An Overview of Schizophrenia

Published on: 14 March 2016 Last Updated on: 12 July 2021

Schizophrenia remains one of the most misunderstood mental health disorders in the U.S. Many people assume that schizophrenia refers to a complete inability to accept life. However, schizophrenia actually describes a severe, chronic brain disorder characterized by abnormal thought processes and rationale. Many of the symptoms of schizophrenia are similar to other mental health conditions, which makes accurate diagnoses difficult for mental rehabilitation experts.

Prevalence of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia affects between 0.5 percent and 1 percent of individuals around the globe. The first episode tends to occur at age 21 for men and age 27 for women, explains the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). About 33 percent of those with schizophrenia attempt suicide and 10 percent will succeed. In a Canadian study, schizophrenia diagnoses resulted in a total cost of $6.85 billion for the U.S. and Canada.

Risk factors

Across mental health facilities, mental health professionals have yet to determine an exact cause of schizophrenia. However, a family history of schizophrenia, exposure to toxins while in utero, increased immune system response, older age of a person’s father, and exposure to psychotropic substances during adolescence have been thought to be the primary risk factors for developing schizophrenia (Mayo Clinic).

Signs and symptoms

The signs and symptoms vary from person to person. According to the Mayo Clinic, most signs and symptoms reveal abnormal brain functioning and include the following:

1. Hallucinations :

Hallucinations may involve any of the five senses; however, hearing voices is the most common hallucination

2. Delusions:

Delusions are similar to hallucinations. Delusions occur when a person has a false belief about a given event or situation. For example, a person may believe he or she has a role in global politics when it is not true

3. Thought disorders:

Thought disorders are unusual, counter-productive ways of thinking

4. Movement disorders:

Movement disorders are characterized by repetitive, involuntary movements, which are most commonly noticed in the face. Alternatively, someone with schizophrenia may become catatonic, which means he or she does not move at all

5. Disruptive emotions and behaviors:

Emotional states in schizophrenic individuals may mirror the ups and downs of other mental health disorders, such as bipolar disorder.

6. Poor cognitive functioning:

Someone with schizophrenia may be incapable of understanding information and making decisions on the basis of the information. Furthermore, working memory and difficulty concentrating are common aspects of poor cognitive functioning

Treatment Options

Depending on the severity of the episode, treatment for schizophrenia may occur in inpatient mental health facilities. However, outpatient treatment is a vital aspect of treatment after discharge.

1. Antipsychotic medications:

Antipsychotic and atypical antipsychotic medications focus on eradicating the symptoms of schizophrenia. Some of these medications may cause serious side effects

2. Psychosocial treatment:

Psychosocial treatment involves teaching a person to readapt to life through physical, speech, and occupational therapy

3. Integrated Treatment :

If a person with schizophrenia has a co-occurring mental health disorder, the treatment must include address all other disorders

Although schizophrenia can present some of the most difficult symptoms in mental health therapies, the disorder can be effectively managed. However, understanding the symptoms and treatment options of schizophrenia plays a significant role in preventing the disorder from developing further.

Abdul Aziz Mondol

Abdul Aziz Mondol is a professional blogger who is having a colossal interest in writing blogs and other jones of calligraphies. In terms of his professional commitments, he loves to share content related to business, finance, technology, and the gaming niche.

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8 Natural Ways to Balance Hormones

Did you know that every day your body is sending complex chemical messengers called hormones to regulate its systems? Often times, we think our hormones negatively, but these natural compounds are essential to the health of both men and women. The most common types of hormones include cortisol, melatonin, progesterone, testosterone, estrogen, adrenaline, and insulin. Without any of these, our bodies wouldn't be able to function properly. Hormones can impact everything from digestive health to mental health, and they are intimately involved in the reproductive cycle. As important as they are, dysfunction can easily occur at different points in the production and circulation of hormones. It is vital to understand how to combat these issues in a natural way. Read on to learn more about the endocrine system's inner workings, as well as natural ways to balance hormones. How the Endocrine System Works: The endocrine system is essentially made up of several glands that produce the different types of hormones found in your body. To name the major ones, these are the pituitary, pineal, thymus, thyroid, adrenal glands and pancreas. The testes and ovaries are also involved, depending on your sex. Understanding the basis of this system can help you understand what can go wrong, and how to promote better hormone health. Firstly, there are key ingredients that are needed to produce hormones. These include fats, proteins, and various nutrients. As well, toxins can disrupt hormones by either mimicking them or suppressing their production in some form. All and all, the entire endocrine system works in unison to promote the normal functioning of your body. Even the slightest imbalance can lead to symptoms. Signs of Hormone Imbalance: There are a few keys signs of hormone imbalance to be aware of, as both a male and female. In women, problems around the menstrual cycle are often the most obvious sign of an imbalance. Infertility, irregular periods, skin issues, and premenstrual syndrome can all signify issues with the endocrine system. Additional symptoms that can manifest in both sexes include fatigue, anxiety, depression, low libido, insomnia, digestive issues, hair loss, and weight problems. Natural Ways to Balance Hormones: With the impact that hormones can have on the body, promoting their balance in your daily routine is essential. Natural options are much more favorable than synthetic ones such as birth control or other artificial hormone medications. These do not get to the root of your health issues. They merely cover them up, and symptoms can get worse or more can occur in the meantime. As an alternative to treatments that do not get to the bottom of your problems, here are eight natural ways to balance hormones. 1. Avoid Endocrine Disruptors: Endocrine disruptors are abundant in our industrialized world. These are chemicals and compounds that interfere with hormonal processes in the endocrine system. A few well-known endocrine disruptors include BPA, dioxin, phthalates, and certain pesticides. The items we use in our homes can often contribute to our overall toxin load, and switching over to healthier alternatives can be greatly beneficial. Choose non-toxic cleaning products whenever possible, and try to avoid using plastics in the kitchen as much as possible. As well, our beauty products can also be a potential source of exposure. Use the environmental working groups website to help you pick better products for your hormones. Lastly, eating organic produce whenever possible will reduce your consumption of pesticide residue. 2. Limit Caffeine: Caffeine is a big part of most of our lives, and it is difficult to part with. But, in truth, it can have detrimental effects on our hormones. Highly-caffeinated beverages, namely coffee, can put our bodies into a permanent state of fight-or-flight by stimulating the production of stress hormones. While this may be beneficial in the short term, it can stress your entire body out in the long-term. Consider cutting back on your caffeine intake, or swapping it out entirely for drinks with lower levels of caffeine. 3. Eat Healthy Fats: Many hormones are cholesterol-based, meaning that fat is the basis of their make-up. Therefore, eating plenty of healthy fats will help your body produce enough of these hormones. Ensure that you focus on saturated fats and omega-3's especially, as our diets tend to be too high in omega-6's. 4. Sleep is Key: Sleep is the time when our bodies produce hormones and detoxify harmful substances from our body. Moreover, sleep can disrupt your mood and your blood sugars levels, both of which can contribute negatively to hormones. Try to optimize your sleeping environment by making the room as dark as possible and creating a nighttime routine. 5. Exercise Properly: While exercise is always important, extended periods of exertion can actually have negative consequences. Therefore, opt for less strenuous workouts such as weight lifting or gentle yoga when you first begin your healing journey. 6. Try Mindfulness: Stress is often at the root of our hormone problems. In the least, it can make your moods and physical symptoms much worse. To complicate things, stress is not an easy problem to 'fix'. Often times, it is anything but easy to reduce our stress levels. One option to try, however, is to implement mindfulness into your approach. It will not only help you become more aware of your body and its struggles but also to how you deal with adversity. Over time, you can begin to shift your mindset around the stresses of life with mindfulness and develop a better relationship with it altogether. 7. Consider Herbs or Supplements: Another potential way to heal your endocrine system is with different herbs and supplements. These are not a quick fix by any means, but they can provide additional support alongside other treatments. Some good options for supplementation could include red raspberry leaf, evening primrose oil, vitex, maca, fish oil, magnesium, and zinc, depending on your specific imbalance. 8. Try Bio-Identical Hormones: There are times when no amount of natural treatment through sleep, diet, and exercise help. In this case, an option could be bio-identical hormone therapy, which involves using chemically identical hormones to heal your imbalance. BodyLogicMD has an abundance of information on this topic and can help provide you the support you need. Hormone Health Reflects Overall Health: All in all, the health of our endocrine system is reflective of our lived environment. While it can be influenced partly by genetics and other factors out of our control, much of it is impacted by the way we choose to live. Therefore, by consciously choosing to implement natural ways to balance hormones, we can reap the benefits of our system working in our favor. For more information about how hormones can impact reproductive health, check out our post of the causes of female and male infertility. Read More: Must-Have Appliances for a Healthier Life. Important Habits to Protect Your Ear Health and Hearing. How to Stay Healthy and Fit Despite a Hectic Schedule.

How to Stay Healthy and Fit Despite a Hectic Schedule

With our busiest schedules to follow, we often get reluctant about hitting the gym or following a proper diet plan. Nobody has the kind of time to spend hours pampering themselves. The good news is health and fitness is not all about investing too much time in cooking healthy meals and working out at the gym, it is much more. Even the littlest healthy habits and avoidance of unhealthy habits can improve your overall lifestyle and turn you into a healthier YOU. Want to know what such habits are and how you can add them to your daily routine? They might not sound very new, but they are exactly the ones you usually miss out on. So, here is a reminder for you to follow them for a healthy and happy life. Read through and thank me later! How to Stay Healthy and Fit Despite a Hectic Schedule: Carry a Water Bottle: We all are aware of the fact that drinking 7 to 8 glasses of water is necessary for healthier skin and body. However, most of us get reluctant about it because it is way out of our reach and we are too busy to fetch a glass for ourselves. Therefore, I would suggest you carry a medium-size water bottle wherever you go and finish it at least twice to hydrate your body well. Drinking water is not only best for hydrating the body but it also helps flush out any toxins prevailing inside the body. Stay Socially Active: By staying socially active, I do not mean to stay updated with and connected to social media. It means taking time out for catching up with old friends in person and making new friends as well. Put all the gadgets away and spend some quality time with your family on the weekend. Staying socially active helps us relax and give us immense emotional strength. It is great for mental health and wellbeing. Get Rid of All Kinds of Addiction: If you are addicted to anything in your life, either it is some high-quality weed, video games or smoking cigarettes, try to get rid of it. It is tough, I know. However, where there is a will, there surely is away. Telling yourself to avoid something takes you closer to it. Therefore, instead of doing that, just distract your mind by engaging in better and healthier activities whenever you feel the need for it. You will gradually be able to get rid of it without even knowing it. Proper and Uninterrupted Sleep: With all the smartphones and wireless gadgets in our room beeping every other minute, going deep into sleep has nearly become impossible. We all are so addicted to checking every notification immediately that we do not even keep our phones silent while going to bed. As a result, we end up staying up till late and feeling restless throughout the day. If you want a healthier lifestyle, start turning your phone on silent mode before you go to bed and put all your devices away at least half an hour before you go to sleep. If you want something to do in that spare time before you doze off, take a good book to read while sipping on chamomile tea. Read More: 7 Ways To Kick Off Your Fitness Routine Go Trampolining To Have Fun And Maintain Your Fitness Who Can Benefit From The Elliptical? You Can’t Out-Diet Your Training

What We Know About CBD And A Night Out With Alcohol

A good night out with the guys or gals is never a waste, if done properly, they are usually still spoken of months down the line, and if you’re anything like me then you would have had your fair share of good times. Alcohol has been around for hundreds of years, being tweaked as the years advance and tastes different over time, the main objective of enjoyment though has never changed. There are many reasons why people feel the need to drink on an evening out, some of which we look at in this article. Then there are the whispers of the new kid on the block, even though this ‘kid’ has essentially been around way before any of us and dating back to ancient Chinese emperors and English royals, I’m talking about a blessing from Mother Nature, CBD. To find out the more in-depth version of this ingredient you can click here what is CBD but it boils down to a plant grown naturally in nature and these days specifically grown and harvested for many properties, the positives are far outweighing any skeptics. CBD, when used as a treatment for ailments, can be very beneficial, and the success stories are significantly increasing as awareness grows throughout the globe. What we are going to be having a look at today is if you are a CBD user for whatever reason and decide to go on an excursion where there will be alcohol, what are the effects likely to be? CBD vs alcohol When we think about both products in their cases we conclude that relaxation is a by-product and one that we look forward to. Both work on the neuro system, one regulating the pain receptors and how the pulses are sent in a more regulated fashion while the other influences our social behaviors and moods. Thus if we think about using them combined, the results would be that much more intense. Each ingredient would be serving the same purpose but in a different method of implementation, and could result in an overdose or significantly increased side effect of ‘too much of a good thing.’ If it is something you have been thinking about leading up to a planned weekend away, then being safe is going to be your main priority, why not try these out for ideas on how to be more vigilant and come out to the other end in one piece, so to speak. It’s isn’t always going to be easy to know what to do and when, but with a bit of homework and research we can be sure that safety is a priority. Read: What is the Ideal CBD Dosage for You? Similar reasons why people drink alcohol or use CBD products When we feel relaxed and not under pressure to impress we can be ourselves, others can get to know the real you and not the ‘act’ you want them to meet. We have less stress and anxiety about meeting new people and can show our true colors and personality because life is too short to be someone else. Pain relief. Whether emotional or physical pain is never great, we look for any solution to be out of our discomfort, and CBD with alcohol can do this for us. If you are experimenting with CBD cocktails as they have come to be known as moderation is key. Being careful with recipes and measures and taking your time getting it right. This is quite similar to peer pressure, but if being surrounded by others who have great benefit from using CBD what have you got to lose? A chemical-free product that creates overall well-being, win-win if you ask me. Other opinions are always available we know people love to give advice, check out this blog for what others have to say on liquids and CBD consumption. You may be the wallflower in your group of friends and being out on the town can cause you to panic, being more relaxed and coping better with your surroundings makes for better social interaction. You can be more involved in activities of your circle of friends without feeling overwhelmed by your introvert trait. Whatever you decide to do with your life, do what makes you feel comfortable and live your life to the fullest. Read Also: How CBD Oil Capsules Are Changing People’s Lives Spot It Early: 9 Common Signs of Addiction You Need to Look out For

An Overview of Schizophrenia

Prevalence of schizophrenia

Risk factors