Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by the development of fundamental disturbances in perception, thinking and emotional reactions. Differs in significant clinical polymorphism. The most typical manifestations of schizophrenia include fantastic or paranoid delusions, auditory hallucinations, impaired thinking and speech, flattening or inadequacy of affects, and gross violations of social adaptation. The diagnosis is established on the basis of an anamnesis, a survey of the patient and his relatives. Treatment – drug therapy, psychotherapy, social rehabilitation and readaptation .

ICD-10

General information

Schizophrenia is a polymorphic mental disorder characterized by the breakdown of affects, processes of thought and perception. Previously, specialized literature indicated that about 1% of the population suffers from schizophrenia, but recent large-scale studies have shown a lower figure – 0.4-0.6% of the population. Men and women get sick equally often, but women usually develop schizophrenia later. In men, the peak incidence occurs at the age of 20-28 years, in women – at the age of 26-32 years. The disorder rarely develops in early childhood, middle age, or old age.

Schizophrenia is often combined with depression, anxiety disorders, drug addiction and alcoholism. Significantly increases the risk of suicide. It is the third most common cause of disability after dementia and tetraplegia . It often entails pronounced social maladaptation, resulting in unemployment, poverty and homelessness. Urban residents suffer from schizophrenia more often than people living in rural areas, but the reasons for this phenomenon have not yet been clarified. Schizophrenia is treated by specialists in the field of psychiatry.

Causes of schizophrenia

The causes of occurrence have not been precisely established. Most psychiatrists believe that schizophrenia is a multifactorial disease that occurs under the influence of a number of endogenous and exogenous influences. The risk of developing schizophrenia may be affected by:

1. hereditary predisposition. In the presence of close relatives (father, mother, brother or sister) suffering from this disease, the risk of developing schizophrenia increases to 10%, that is, about 20 times compared with the average risk in the population. However, 60% of patients have an uncomplicated family history.
2. perinatal hazards. Factors that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia include intrauterine infections, complicated delivery, and time of birth.
3. social conditions. They note a stable correlation of the prevalence of schizophrenia with a number of social factors, including the level of urbanization (urban residents get sick more often than rural residents), poverty, unfavorable living conditions in childhood, and family relocations due to unfavorable social conditions.
4. Parenting style. Many researchers point to the presence of early traumatic experiences, neglect of vital needs, sexual or physical abuse suffered in childhood. Most experts believe that the risk of schizophrenia does not depend on parenting style, while some psychiatrists point to a possible association of the disease with gross violations of family relationships: neglect, rejection and lack of support.
5. Harmful addictions. Schizophrenia, alcoholism, drug addiction and substance abuse are often closely related, but it is not always possible to track the nature of these relationships. There are studies pointing to the connection of exacerbations of schizophrenia with the use of stimulants, hallucinogens and some other psychoactive substances. However, an inverse relationship is also possible. When the first signs of schizophrenia appear, patients sometimes try to eliminate unpleasant sensations (suspicion, mood deterioration and other symptoms) by using drugs, alcohol and drugs with a psychoactive effect, which entails an increased risk of developing drug addiction, alcoholism and other addictions.
6. Anomalies in the structure of the brain. In patients with schizophrenia, differences in the anatomical structure of the hippocampus and temporal lobes, an increase in the ventricles and a decrease in the activity of the frontal lobe, which is responsible for reasoning, planning and decision-making, are revealed. At the same time, the researchers note that these disorders may occur secondarily, under the influence of pharmacotherapy, since the majority of patients who participated in studies of the structure of the brain had previously received antipsychotic drugs.

There are also a number of neurochemical hypotheses linking the development of schizophrenia with impaired activity of certain neurotransmitters ( the dopamine theory, the keturene hypothesis, the hypothesis of the relationship of the disease with disorders in the cholinergic and GABAergic systems). For some time, the dopamine hypothesis was especially popular , but subsequently, many experts began to question it, pointing to the simplified nature of this theory, its inability to explain clinical polymorphism and many variants of the course of schizophrenia.

Classification

Based on clinical symptoms, the DSM-4 distinguishes five types of schizophrenia:

• Paranoid schizophrenia – there are delusions and hallucinations in the absence of emotional flattening, disorganized behavior and thinking disorders
• Disorganized schizophrenia (hebephrenic schizophrenia) – thought disorders and emotional flattening are detected
• Catatonic schizophrenia – psychomotor disorders predominate
• Undifferentiated schizophrenia – psychotic symptoms are detected that do not fit into the picture of catatonic , hebephrenic or paranoid schizophrenia
• Residual schizophrenia – mild positive symptoms are observed.

Along with those listed, two more types of schizophrenia are distinguished in the ICD-10:

• Simple schizophrenia – a gradual progression of negative symptoms is detected in the absence of acute psychosis
• Post-schizophrenic depression – occurs after an exacerbation, is characterized by a steady decrease in mood against the background of mild residual symptoms of schizophrenia.

Depending on the type of course, domestic psychiatrists traditionally distinguish paroxysmal – progredient (fur-like), recurrent (periodic), sluggish and continuously current schizophrenia. The division into forms, taking into account the type of course, allows you to more accurately determine the indications for therapy and predict the further development of the disease. Taking into account the stage of the disease, the following stages of the development of schizophrenia are distinguished: premorbid , prodromal, first psychotic episode, remission, exacerbation. The end state of schizophrenia is a defect – persistent deep thinking disorders, reduced needs, apathy and indifference. The severity of the defect can vary significantly.

Symptoms of schizophrenia

Manifestation of schizophrenia

Typically, schizophrenia manifests during adolescence or early adulthood. The first attack is usually preceded by a premorbid period of 2 or more years. During this period, patients experience a number of non-specific symptoms, including irritability, mood disturbances with a tendency to dysphoria, bizarre behavior, sharpening or perversion of certain character traits, and a decrease in the need for contact with other people.

Shortly before the onset of schizophrenia, a period of prodrome begins. Patients are increasingly isolated from society, becoming scattered. Short-term disorders of the psychotic level (transient overvalued or delusional ideas, fragmentary hallucinations) are added to nonspecific symptoms, turning into a full-blown psychosis. The symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into two large groups: positive (something that should not be normal appears) and negative (something that should be normal disappears).

Positive symptoms

hallucinations. Usually in schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations occur, while the patient may think that the voices sound in his head or come from various external objects. Voices may threaten, command, or comment on the patient’s behavior. Sometimes the patient hears two voices at once arguing with each other. Along with auditory, tactile hallucinations are possible, usually of a pretentious nature (for example, frogs in the stomach). Visual hallucinations in schizophrenia are extremely rare.

Delusional disorders. In delusional influence, the patient believes that someone (enemy intelligence, aliens, evil forces) influences him with the help of technical means, telepathy, hypnosis or witchcraft. With delusions of persecution, a schizophrenic patient thinks that someone is constantly watching him. The delusion of jealousy is characterized by an unshakable conviction that the spouse is unfaithful.

Dysmorphophobic delirium is manifested by confidence in one’s own deformity, in the presence of a gross defect in some part of the body. With delusions of self-blame, the patient considers himself guilty of the misfortunes, illnesses or death of others. In delusions of grandeur, the schizophrenic believes that he occupies an exceptionally high position and / or possesses extraordinary abilities. Hypochondriacal delusions are accompanied by a belief in the presence of an incurable disease.

Obsessions, disorders of movement, thinking and speech. Obsessive ideas – ideas of an abstract nature that arise in the mind of a patient with schizophrenia against his will. As a rule, they are global in nature (for example: “what happens if the Earth collides with a meteorite or deorbits?”). Movement disorders manifest as catatonic stupor or catatonic excitation.

Disorders of thinking and speech include obsessive sophistication, reasoning and meaningless reasoning. The speech of patients suffering from schizophrenia is replete with neologisms and overly detailed descriptions. In their reasoning patients randomly jump from one topic to another. With gross defects, schizophasia occurs – incoherent speech, devoid of meaning.

Negative symptoms

Emotional disorders. social isolation. Emotions of patients with schizophrenia are flattened and impoverished. Often there is hypothymia (sustained decrease in mood). Hyperthymia (sustained increase in mood) occurs less frequently . The number of contacts with others decreases. Patients suffering from schizophrenia are not interested in the feelings and needs of loved ones, stop attending work or school, prefer to spend time alone, being completely absorbed in their experiences.

Disorders of the volitional sphere. Drifting.

Drift is manifested by passivity and inability to make decisions. Patients with schizophrenia repeat their habitual behavior or reproduce the behavior of others, including asocial behavior (for example, they drink alcohol or take part in illegal actions), without feeling pleasure and without forming their own attitude to what is happening. Volitional disorders are manifested by hypobulia . Needs disappear or decrease. The range of interests narrows sharply. Decreased sex drive. Patients suffering from schizophrenia begin to neglect the rules of hygiene, refuse to eat. Less commonly (usually in the initial stages of the disease), hyperbulia is observed , accompanied by an increase in appetite and sexual desire.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is established on the basis of an anamnesis, a survey of the patient, his friends and relatives. The diagnosis of schizophrenia requires the presence of one or more criteria of the first rank and two or more criteria of the second rank, defined by ICD-10.

1. The criteria of the first rank include:

• auditory hallucinations;
• sounding thoughts;
• fanciful crazy ideas;
• delusional perceptions.

2. The list of criteria for schizophrenia of the second rank includes:

• catatonia
• interruption of thoughts
• persistent hallucinations (other than auditory),
• behavioral disorders
• negative symptoms.

Symptoms of the first and second rank should be observed for a month or more. To assess the emotional state, psychological status and other parameters, various tests and scales are used, including the Luscher test, the Leary test , the Carpenter scale, the MMMI test and the PANSS scale.

Treatment of schizophrenia

Treatment for schizophrenia includes drug therapy, psychotherapy, and social rehabilitation activities. The basis of pharmacotherapy are drugs with antipsychotic action. Currently, preference is more often given to atypical antipsychotics, which are less likely to cause tardive dyskinesia and, according to experts, can reduce the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. To reduce the severity of side effects, antipsychotics are combined with other drugs, usually mood stabilizers and benzodiazepines. If other methods are ineffective, ECT and insulin coma therapy are prescribed.

After the reduction or disappearance of positive symptoms, a patient with schizophrenia is referred for psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is used to train cognitive skills, improve social functioning, and help with self-awareness and adaptation to this condition. Family therapy is used to create a favorable family atmosphere. Conduct training sessions for relatives of patients with schizophrenia, provide psychological support to relatives of patients.

Forecast

The prognosis for schizophrenia is determined by a number of factors. Favorable prognostic factors include female gender, late age of onset, acute onset of the first psychotic episode, mild negative symptoms, absence of prolonged or frequent hallucinations, as well as favorable personal relationships, good professional and social adaptation before the onset of schizophrenia. Social attitude plays a certain role – according to research, the absence of stigmatization and the acceptance of others reduces the risk of relapse.

Signs of schizophrenia in women

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that is characterized by impaired thought processes and mental decline. This disease affects 1% of the total population of the earth. Recognizing the signs of schizophrenia in women by behavior is quite simple, the disease in the early stages reports itself with specific symptoms .

Clinical picture

According to experts, there is a certain age at which the first signs of the development of the disease appear. Most often, a mental disorder is diagnosed between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. The appearance of the disease at a younger or mature age is much less common. The first signs of schizophrenia in women change behavior completely.

Obsession, changes in mood, increased irritability and the manifestation of groundless aggression are the main symptoms of a mental disorder. Complementing the clinical picture are such elements as bouts of hallucinations, emotional alienation, loss of interest in life, and delusional ideas.

Often the first signs of a mental disorder are expressed in the appearance of obsessive fear and senseless actions.

An example is a situation in which a woman wipes a chair several times before sitting on it. Immersion in one’s own thoughts is accompanied by a complete detachment from reality and the absence of actions that can be explained from the point of view of logic. Often, the disease in question manifests itself in the form of fear of various diseases.

In such a situation, the woman begins to attribute various symptoms to herself. Parasites migrating to various parts of the body, rotten internal organs, reversed blood circulation are just a small part of the fantastic diseases that schizophrenic patients attribute to themselves.

How to recognize schizophrenia in women?

Diagnosing schizophrenia in women is quite simple . To do this, it is enough for a doctor to observe the behavior of a woman for several weeks. If he notices that her personality is beginning to change, this is a good reason to start therapy. Also, this psychological deviation can be recognized by a detailed anamnesis. Usually the first harbinger of schizophrenia is the appearance of obsessions, which the woman had not even thought about before. You can recognize this deviation in the nucleation station by:

1. a sharp appearance of feelings of jealousy towards their loved ones;
2. paranoia, it seems to a woman that everyone is watching her;

Women are more susceptible to the development of schizophrenia, this is due to a more mobile and unbalanced psyche.

Over time, the symptoms of schizophrenia become more and more pronounced. It becomes difficult for a woman to cope with her emotions, she does not show them in any way. People around her start to think that she doesn’t care. Because of this, serious problems can arise both in the family and at work. Many women lose interest in their husbands and children and try to ignore them. Also, with the development of schizophrenia, a woman becomes extremely indifferent and carefree, she is indifferent to any problems.

Groups of symptoms of schizophrenia

When defining schizophrenia, it is very important to distinguish between the signs and symptoms of this disease. For many diseases, these parameters are identical, but for this mental disorder they will be different. Modern specialists adhere to Blair’s tetrahedron to determine the symptoms . Allocate stronger and weaker manifestations of schizophrenia. In general, to determine this lesion, it is necessary to evaluate the following signs:

1. Alogia , or an associative defect. This is the primary manifestation of schizophrenia, which is the lack of logical thinking. A woman becomes incapable of the thought process, which is why she begins to ask a lot of questions. Also, this manifestation is characterized by the scarcity of vocabulary, the use of short and incomplete sentences.

The above signs are positive. However, keep in mind that they are not the norm. They received such a designation due to the fact that a woman acquires such changes as schizophrenia develops. If you notice changes in behavior in your loved ones, contact your doctor immediately.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia

This kind of symptoms of this psychological deviation is characterized by the loss of any qualities. Usually they begin to fade after the manifestation of the disease. A person begins to notice that physical forces are leaving him, he becomes indifferent to the world around him, lacking initiative. The negative symptoms of this mental disorder include:

• constant desire for loneliness and loss of will;
• frequent mood swings;

If you begin to notice any changes in behavior in your loved one, talk to him and insist on visiting a psychologist.

recognize schizophrenia in the initial stages by a certain set of manifestations. If a woman is in a lowered mood for a long time, refuses to communicate, tries to stay alone longer, has become secretive, this is a good reason to contact her doctor for advice. She also begins to neglect the elementary rules of hygiene, which she had not observed before, it is also worth visiting a doctor.

Common signs of schizophrenia in women

A feature of the development of schizophrenia in women is that it develops gradually. Unlike men, the symptoms of such a mental disorder slowly increase, and do not appear at one moment. If you are attentive to the condition of your loved ones, you will easily recognize this pathology in them. First of all, the following symptoms appear:

• Speech disorders – an elderly woman begins to use monosyllabic phrases, her vocabulary is poor, she makes a huge number of mistakes.
• Apathy for life , neglect of the rules of personal hygiene – a person sees no reason to do what needs to be repeated after a certain period of time.

If a woman develops paranoid schizophrenia, she becomes more suspicious, cautious, paranoid. Also, the patient can easily notice emotional inadequacy, which worsens as the disease develops.

Symptoms of schizophrenia in pregnant women

, girls aged 20-25 are susceptible to the development of schizophrenia . This age is considered the most common among pregnant women. During this period of life, a woman’s body experiences tremendous stress, almost everything changes in it. Against this background, mental disorders often occur. You can recognize this disease in pregnant women by the appearance of:

• psychotic behavior;
• obsession and jealousy;
• hallucinations and delusions;

It is possible to recognize the prerequisites for the appearance of schizoid changes in the psyche of pregnant women by the fears that have appeared, strange and sometimes thoughtless desires. A person is completely immersed in his experiences, while not paying attention to the world around him. This can manifest itself in the sharp observance of various rituals, the pregnant woman becomes very careful. She has unreasonable fears about her health, she begins to diagnose many serious sluggish pathologies in herself.

Condition after childbirth

In a young body after childbirth, certain changes occur. Therefore, girls of this age who have given birth may be subject to varying degrees of development of schizophrenia, if they have a predisposition to it. Women may develop schizophrenia after giving birth due to severe stress that affects their physical and psychological well-being. But this is an extremely rare occurrence. The following factors can lead to the development of schizophrenia after childbirth:

Mental disorder in a woman who gave birth to a child is hard not to notice. It is characterized by pronounced symptoms, which are not typical for a healthy person. The woman refuses to accept her child and take on new responsibilities. During this period, pathological delirium is often observed in patients.

After the symptoms of schizophrenia subside, women are left with a sense of alienation in relation to their own baby. To cope with unpleasant symptoms and disease, a woman will need to undergo a course of drug therapy. Close people should help her in every possible way to achieve recovery. If they begin to move away, then the patient’s condition will worsen significantly.

Causes of schizophrenia in women

Schizophrenia is completely curable only if you start treatment in the early stages of the disease. In order to prevent a serious mental deviation, it is necessary to know what can lead to such a violation. Among the most common causes of schizophrenia are the following theories:

• Neurotransmitter – it boils down to the fact that the disease develops as a result of a prolonged increase in the level of dopamine in the blood.
• Serotonin – its essence lies in the fact that the deviation is formed against the background of overly active work of serotonin receptors.
• Noradrenergic – schizophrenia in this case develops against the background of increased levels of adrenaline, dopamine and norepinephrine in the blood. The noradrenergic system is responsible for their production.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that affects a person’s usual life. In the absence of proper treatment, a woman in the advanced stages of the disease has obsessive ideas to commit suicide or cripple her for the sake of saving her loved ones.

Who is at risk

The age of manifestation of the first characteristic signs of schizophrenia in women is 23-25 years. Earlier manifestations in psychiatric practice are rare. In the case of childhood morbidity in girls, rapidly progressive personal destruction is observed, accompanied by severe dementia.

The first group includes women with an unstable nervous system . If mental tension persists for a long period of time, then in a state of severe stress, the first hallucinogenic visions may appear. At the first stage of schizophrenia, women do not have any complaints about their condition, since pathological personality changes are still minor. But after a while, relatives begin to notice characteristic oddities, which is a prerequisite for contacting a specialized specialist.

Can schizophrenia go away on its own?

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder of a polymorphic type, accompanied by an increased emotional reaction, a deterioration in the function of thinking, and other symptoms. Usually the disease is inherited. But it can occur due to somatic diseases, the influence of social factors. Often it is formed due to the negative effects of alcohol or drugs.

Tissue destruction is formed in the brain, so the patient has the first signs that develop more and more over time. Schizophrenia cannot go away on its own, it is not completely curable. Even if it is provoked by somatic factors, after their elimination, tissue damage will remain in the brain that can no longer be restored. Therefore, psychiatrists prescribe drugs that can control the condition during an exacerbation.

In the acute stage, schizophrenia is kept under control with drugs. But the patient periodically has a period of remission. This means that the signs of a mental disorder do not appear, the person feels normal. At this point, he may think that the pathology has ended, but in the near future there may be repeated attacks, exacerbation of the pathology.

paranoid schizophrenia

Paranoid schizophrenia is a mental disorder with characteristic distortions in the system of perception and thought. The dominant feature of this disease is the predominance of delusions and hallucinations in the overall clinical picture. The nature of the disease is not fully understood, scientists adhere to both the biochemical theory (the occurrence of a disorder due to disruption of the central nervous system) and the psychological one (the development of pathology against the background of mental trauma, neurosis, stress).

The course of the disease is very diverse and is accompanied by a number of specific syndromes and signs, the main of which is delirium. Symptoms and signs of paranoid schizophrenia in women at the height of the disease:

the presence of super ideas and a change in the habitual behavior of people;

The disease develops gradually, on the rise. In the initial period, obsessive and ritual actions, a desire to fence oneself off from social and professional activities, a sharp narrowing of the circle of contacts and interests, changes in emotional response may prevail.

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which the perception of reality is distorted. It is characterized by the absence of a boundary between reality and imagination. The disease is diagnosed at the age of 20-30 years. May begin in late adolescence, in old age. Signs of schizophrenia are recorded today in more than 20 million people on the planet. The diagnosis is established after examination, questioning the patient, talking with his family.

Description

This is a severe mental disorder. Equally often affects men and women, regardless of race, mental development. In men, it develops 5-7 years later than in women (at 20-28, 26-32 years, respectively). Signs of schizophrenia in men and women – a violation of perception, thinking, emotions, behavior, auditory hallucinations. Persistent false beliefs appear. The person with schizophrenia listens and obeys voices that are not there. A schizophrenic may get the impression that someone is constantly watching him. He becomes secretive, suspicious. Patients with schizophrenia often commit suicide.

Polymorphic psychotic disorder is often detected in patients with anxiety personality disorder and depression. It is combined with dependence on alcohol, drugs. May lead to disability. The probability of early death increases 2-3 times. Accompanied by social isolation. Lack of treatment can lead to disability.

The disease is treatable, it is complex, long. Medications and psychosocial support are used for treatment. The patient cannot be completely cured.

Etiology

The causes of schizophrenia are unclear and confusing. According to doctors, many factors can lead to it. It arises as a result of the interaction of genes and some environmental factors. Influenced by psycho-social factors. The most common of them:

• heredity . If among relatives there are or were patients with schizophrenia, the probability of getting sick on average will increase by 10%. Not everyone who has a genetic predisposition is at risk of developing polymorphic psychotic disorder. In 60% of patients, there are no patients among close relatives;
• prenatal factors . The main causes of schizophrenia are intrauterine infections, complications during childbirth. The dependence on the season of birth was confirmed. Those born in winter get sick more often than those born in summer. Doctors have no explanation for this;
• social conditions . Diagnosis of schizophrenia is more often given to city dwellers than to rural dwellers. At risk are citizens living in dysfunctional families, the unemployed, the homeless, who are subjected to racial discrimination;
• upbringing . The causes of schizophrenia in adolescents and adults are sexual, physical abuse that a child is subjected to in childhood. Bad relationships in the family, lack of support, neglect by parents can lead to illness;

• alcohol and drug addiction . Causal relationships are difficult to trace, but they exist. According to scientists, the disease can worsen as a result of taking psychoactive substances. Some people with schizophrenia become alcoholics, drug addicts after they have the first symptoms and sensations – suspicion, negative emotions, thought disorder;
• cognitive impairment . Patients with cognitive impairments taking antipsychotic drugs are at risk. Under the influence of stress, they show excessive attention to possible threats, perceive the mental and social environment in a distorted form.

According to scientists, schizophrenia in men and women occurs due to an overly receptive psyche. They explain the exacerbation and resumption of the disease by the interaction between internal and external stress factors. Among external stress factors, they name low material wealth, job loss, unhappy love.

Types of schizophrenia

Experts in the field of psychiatry say that in order to understand the essence of the disease, to prescribe treatment, it is necessary to identify the form, the symptoms. There are five types:

1. paranoid schizophrenia . The most common type. It is characterized by auditory and olfactory hallucinations, delirium, altered behavior, weak expressiveness of emotions (flattened affect);
2. Hebephrenic schizophrenia . It is more common in adolescence and adolescence. The disorganized form is accompanied by emotional flattening, disorder of thinking. Treatment is carried out for life;
3. Catatonic schizophrenia . A rare type of disease. It is diagnosed in about 3% of patients. Accompanied by psychomotor disorders. Patients are characterized by slow speech, lack of facial expressions, stupor, agitation;
4. undifferentiated schizophrenia . This type is characterized by symptoms that do not fit into the clinical picture of any of the types listed above;
5. Residual schizophrenia . A residual form of the disease in which the patient has mild symptoms.

Doctors also distinguish between simple schizophrenia and post-schizophrenic depression. The first type is manifested by the gradual development of negative symptoms. There are no acute psychoses. The second type ( post-schizophrenic depression) is characterized by prolonged depressive symptoms. Decreased mental and physical activity, performance. It occurs in about 25% of patients. As the disorder intensifies, the symptoms of each type increase. In most cases, the diagnosis of schizophrenia is made already when the disease is running.

Schizophrenia signs

Do you find it difficult to separate reality from fantasy? Do you hear voices? Do you believe that someone is reading your thoughts and controlling them? Are your thoughts “off” and you find it difficult to express what you feel, why you act and think this way? If so, then you may be sick. All of the above symptoms are a consequence of brain wasting and behavioral disorder with chronic and acute first signs that increase continuously or periodically return with acute episodes throughout life.

Highly stigmatized in our culture, it is often confused with a split personality disorder and is suspected of being a serious danger to others. Yes, people diagnosed with schizophrenia exhibit bizarre behavior, may appear agitated, withdrawn, or unresponsive, which causes additional fear in the general public. Most of them do not understand that if someone suffers from this disease, then there is a regulated treatment: drugs and psychological assistance, and this significantly improves the lives of those who experience this condition. And it is very important to get timely help if you are suffering from a disease, because, contrary to public opinion, the sick people pose the most terrible danger to themselves, not to others. Schizophrenia carries a high risk of suicide: 10 to 13% of people who are diagnosed make successful suicide attempts within the first decade after diagnosis. The overall prevalence of this disorder affects up to 1% of people, and what makes this disorder so frightening and monumental is the severity of its symptoms.

Although it can occur at any age, the most typical onset of the disease usually occurs:

• in men: between late adolescence and early 20s
• in women between 20 and 30 years of age.