Schizophrenia

In our daily life, while walking on the streets or traveling by bus, we notice some people who are talking to themselves or doing some weird stuff.. These are the people who are in a state of major mental disorder called schizophrenia which is associated with a high level of social burden as well as an incalculable amount of individual pain and suffering.
The characteristic symptoms of schizophrenia are delusions (falls unshakable believes), hallucinations(sensory perceptions in the absence of external stimuli), disorganised speech (incoherent speech), grossly disorganised behaviour, negative symptoms( social withdrawal, poverty of speech, blunt affect) and social or occupational dysfunction( work/interpersonal relatonalship and self care).

The main causes of this disease are biological, psychological and social factors.It is believed to be a spectrum of disorders not just a unitary disease.It normally occurs during the most productive ages between 15 and 35 years but can also occur in children or the elderly. The chances of a person developing the disorder are greater if one or both parents/siblings suffer from it.Migration to a new environment and culture, which may be hostile to a person, has been associated with increased risk of schizophrenia.

As a true human all we can do for these people is provide community education programmes about psychoses, integrate mental health service in primary care and detect( by primary care physicians) early warning signs of severe mental disorders like psychoses and provide appropriate treatment.