A patient with schizophrenia in the family means there are many difficulties ahead that will have to be overcome. Everyone acts differently — someone treats a relative in specialized clinics, others leave the patient to himself, because such a disease causes far from ambiguous impressions. And only a small part of families supports and even in the most difficult periods is next to a sick relative. There are many myths about this mysterious mental disorder, is it really so scary and incurable? Now we’ll find out.
Myth № 1
Schizophrenia is the most severe mental disorder known. So many ignorant people think so. Yes, the disease is indeed severe and not fully understood, but this does not give us the right to call it the most severe. Already in the middle of the last century, psychopharmacotherapy was actively used, which made it possible to abandon the physical restraint of patients. There are rehabilitation centers at clinics that allow you to regain skills lost during the course of the disease. Qualified assistance, provided in a timely manner, allows you to get a long period of remission. There are many examples of people who, after competent treatment, no longer experienced mental problems. Others experienced only mild disorders that did not lead to disability.
Myth № 2
The main symptom of schizophrenia is a split personality. It does not mean at all that with schizophrenia there are two personalities inside a person at once, more often a splitting of emotions occurs — a person perceives a small nuisance as a tragedy, but calmly endures the death of a loved one.
Myth № 3
The inevitable end of the disease is dementia. No, it’s not. Modern pharmacology allows you to get excellent treatment results. A person can live and work without any serious symptoms if the disease is treated competently.
Myth № 4
Schizophrenia is dangerous to others. Is it really? There are not many cases recorded in history when a sick person attacked a healthy person. Interestingly, there are many more reverse cases. Today, treatment allows you to reduce the symptoms to a minimum. So patients can hardly be called dangerous to society. Moreover, the disease is not transmitted by any of the known methods. Even the genetic factor is still not proven by scientists.
Myth № 5
Schizophrenia is incurable. According to some data, in a quarter of people who have had the first attack, a recurrence either does not appear, or appears after decades, patients do not live up to this point. Only in a small proportion of patients the disease begins to progress. In this case, you just need to prescribe timely treatment, which will increase the time of remission.
Myth № 6
Patients with schizophrenia spend their entire lives in psychiatric hospitals. No, only acute manifestations of the disease are removed in dispensaries, then the person goes under the patronage of relatives or goes to a specialized center for rehabilitation. Often, having heard a diagnosis, a person puts an end to himself and even tries to commit suicide, not fully realizing that the diagnosis is not as terrible as it seems. That is why it is necessary to dispel the myths about mental illness and improve people’s awareness of such ailments.