Those with Schizophrenia Share Tips on Living Productive Lives

That is the title of this article I am reviewing today. "'In a new study, researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles and colleagues at the University of Southern California describe some of the strategies people with schizophrenia have used to overcome the disorder and function successfully in their careers. Their findings appear in the journal Psychiatric Services. Investigators conducted up to three interviews each with 10 men and 10 women with schizophrenia from the Los Angeles area. All of them continued to have some psychotic symptoms even as they were employed in professional, technical, or managerial occupations.
'To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have addressed how individuals with schizophrenia who also met some definition of recovery manage the symptoms of their disease,'said Dr. Amy Cohen, an associate research psychologist and the study’s first author. The researchers found that the people they interviewed had adopted numerous coping strategies to prevent and deal with symptoms. These strategies included avoiding stressful situations, staying away from alcohol and drugs and taking their prescribed medications. '" I do not avoid stressful situations I function perfectly except I have to take my medicine with food and know I can fall asleep two hours after I take it so I cannot always go places or out to eat knowing I have to take my medicine soon.
The article goes on to say: "'The interviewees also said they try to interact with people who are supportive and non-judgmental and that they use various cognitive strategies to help them reason through problematic thoughts and whether or not those thoughts are based in reality. The subjects also mentioned religion and spirituality, and exercise and diet, as ways they prevent or deal with psychiatric instability, Cohen said. Some individuals reported that calm, soothing places help them cope, while others said they preferred to seek out more activity. And some said jobs and educational activities could be distracting, but others said that school or career help by providing a sense of belonging. 'One big surprise — and disappointment — was the disparity between the education of these individuals and the salaries they were earning,' Cohen said. 'Most of the patients studied had college or advanced degrees but still made less than $50,000 annually despite working in a large, urban city.'  Researchers discovered that even with the various coping strategies, about half of those surveyed reported having difficulty managing their daily lives, not having felt close to another person within the prior week and experiencing recent hallucinations or delusions. Sadly, these symptoms are characteristic of the disorder. Overall, social stigma continues to be a serious problem for those affected by schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.'" I have a masters degree but do not use it it is in Public Administration.  I did not go in that field the reason I received my masters is because I had took alcohol and drug counselor but after my internship did not really like it because of the hours and the place I interned at. I went back as quick as I could and signed up for the first masters I could get.
The article ends: "'There is a widespread misunderstanding that individuals with schizophrenia are violent and dangerous, often homeless, and beyond help,’' Cohen said. Prior studies have shown that half to two-thirds of people with schizophrenia will significantly improve or fully recover, enabling them to live fulfilling and productive lives. Cohen said she hopes the findings provide encouragement for people battling the stigma of mental illness and that the study helps inform treatment for schizophrenia. 'The bulk of treatments for schizophrenia were developed from observations of individuals who are quite ill or hospitalized, rather than patients who have achieved a level of recovery,' Cohen said. “And the prevailing medical model continues to presuppose the expertise of the clinician over the individual with the disorder. This study allows for new insights by leveraging firsthand experiences of those with schizophrenia.” Whenever I am angry or just sad or something I play music that always helps me with situations it calms me down.  Makes life more bearable.

Scientists produce strongest evidence yet of schizophrenia's causes

That is the title of this article I am writing about today. "An international team of scientists led by Cardiff University researchers has provided the strongest evidence yet of what causes schizophrenia -- a condition that affects around 1% of the global population. Published in the journal Neuron, their work presents strong evidence that disruption of a delicate chemical balance in the brain is heavily implicated in the disorder. In the largest ever study of its kind, the team found that disease-linked mutations disrupt specific sets of genes contributing to excitatory and inhibitory signalling, the balance of which plays a crucial role in healthy brain development and function. The breakthrough builds on two landmark studies led by members of the Cardiff University team, published last year in the journal Nature. "We're finally starting to understand what goes wrong in schizophrenia," says lead author Dr Andrew Pocklington from Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. "Our study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia, which is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins. 'We now have what we hope is a pretty sizeable piece of the jigsaw puzzle that will help us develop a coherent model of the disease, while helping us to rule out some of the alternatives.' 'A reliable model of disease is urgently needed to direct future efforts in developing new treatments, which haven't really improved a great deal since the 1970s.' Professor Hugh Perry, who chairs the Medical Research Council Neuroscience and Mental Health Board said: "This work builds on our understanding of the genetic causes of schizophrenia -- unravelling how a combination of genetic faults can disrupt the chemical balance of the brain."  I wonder how long it will take them to find a benefit for people with schizophrenia that will help these people live full lives and live up to their potential. I believe they are getting closer to someday fill in the jigsaw puzzle.
The article goes on to say: "'Scientists in the UK, as part of an international consortium, are uncovering the genetic causes of a range of mental health issues, such as schizophrenia.
'In the future, this work could lead to new ways of predicting an individual's risk of developing schizophrenia and form the basis of new targeted treatments that are based on an individual's genetic makeup.' A healthy brain is able to function properly thanks to a precise balance between chemical signals that excite and inhibit nerve cell activity. Researchers studying psychiatric disorders have previously suspected that disruption of this balance contributes to schizophrenia. The first evidence that schizophrenia mutations interfere with excitatory signalling was uncovered in 2011 by the same team, based at Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. This paper not only confirms their previous findings, but also provides the first strong genetic evidence that disruption of inhibitory signalling contributes to the disorder." That will help because each person is different and we lose different things.  My memory of numbers is good. Yet when I try to do math I cannot and I was good in high school. I understand were all different that goes to show in the medication what will help one person will not help another.
The article ends: "To reach their conclusions scientists compared the genetic data of 11,355 patients with schizophrenia against a control group of 16,416 people without the condition. They looked for types of mutation known as copy number variants (CNVs), mutations in which large stretches of DNA are either deleted or duplicated. Comparing the CNVs found in people with schizophrenia to those found in unaffected people, the team was able to show that the mutations in individuals with the disorder tended to disrupt genes involved in specific aspects of brain function. The disease-causing effects of CNVs are also suspected to be involved in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD. Around 635,000 people in the UK will at some stage in their lives be affected by schizophrenia. The estimated cost of schizophrenia and psychosis to society is around £11.8 billion a year. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be extremely disruptive, and have a large impact on a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as going to work, maintaining relationships and caring for themselves or others." I read everyday some of the hard times others with schizophrenia struggle with everyday.  I also always wonder how I received this disease as no others in my family except maybe a cousin on my dads side had a mental illness no one else.

Tick.Tock.Tick

From the moment we are diagnosed with a Mental Disorder, the next we feel as if we are descending into a realm where there is no return. Some of us are left astray, without kinship, without friends, and others have no one to guide or teach them because we are seen as estranged. It is said, “time heals all wounds”, yet without a guiding hand how can anyone person see the light, being with or without a Mental Disorder.
Having worked for three years, I had a chance to leave the old world of drugs and lies behind. I haven’t relapsed, yet to enter into a new main stream has shaken me a bit. Trustworthiness is an issue as well as intellect, “for whom does the bell toll…” I face this new world as many other with a constant thought, will I be accepted for being me. Many people are making a transition, from the old to the new, and as a Mental Health consumer, the new is as fearful as taking your first step, or climbing a mountain.
The clock continues ticking where in I am still a consumer, learning to brave this challenge of remaining straight and sober, and keeping faith as strength; not recognizing or living old habits which might endanger my present being. With time the wounds will heal, and I can accept others earnestly without feeling I am alone in my growing.
Do you have any similar feelings?
“He who has a why to live can bear almost anyhow”. – Frederick Nietzsche

Written by Donald Sammons