Tens of millions of people around the world today suffer from schizophrenia. Some have a mild form of the disorder, while others have a severe form. Each of the patients, despite the severity of the development of a pathological mental disorder, has serious problems in the personal, household and professional spheres of life.
Most of the patients are representatives of the age category of 15-35 years. Each of them is characterized by a confusion of thoughts. In severe stages, people believe that a conspiracy is being waged against them and that they are surrounded by evil. Is it easy to live with such mental disorders? Even with the appearance of mild symptoms, the person will no longer be the same and will not be able to return to a normal lifestyle. He will have to monitor his well-being, visit a psychiatrist, take medication. Another question is, how long can you live in such a framework? Let’s consider the issue in more detail.
Predictions for schizophrenics
Today it is still impossible to cure schizophrenia completely. You can only maintain your condition with medication, dull it, and achieve a long-term remission. This is considered a great achievement in the treatment of the disease. 30% of the total number of patients were able to achieve a long-term improvement in their condition.
The main rule in treatment is timely treatment to the clinic. It is much easier to suppress the outbreak of symptoms in the early stages of the pathology.
Modern drugs have made it possible to reduce the adverse outcomes of the course of the disease by three times, and relapses by two.
In the rehabilitation period, doctors select the most effective approach to the patient. It could be:
- Individual therapy — this method included cognitive and game methods. The patient learns not to listen and not to notice the surrounding voices, and also to get rid of apathy. The doctor conveys to the patient the importance of taking medication.
- Family treatment. Aimed at ensuring that the patient finds a connection with the people around him, so that he restores good relations with his family. Relatives should have complete information about the course of the disease in order to help the patient in treatment, to motivate him to take medication.
- Group therapy — the doctor tries to instill in the patient the behavior of an ordinary person and teach him to live in a normal everyday environment.
After rehabilitation, the patient needs to return to his former life, but at the same time reduce the load.
Life expectancy of a schizophrenic
Life expectancy depends on various factors. They can be divided into three main groups:
- The level of social adaptation.
- Willingness to heal, fight the disease.
- Having other serious health problems.
Medical scientists have proven that mortality is closely related to mental disorders. Often schizophrenia leads to suicide. If timely treatment is not started, then the patient’s life can be reduced by 10-15 years.
In addition to suicide, the reasons for shortening the life path are due to accidents, liver and lung diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, drug and alcohol use.
Experts have repeatedly analyzed the circumstances of the death of schizophrenics. The analysis demonstrates the fact that it is smoking that has become the main negative factor in life, and this habit is being eliminated. Also, suicides, which are not connected in any way with natural causes, have become a eliminated cause of death. Doctors in clinics constantly advise schizophrenics to completely abandon the habit of smoking, completely from tobacco, especially if they begin to develop a disease or they have just fallen into a risk group.