World Schizophrenia Week

Every Year from May 20-27, Schizophrenia Week is celebrated worldwide with May 24, dedicated as World Schizophrenia Day. Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that hinders the function of the brain, making a person incapable to think, react, and feel. The whole week is dedicated to raise awareness about schizophrenia and to fight the stigma associated with it. According to the statistics of World Health Organization (WHO), about 21 million people are affected by this psychiatric disorder all over the world.

There are many myths associated with schizophrenia and are often misdiagnosed as other mental conditions such as bipolar disorder. Hence, it is very important to raise awareness about this condition. One of the most popular myths is that the people suffering from schizophrenia have Split personality disorder.  Psychosis, which includes hallucinations and delusions, is a hallmark symptom of schizophrenia which makes others to think that they might have Split personality disorder. Because of the periods of psychosis, the condition is also misdiagnosed as Bipolar Disorder sometimes. People with bipolar I disorder can have psychotic symptoms during mania and/or depression, and those with bipolar II can have them during an episode of depression.

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder and the average age of its occurrence is late adolescence or early adulthood i.e., 16 to 30 of age.  Researches shows that it affects both men and women equally but there might be an earlier onset of the condition in males. The people suffering from Schizophrenia are also more likely to die younger than rest of the population as it co-associated with or people are at high risk of other medical conditions such as diabetes and cardiac diseases. It is not always that people with schizophrenia are dangerous or violent, or they live in hospital or homeless. Most people with schizophrenia live with family, in group homes or on their own.

The cause of schizophrenia is not well known but both hereditary and genetic factors contribute to it. Some other factors include brain chemistry and substance abuse.  The condition is totally treatable and proper medication and treatment helps to live a normal and harmonious life. Psychiatrists evaluate symptoms, tests, and medical history, and prescribe medications and psychotherapy for treatment.

Things about Depression that you must know

It is common to feel low, exhausted, and loss of interest in daily activities as a sign of regular depression that everyone goes through in their lifetime. But if these continue for a longer period of time and affect your life, then you may be suffering from clinical depression and requires treatment. It can affect anyone of any age group and the reasons are not always known.

Depression or Clinical Depression is the most common but the most serious type of mood disorder. It is not the common sadness phase that passes by, but it is a persistent condition that lasts for months or years and should be treated. The treatment may be medication from psychiatric or Psychotherapy. It interferes with our ability to think, feel and behave and disrupts our functionality to carry on our lives.  

There are many types of depression, some of which results from the experiences in your life while the others are caused by the chemical changes in the brain. Bipolar Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder are the most common ones.

Depression can be caused due to many reasons and are not always preventable. Some of the common causes include:

• Imbalanced Neurotransmitters in Brain: Neurotransmitters are the chemical substances in the brain that helps in communication of brain with different areas and involve in mood regulation. So the imbalance in neurotransmitters or the shortage may lead to clinical depression.
• Female sex hormones: Women suffer from depression about twice as often as men especially during their reproductive years. The occurrence peaks during their menstrual period, childbirth, and perimenopause. This suggests that the hormonal flux can be cause of their depression. Eventually, the woman's depression risk declines after she goes through menopause.
• Poor Diet: From our childhood, we are always said to have balanced diet as the poor diet leads to many adverse effect in our body. Depression is also one of them. A variety of vitamin and mineral deficiencies are known to cause symptoms of depression especially the diets low in omega-3 fatty acids and high in sugar and simple carbs.
• Physical Health problems: The physical and the mental health go hand in hand and both can trigger each other. Depression can cause certain heart diseases and dementia. Similarly, certain illnesses, such as thyroid disorders, Addison's disease, and liver disease, can cause depression symptoms.
• Drugs: Alcohol and drugs leads to many depressive disorders but some of the prescribed medicines such as anticonvulsants, stimulants, benzodiazepines, and many more drugs are also the contributing factors. Thus, it is always advised to review your medication.
• Stress: In today’s life, Stress has become one of the major contributing factor of mental illness. Researchers suspect that that during stress, there is an increment in the level of hormone, called cortisol which affect the neurotransmitter serotonin and contribute to depression.
• Grieves: Grieving over the loss of loved ones, are expected to subside over time. But when symptoms get worse, it may turn into depression.