Prodromal Schizophrenia

By Martin K James

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental sicknesses that affect people in many parts of the world. The disorder is normally associated with breakdown of thoughts and being emotionally irresponsible. In many cases, an individual suffering from schizophrenia has delusions, hearing hallucinations and can also be paranoid. Later on the patient becomes socially and occupational dysfunctional. The disorder starts during the age of young adulthood and continues to the whole life of the patient. However, it is worth noting that schizophrenia patients have a shorter lifespan. Their lifespan is shorter by 0.3% to 0.7% when compared with that of normal persons.
Individuals suffering from schizophrenia lack contact with reality and they normally see and hear things that are not in existence. They tend to speak in strange ways and they always feel insecure with imaginations that they are being watched and someone might harm them. This makes patients of schizophrenia to isolate themselves and consequently become irresponsible people. They even refuse to eat or even bath and change their clothes. In some societies, people believe that people with schizophrenia are possessed by demons and consequently they are discriminated by their families and societies.
Schizophrenia is believed to be as a result of genetic, psychological, social, neurological and environmental factors surrounding the patient. According the psychological analysis of recent cases of schizophrenia, some of the modern lifestyles and recreational styles such as drug abuse have contributed greatly to worsening of the condition of patients suffering from this mental disorder. Economic challenges such as financial instability and unemployment are also making many young adults to develop Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia occurs in stages that continue advancing if no medical measures are taken. However it is worth noting that the disorder is more severe if it developed during the young age of an individual. The first stage of the disorder is the prodromal stage. This is the early stage of schizophrenia. At this stage it is not possible to diagnose schizophrenia since the symptoms are not specific. The next stage is the acute stage where the patient starts developing specific schizophrenia symptoms. This is the active stage of the disorder and the patient after some time the patient advances to the residual stage of schizophrenia has which similar symptoms with prodromal stage.
Although the disorder is chronic it does not mean that individuals suffering from schizophrenia cannot help recover from their illnesses. Research shows that with adequate support from the family members and community members, individuals suffering from schizophrenia can do things by their own and live responsible lives. All that they need is adequate counseling and medication. The condition is easily treatable if it is realized in the early stages when little damage has occurred in the brain.
Therefore parents should be very observant in order to determine when their children are developing schizophrenia so that they can give them the necessary therapy, medication and support. In order to check whether a person is developing schizophrenia, it is important to monitor whether the person like staying alone, he/she is motionless, irrational reasoning, speaks in a strange manner, over sleeping or lack of sleep and poor hygiene. When an individual develops the above symptoms, he/she is likely to develop schizophrenia. It is therefore important to visit a psychiatrist in order to seek further clarification and take the necessary medical measures.

Schizophrenia can be very difficult in the early stage and we do all we can to help you and your close ones by providing as much information as possible.

Bipolar Disorder - How the Low Side Afflicts You

Bipolar disorder is, in fact, a name given to a group of mood disorders. It is not a specific mental health diagnosis. The disorder is characterized by mood-swings between high and low moods. The low moods can range from mild depression to a very severe depression which can last for many months. In fact the actual diagnosis is related to the pattern of mood-swings the afflicted person has. As a result the degree of the mood-swings relates to the actual bipolar disorder diagnoses the afflicted person has.
A diagnosis of cyclothyiac's disorder applies when there are definite mood-swings but they are not of a severe nature. Here the person will only enter a mild depression. Most likely they will experience:
• Change in sleeping habits (increase or decrease)
• Change in eating habits (increase or decrease)
• Little or no energy and
• Poor concentration with difficulty in focusing and decision-making. Poor decisions can result.
Cyclothyiac's disorder can bring with it its own set of problems. Specifically, the mood-swings can be such that the afflicted person does not realize that their mood-swings are any greater than a "normal persons." Their friends and loved ones may not be aware that the person is experiencing mood-swings at a level greater than normal. The result is that the disorder can be extremely hard to diagnose. In turn those so afflicted can go through life experiencing a series of mood-swings greater than what they should have to experience.
A diagnosis of bipolar, type 2 can lead to either mild or severe depression. The symptoms for severe depression are as for mild depression. However a number of these additional symptoms will also apply:
• Sadness, often including crying
• Little interest in or pleasure from normal daily activities
• Irritability and anger
• Anxious feelings and worrying
• A feeling that everything is going wrong for then
• Withdrawal from social activity
• Aches and pains with no physical cause
• Greatly reduced self-esteem and
• Suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts.
A diagnosis of bipolar, type 1 normally leads to severe depression. Recovering from severe depression can be extremely hard. There is an added danger if the person with severe depression has a diagnosis from within the bipolar disorder spectrum. Any treatment prescribed can push them past a normal mood. They could be pushed into hypomanic episode or even into full-blown mania.
By its medical definition a person with a diagnosis from the bipolar disorder spectrum will experience some degree of depression at some stage of their bipolar cycle. Their specific bipolar diagnosis will relate back to their normal cycle of highs and lows. The extent of the depression they experience will normally relate back to their specific bipolar diagnosis. Cyclothyiac's disorder normally lead to mild depression. Bipolar, type 2 can lead mild or severe bipolar. Bipolar, type 1 generally leads to severe depression.

Ray Tyler was diagnosed with manic depressive disorder in 1982. He still lives with, and receives treatment for the disorder, today. However he has not had a manic depressive episode since 1997.
You can follow Ray's blog at Bipolar Manic Depressive.com Ray has recently written a series of posts on depression in his blog. You can check out the most recent one HERE
Learn how to manage Manic Depressive (now known as Bipolar) disorder. This will enable you to regain control of your life.

The Dark Void of Depression

I can remember it beginning. Just one of those days, like I had before. I wake up tired after a sleepless night. My mind exhausted from thinking, and over-thinking. My body aching to lie in bed and actually sleep. But I can't rest... work beckons. Ugh... work. I go through my usual routine which I have for the past twelve and a half years, dreaming of the things I want in life, yet feel so handcuffed to meet.
I dive to the Portland's part of town. Nothing but junkyards, recycling, and of course the film industry. "It's all smoke and mirrors!", someone told me during my first week. I've come to realize the smoke show never ends. Every time you walk into the building I can feel my life being sucked from me. Your old supervisor looks at you with a face the literally tells you to screw yourself. Nice way to start the day. Now that I think of it, it's how I've been started my day for years.
Punch clock, coffee, work boots. My usual routine. A few pleasantries, and some witty sarcastic banter, and I retreat into my electronics shop, where my co-worker and I can spend a day, barely talking to each other. Which is one of the few things I've learned to enjoy. He's great guy, but both enjoy our solitude. Like many people I, "fell into" my job. It's not my passion. It offers no advancement, so there is no reason to have ambition. For years I've wondered why I am still here. So have some others at work. At the company Christmas party the President, CEO, general manager, and my ex-supervisor all asked me the same question, "What are you still doing here?!"
Good question. I've tried to figure it out myself. I didn't even notice the decent into the abyss. The void of stagnant and insidious thoughts that paralyzed me and raped me of my confidence. I never finished high school. I never finished college... twice! What am I going to do? With a child to support, and daily costs skyrocketing, I just can't up and leave, can I? So I sit in my little electronics shop that feels like a self-imposed prison. Many employees mention how lucky I am to work where I am... if they only knew what it feels like to be locked up and forgotten.
I wrote my first book. I finished it a year ago. It took another 8 months to go through the editing process. It was ready last July, it still isn't published. Where am I going to get the money to self publish when I am sometimes left with $100 to last me for 2 weeks? That's another thing. I'm broke all the time. My girlfriend's fed up that I'm broke all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have nothing, just nothing for the extras... trips, dinners out, dancing. We all know what women think of men like that.
It's not all bad. I did do something significant last year that took many 6 years to accomplish. Something that few men get to do. But during the year, I was hard to even enjoy it, because for every 100 people who throw you support, there over 20 trying to sabotage you. And indeed, little by little they chip away until you're sitting on top of a mountain you feel is crumbling and going to devour you whole.
By the end, I was so exhausted. Completely spent. Resentful, angry, and lost. I knew what I wanted to do but didn't have the energy. I knew where I needed to be, but couldn't find the way. Every night I came home from my boring day, I would stop and buy cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer. Yes, I started smoking again. First a couple. Now a whole damn pack. Just like the beer. I'd have one or two to relax and take the edge off, then I'd buy a small bottle of vodka to go along with it and quicken the effect. Till I was eventually just buying a bottle of vodka and almost finishing it all in a night. You don't even notice it going. A sip here, a sip there. In fact, no one noticed either. I wouldn't drink around my son or my girlfriend. I could go days without drinking, so I didn't really think I was in trouble, although I knew I had a problem. The drinking stopped my productivity. Stopped me from doing things I needed to do. When I got home at night I didn't want to do anything. But drink.
Day after day. Month after month. Each month I came home and wasted my night away the angrier I got. Each week that passed the deeper I sank. Each month that passed the larger the void of depression became. Until I finally exploded. I've always had an anger problem. And it usually is taken out on the ones I love. It created a wedge in my relationship where my girlfriend couldn't deal with my anger and manipulation any longer. Finally, on the edge of the cliff, I admitted to her what I was hiding inside for so long. I was depressed. severely depressed.
I called up my workplace assistance program the next evening to speak to a online counselor. By the next Friday I sat in an office taking a depression test. I scored 46. Severe depression was rated at 30. I was in deep. My first session didn't have any epiphanies or anything. But laid some groundwork, and homework. I didn't feel much when I left, but the next day, something odd happened. I slept all the way through the night for the first time in years. And I work up, feeling not great, but better. Better knowing that I am finally doing something about my depression. It's amazing what taking that first step can do. I wonder why it had taken me so long.
Words can't properly describe the emptiness one feels when they are depressed. The sense of being paralyzed with fear, and the sense of your sinking self worth. Everyone around you may never even notice. Most truthfully won't even care., or at least it feels like it. Like we're all in this alone, and the ones you need to talk to drain you with their problems, their issues, and their needs. While we're screaming for someone to just listen. Just shut up and listen. When you're already drained, it can sap the last ounce of life you have right out of you. But you remain silent because your problems can't be more important than theirs. Besides... they need you. My retreat... the bottle.
Seeking a counselor can helped megain perspective and insight into why I was feeling the way I was, and how to identify the triggers, that keep me from living the life I want. If you're in doubt, you don't need to speak to your friends if you're embarrassed, just make sure you pick up the phone, or find an online service where you can get the help you need.
When all seems lost, it's time to do something you've never done to have the life you've never had. I know, that's what I've had to do.

Elliot Zovighian is a life coach, speaker, author, blogger is the owner of EZ Lifestyles, a life coaching company from Toronto, Canada. His daily blog offers articles and advice on such subjects as life skills, work and career, relationships, parenting, featured videos and more. http://www.ezlifestyles.ca

I can remember it beginning. Just one of those days, like I had before. I wake up tired after a sleepless night. My mind exhausted from thinking, and over-thinking. My body aching to lie in bed and actually sleep. But I can't rest... work beckons. Ugh... work. I go through my usual routine which I have for the past twelve and a half years, dreaming of the things I want in life, yet feel so handcuffed to meet.
I dive to the Portland's part of town. Nothing but junkyards, recycling, and of course the film industry. "It's all smoke and mirrors!", someone told me during my first week. I've come to realize the smoke show never ends. Every time you walk into the building I can feel my life being sucked from me. Your old supervisor looks at you with a face the literally tells you to screw yourself. Nice way to start the day. Now that I think of it, it's how I've been started my day for years.
Punch clock, coffee, work boots. My usual routine. A few pleasantries, and some witty sarcastic banter, and I retreat into my electronics shop, where my co-worker and I can spend a day, barely talking to each other. Which is one of the few things I've learned to enjoy. He's great guy, but both enjoy our solitude. Like many people I, "fell into" my job. It's not my passion. It offers no advancement, so there is no reason to have ambition. For years I've wondered why I am still here. So have some others at work. At the company Christmas party the President, CEO, general manager, and my ex-supervisor all asked me the same question, "What are you still doing here?!"
Good question. I've tried to figure it out myself. I didn't even notice the decent into the abyss. The void of stagnant and insidious thoughts that paralyzed me and raped me of my confidence. I never finished high school. I never finished college... twice! What am I going to do? With a child to support, and daily costs skyrocketing, I just can't up and leave, can I? So I sit in my little electronics shop that feels like a self-imposed prison. Many employees mention how lucky I am to work where I am... if they only knew what it feels like to be locked up and forgotten.
I wrote my first book. I finished it a year ago. It took another 8 months to go through the editing process. It was ready last July, it still isn't published. Where am I going to get the money to self publish when I am sometimes left with $100 to last me for 2 weeks? That's another thing. I'm broke all the time. My girlfriend's fed up that I'm broke all the time. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have nothing, just nothing for the extras... trips, dinners out, dancing. We all know what women think of men like that.
It's not all bad. I did do something significant last year that took many 6 years to accomplish. Something that few men get to do. But during the year, I was hard to even enjoy it, because for every 100 people who throw you support, there over 20 trying to sabotage you. And indeed, little by little they chip away until you're sitting on top of a mountain you feel is crumbling and going to devour you whole.
By the end, I was so exhausted. Completely spent. Resentful, angry, and lost. I knew what I wanted to do but didn't have the energy. I knew where I needed to be, but couldn't find the way. Every night I came home from my boring day, I would stop and buy cigarettes and a 6 pack of beer. Yes, I started smoking again. First a couple. Now a whole damn pack. Just like the beer. I'd have one or two to relax and take the edge off, then I'd buy a small bottle of vodka to go along with it and quicken the effect. Till I was eventually just buying a bottle of vodka and almost finishing it all in a night. You don't even notice it going. A sip here, a sip there. In fact, no one noticed either. I wouldn't drink around my son or my girlfriend. I could go days without drinking, so I didn't really think I was in trouble, although I knew I had a problem. The drinking stopped my productivity. Stopped me from doing things I needed to do. When I got home at night I didn't want to do anything. But drink.
Day after day. Month after month. Each month I came home and wasted my night away the angrier I got. Each week that passed the deeper I sank. Each month that passed the larger the void of depression became. Until I finally exploded. I've always had an anger problem. And it usually is taken out on the ones I love. It created a wedge in my relationship where my girlfriend couldn't deal with my anger and manipulation any longer. Finally, on the edge of the cliff, I admitted to her what I was hiding inside for so long. I was depressed. severely depressed.
I called up my workplace assistance program the next evening to speak to a online counselor. By the next Friday I sat in an office taking a depression test. I scored 46. Severe depression was rated at 30. I was in deep. My first session didn't have any epiphanies or anything. But laid some groundwork, and homework. I didn't feel much when I left, but the next day, something odd happened. I slept all the way through the night for the first time in years. And I work up, feeling not great, but better. Better knowing that I am finally doing something about my depression. It's amazing what taking that first step can do. I wonder why it had taken me so long.
Words can't properly describe the emptiness one feels when they are depressed. The sense of being paralyzed with fear, and the sense of your sinking self worth. Everyone around you may never even notice. Most truthfully won't even care., or at least it feels like it. Like we're all in this alone, and the ones you need to talk to drain you with their problems, their issues, and their needs. While we're screaming for someone to just listen. Just shut up and listen. When you're already drained, it can sap the last ounce of life you have right out of you. But you remain silent because your problems can't be more important than theirs. Besides... they need you. My retreat... the bottle.
Seeking a counselor can helped megain perspective and insight into why I was feeling the way I was, and how to identify the triggers, that keep me from living the life I want. If you're in doubt, you don't need to speak to your friends if you're embarrassed, just make sure you pick up the phone, or find an online service where you can get the help you need.
When all seems lost, it's time to do something you've never done to have the life you've never had. I know, that's what I've had to do.

Elliot Zovighian is a life coach, speaker, author, blogger is the owner of EZ Lifestyles, a life coaching company from Toronto, Canada. His daily blog offers articles and advice on such subjects as life skills, work and career, relationships, parenting, featured videos and more. http://www.ezlifestyles.ca