from his behavior. This may be necessary in cases where the patient hides hallucinations from others.

Another group of symptoms characteristic of many patients with schizophrenia is closely related to delusions and hallucinations. If a healthy person clearly perceives his body, knows exactly where it begins and where it ends, and is well aware of his “I,” then the typical symptoms of schizophrenia are distortion and irrationality of ideas. These ideas in a patient can fluctuate over a very wide range - from minor somatopsychic disorders of self-perception to the complete inability to distinguish oneself from another person or from some other object in the outside world. Impaired perception of oneself and one’s “I” can lead to the patient no longer distinguishing himself from another person. He may begin to believe that he is, in fact, the opposite sex. And what is happening in the outside world can rhyme for the patient with his bodily functions (rain is his urine, etc.).

A change in the patient’s general mental picture of the world inevitably leads to a change in his motor activity. Even if the patient carefully hides the pathological symptoms (the presence of hallucinations, visions, delusional experiences, etc.), it is nevertheless possible to detect the appearance of the disease by its changes in movements, when walking, when manipulating objects and in many other cases. The patient's movement may accelerate or slow down without any apparent reason or more or less clear possibilities to explain this. Feelings of clumsiness and confusion in movements are widespread (often unobservable and, therefore, valuable when the patient himself shares such experiences). The patient may drop things or constantly bump into objects. Sometimes there are short “freezes” while walking or other activity. Spontaneous movements (signaling hands when walking, gesturing) may increase, but more often they acquire a somewhat unnatural character and are restrained, since the patient seems to be very clumsy, and he tries to minimize these manifestations of his awkwardness and clumsiness. Repetitive movements include tremors, sucking movements of the tongue or lips, tics, and ritualistic movement patterns. An extreme variant of movement disorders is the catatonic state of a patient with schizophrenia, when the patient can maintain the same position for hours or even days, being completely immobilized. The catatonic form occurs, as a rule, in those stages of the disease when it was advanced and the patient did not receive any treatment for one reason or another.

Catatonic syndrome includes states of catatonic stupor and agitation. Catatonic stupor itself can be of two types: lucid And oneiroid.

Lucid catatonia occurs without clouding of consciousness and is expressed by stupor with negativism or numbness or impulsive agitation. Oneiric catatonia includes oneiric stupor, catatonic agitation with confusion, or stupor with waxy flexibility.

At lucid In stupor, the patient retains elementary orientation in the environment and its assessment, while in oneiroid the patient's consciousness is changed. Patients with lucid stupor, after emerging from this state, remember and talk about the events that took place around them during that period. Patients with oneiric conditions report fantastic visions and experiences that they were in the grip of during a stuporous state. Catatonic excitation is senseless, undirected, sometimes taking on a motor character. The patient’s movements are monotonous (stereotypy) and are essentially subcortical hyperkinesis; aggressiveness, impulsive actions, negativism are possible; facial expression often does not correspond to the pose (facial asymmetries may be observed). In severe cases, there is no speech, the excitement is mute, or the patient growls, hums, shouts out individual words, syllables, or pronounces vowels. Some patients exhibit an uncontrollable desire to speak. At the same time, the speech is pretentious, stilted, there are repetitions of the same words (perseveration), fragmentation, and meaningless stringing of one word onto another (verbigeration). Transitions from catatonic excitation to a stuporous state and vice versa are possible.

Hebephrenic syndrome is close to catatonic both in origin and in manifestations. Characterized by excitement with mannerisms, pretentiousness of movements and speech, and foolishness. Fun, antics and jokes do not infect others. Patients tease, grimace, distort words and phrases, tumble, dance, and expose themselves. Transitions between catatonia and hebephrenia are observed.

Changes in the behavior of patients with schizophrenia are usually a reaction to other changes associated with changes in perception, impaired ability to interpret incoming information, hallucinations and delusions, and other symptoms described above. The appearance of such symptoms forces the patient to change the usual patterns and methods of communication, activity, and rest. It should be borne in mind that the patient, as a rule, has absolute confidence in the correctness of his behavior. Absolutely absurd, from the point of view of a healthy person, actions have a logical explanation and conviction that they are right. The patient’s behavior is not a consequence of his incorrect thinking, but a consequence of a mental illness, which today can be quite effectively treated with psychopharmacological drugs and appropriate clinical care.

Schizophrenia belongs to a group of mental disorders that affect the emotional and volitional sphere of a person, and thereby complicate his adaptation in society. Do not think that such a deviation relates to character traits.

This is a classic disease that is observed and treated exclusively by specialists. You cannot get rid of it on your own. Even if psychosomatics occurred only once in life, this does not mean a complete cure. Schizophrenia may be characterized by long periods of remission, which does not exclude the need for constant monitoring by a psychiatrist.

Schizophrenia is a common disorder. According to statistical studies, about one percent of the world's population is registered in clinics with a similar diagnosis. And if we take into account that not all forms are addressed to psychiatrists, then the figure may turn out to be even higher.

Biological causes of schizophrenia

People of different generations suffer from schizophrenia. Why it occurs is not known exactly. Psychosomatics in children differs from adults. The child's psyche perceives many things differently. Therefore, doctors are very careful about making a diagnosis at least before puberty. In past centuries, when pathology was just being studied, it was commonly referred to as “dementia precox,” which meant one thing: an incurable condition that occurs in childhood and leads to dementia.

The causes of the disease are not reliably known. And many ordinary people, having read the symptoms, begin to get scared: will the problem affect my “I”, and will I be able to resist schizophrenia?

There are several theories:

• Heredity - unfortunately, various manifestations of the disease can be transmitted along a family line. If one of the parents is sick in a family, then there is a 10% risk that the child may encounter a problem in the future. Among twins, a hereditary connection can be traced in almost half of the cases. The benefit of genetic predisposition is also supported by the fact that in families where deviations have not been observed, the risk of the disease is extremely negligible and amounts to less than half a percent. But in families where both parents are sick, the question “where does schizophrenia come from” in children is obvious: in half of the cases, a hereditary factor manifests itself.
• Disturbance in the production of dopamine, a hormone and neurotransmitter that affects the emotional sphere. With certain brain abnormalities, dopamine is released in increased quantities and leads to constant strong overexcitation. As a result, hallucinations, paranoia, and obsession may occur.
• Pathogenic influence of viruses - there are microorganisms that can destroy nerve cells. One of the most famous is the herpes virus. Almost ninety percent of the world's population are its carriers. But during normal functioning of the body, it does not manifest itself in any way. If there is a failure, the herpes virus can disrupt the functioning of brain cells. Toxoplasmosis also leads to similar consequences.

Toxoplasmosis and the risk of developing schizophrenia

Several years ago, American scientists suggested that toxoplasmosis could become a trigger for the development of schizophrenia. The simplest microorganism, Toxoplasma, multiplies in the body of various rodents, which become prey for cats. By eating an infected animal, the cat itself becomes its carrier and excretes it from its intestines along with feces.

For an ordinary person with normal immunity, toxoplasmosis does not pose a threat. Having encountered a pathogen, the body produces antibodies against it and no symptoms of the disease are observed. Toxoplasmosis is dangerous only for pregnant women who are infected primarily. In this case, toxoplasmosis causes pathologies in fetal development.

According to statistics, a third of humanity are carriers of this simple microorganism. A reasonable question arises: “how am I at risk and can get schizophrenia”? The answer is this: toxoplasmosis can affect brain cells, resulting in the active production of the hormone dopamine, which leads to increased aggression, obsession, paranoia and other symptoms. Children and the elderly are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of the microorganism.

Thus, it can be argued that toxoplasmosis itself is not the cause of schizophrenia. But if there are certain factors (for example, genetic predisposition), which are the very catalyst that contributes to the development of the disease and the manifestation of symptoms.

Psychological causes of schizophrenia

English psychiatrist Tim Crowe expressed an interesting hypothesis that one of the reasons for the deviation was the person’s ability to speak. It was the emergence of speech that led to an asymmetry in the development of the brain hemispheres, one half of which must collect and analyze, and the second - fill with meaning. Thus, it can be argued that the awareness of homo sapiens in the Paleolithic era of their “I” became one of the reasons for the manifestation of schizophrenia.

Tim Crow immediately had opponents. Jonathan Burns argued that pathology arose during the socialization stage of the individual. It is not known whether the symptoms of the disease were present in prehistoric times, but archaeological excavations give the right to talk about its existence among the ancient Egyptians. Although pathology acquired its name only a hundred years ago.

The Swiss doctor Bleuler identified one of its main symptoms: duality of attitude towards different things. Korney advised looking for in family upbringing when parents give the child dual attitudes. For example, they verbally say one thing, but in reality they show something completely different. Why can this become a trigger? Childhood does not provide the opportunity to adequately analyze and perceive dual attitudes: the child is left alone with contradictions to which he cannot find an answer. Some experts consider these children to be potential participants in various forums “I and the fight against schizophrenia” in the future.

There is also a critical age when such factors can find their way into pathology. This is the period of puberty and until the age of twenty-five.

What causes schizophrenia in children?

Childhood is a very delicate period. It is at this time that the foundation for the future is laid. In children and adolescents, the pathology is diagnosed extremely rarely. This is due to developmental characteristics. Certain schizoid symptoms may be suspected, but the final diagnosis will only be made at an older age. Only the early active development of the disease makes it possible to determine the factors of the disease in childhood. After all, progressive pathology leads to the manifestation of mental retardation, when not only speech deteriorates, but also general development is inhibited. The child looks disabled.

Pathogenesis of schizophrenia in children:

1. Preschool age is characterized by the appearance of inexplicable fears, hallucinations, bouts of prolonged crying, strange behavior, increased excitability, obsessive states, and impulsivity. The malignant course is accompanied by retrograde behavior.
2. Adolescence - the famous psychiatrist Kraepelin believed that the deviation begins precisely in this period of life, as a result of which he gave it the name “dementia precox.” After all, they are practically the same as in adults: strong concern and dissatisfaction with their external characteristics (they are always looking for flaws), delusional states, suicidal tendencies, movement disorders, delusional ideas, aggression. At the same time, like an adult, the child does not realize that “I am sick, and the possible cause is schizophrenia.” Paranoia at this age is rare. Although today it has already been precisely established that precox dementia, in which paranoid signs are possible, is the initial stage of the problem (some experts do not support Kraepelin’s statement and consider it a separate disease).

Diagnosing pathology in childhood can be difficult. The psychosomatics of this period are special. It is recommended to first monitor the child for at least six months to make sure that this is really a disease and not a personality trait.

Symptoms of schizophrenia

On the Internet today you can find many forums where not only specialists gather, but also patients who are familiar with the problem of “me and various forms of schizophrenia” from their own experience. Each of them is familiar with certain pathological syndromes:

• thoughts and body that cease to belong to the individual. There is paranoia that they may be stolen;
• voices in your head telling you what to do or not to do;
• delusion - the patient begins to consider himself not who he really is. Images are taken from books, computer games, films;
• hallucinations - various visual images appear that interfere with normal life;
• confused thoughts - the patient finds it difficult to concentrate. He begins one thought and ends with another;
• withdrawal “into oneself” - isolation, apathy. At the same time, aggressive tendencies may appear;
• catatonic syndromes - the individual freezes in a certain position and stops responding to what happens to him. His “I” lives separately from the body, and in this state, during schizophrenia, he can be put in any position.

The fear of developing schizophrenia can occur in anyone. But psychiatrists know that a diagnosis is only possible if there are at least two signs that last more than a month. Moreover, even if they arose once, it is not a fact that they will be able to repeat themselves in the future. Recently, it has been noted that more and more patients have mild syndromes that do not become severe and do not require hospitalization. And their social danger is no greater than that of a healthy average person.

Paranoia and obsession in schizophrenia

Paranoia refers to a condition in which delusions may occur. Essentially - insanity. A person may not realize that “I accept facts that have nothing to do with reality and are a manifestation of my schizophrenia.”

Paranoia can manifest itself in two forms of psychosis:

• chronic delusional psychosis - typical for patients aged 25 to 40 years. They have sudden thoughts that are cultivated, developed, systematized. Such paranoia develops slowly, sometimes over ten years. It often leads to emotional self-destruction, when a person constantly feels like they are being watched, they want to kill him, or set him up. Obsession kills;
• paranoid overvalued delusion - characteristic of adolescence and adolescence, when an obsession with a certain idea begins. During this period, it is difficult to distinguish pathology from the characteristics of personal development. Such paranoia is finally formed only by the age of 30. Then overvalued ideas develop into overvalued nonsense. The patient cultivates his “I”, and this form of schizophrenia is very difficult to treat.

Today there is a dispute between psychiatrists and church ministers, who often consider the same phenomenon (namely obsession) from different points of view. Sometimes relatives bring their loved ones to the priest with a request to “cast out demons.” And the clergyman confirms that the obsession arose due to the fact that some kind of entity entered the body. At the same time, psychiatrists consider the latter as their patient. Official psychiatry does not recognize the concept of “obsession,” and its psychosomatics are considered as syndromes of one or another mental disorder.

When a person claims that “I am obsessed and can’t do anything,” then one must look for the reason in psychiatry.

Treatment of schizophrenia

The pathogenesis of schizophrenia, as well as methods of treating the disease, continue to be studied by specialists around the world. After all, the human brain is one of the most complex organs. Treatment of the pathology depends on the patient’s condition and the severity of the disease. Applicable:

• individual therapy;
• work in groups;
• physiotherapy;
• stabilization of the condition with medications during outpatient observation;
• hospitalization in a hospital to relieve acute symptoms.

Severe cases are treated with shock therapy.

You should know that the earlier the diagnosis is made, the better the prognosis. If the patient realizes that “I require psychiatric help and schizophrenia is not a death sentence,” this will help him quickly seek help. After the acute condition is relieved, a stabilization program follows. Then it is recommended to attend special groups or individual psychotherapy sessions for a year or two. Such methods make it possible to transfer the disease into a stage of long-term remission.

It has been known for many centuries. All this time, both its manifestations and causes were explained in a wide variety of ways. However, it was described precisely as a separate disease at the beginning of the twentieth century. Its boundaries changed periodically (expanded and contracted), even throughout the twentieth century, when, it would seem, science had already stepped far forward. But even to this day it is not entirely clear what exactly this disease is. Therefore, both determining the causes and diagnosing schizophrenia are very important moments for a psychiatrist.

Causes of schizophrenia

Since, due to the diversity and ambiguity of symptoms, it is called schizophrenia, there is no clear definition of the specific cause of its occurrence. There are a number of models for the occurrence of schizophrenia. This is a biological, social and psychological, as well as a mixed, biopsychosocial model.

Biological reasons

The biological causes of schizophrenia include features of the development and functioning of the body. In particular, these are:

• infectious (viral) diseases that the mother suffered during pregnancy, or that the child suffered from in early childhood. It is believed that cytomegalovirus, herpes virus types I and II, Epstein-Bar virus and, possibly, rubella virus may be one of the causes of schizophrenia.
• genetic factors that in 50% of cases determine the likelihood of developing schizophrenia in pairs of identical twins and in 7-10% if one of the parents is sick;
• immune (autoimmune) factors, which are explained by the fetal immune reaction to the production of antibodies by the mother’s immune system in response to a viral infection;
• intoxication with various substances (for example, cannabinoids) can also cause schizophrenia-like symptoms, and some scientists have data that the manifestation of schizophrenia (Schizophrenia. V.L. Minutko).

Psychological reasons

Even before the manifestation of the disease itself, a person has such characteristics as:

• isolation,
• self-absorption
• tendency to abstract reasoning,
• difficulties in contacts with others,
• difficulties in formulating thoughts,
• difficulties in overcoming stress, greater sensitivity to it,
• passivity,
• sloppiness,
• suspiciousness, stubbornness,
• a kind of vulnerability: a trifle can greatly upset, but the loss of a loved one cannot be touched.

Social causes of schizophrenia

• Urbanization (the incidence of schizophrenia in cities is higher than in rural areas).
• Family relationships (it is noted that an expressive, overly emotional and dominant mother) can provoke exacerbations of schizophrenia in a child;
• Stress.

Many scientists are now coming to the conclusion that it is impossible to clearly differentiate and separate these three groups of causes, and since we are talking about a group of diseases of biopsychosocial origin, the causes of schizophrenia must be considered in a complex manner. That is, based on the popular model today "vulnerability-stress" Almost everyone has a vulnerability to some form of mental illness. This is a biological predisposition, but the development of this disease (in this case, schizophrenia) depends on the cumulative impact of unfavorable psychosocial factors. And vice versa: even if there is a biological predisposition, a person may never develop a mental illness if psychosocial factors are as favorable as possible for him. But prolonged stress, affecting a long time, strong, very frequent emotional experiences, hormonal changes in adolescence can exceed the threshold of stress tolerance, disrupt compensatory mechanisms and lead to the first attack of schizophrenia.

Diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia depends on the cause

Effective treatment of schizophrenia directly depends on determining the causes of its occurrence. After all, knowing them, humanity will have the opportunity, among other things, to prevent the development of this disease.

We need to remember that, contrary to existing knowledge, schizophrenia is treatable. Adequate measures, family and reasonable, can make the life of a patient with schizophrenia full and active.

Timely assistance provided, that is, contacting specialists even before an acute psychotic state sets in, significantly influences the prognosis of the further course of the disease. Often, manifestations of schizophrenia can increase gradually, first manifesting themselves as negative symptoms: lack of will, lethargy, impaired thinking, the desire to isolate themselves from the outside world, self-absorption. At this time, others can only periodically notice that “something is wrong” with their loved one. And already at this time you should at least just consult a doctor.

Although, experts note that the most favorable prognosis is for the variant of the disease where the first attack of schizophrenia develops suddenly.

At the first signs, you should immediately seek emergency medical help, since statistics show that the sooner the acute condition is stopped, the greater the likelihood of a favorable outcome of the entire disease.

In the case of timely relief of a single acute psychosis, 25% of patients will never have such episodes again in their lives. If help is not provided, or the treatment is carried out poorly, incompletely, the probability of a second relapse is about 70%.

Naturally, if there are acute signs of schizophrenia, it is best to place a person in a hospital, since often such a condition can threaten not only the people around him, but also himself. As the acute condition is treated, a stabilization phase begins, which lasts for six months or more. Attentive attitude towards the patient, teaching him to recognize signs of relapse of the disease significantly reduces the risk of another exacerbation.