Schizophrenia is a mental disorder in which the person completely or partially loses contact with the objective reality, and these people usually see, hear and feel sensations that do not exist in reality.
Paranoid schizophrenia is the most common subtype of schizophrenia, in which the delusions of persecution or greatness predominate, which often make the person suspicious, aggressive and violent.
This disease has no cure, but it can be controlled with the psychiatrist and taking medication. Know the other types of schizophrenia.
What symptoms
People with paranoid schizophrenia have the following main symptoms:
- Believing that they are being persecuted or betrayed; Feeling that they have super powers; Having hallucinations, like hearing voices or seeing something that is not real; Aggressiveness, agitation and a tendency to be violent.
Although these are the most common symptoms of this subtype of schizophrenia, other symptoms may occur, although less frequently, such as memory changes, lack of concentration or social isolation, for example. Know other symptoms of schizophrenia.
Possible causes
It is not known for certain what causes schizophrenia, but it is thought that this is a disease influenced by genetics, since it is hereditary. In addition, the use of drugs, the occurrence of viral infections, having parents at an advanced age when the pregnancy occurred or having malnutrition during pregnancy are also factors that increase the risk of developing this disease.
There is also an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in people who have suffered negative psychological experiences, sexual abuse or some form of physical abuse.
What is the diagnosis
In order to diagnose schizophrenia, the psychiatrist evaluates a set of signs and symptoms presented by the person and, if deemed necessary, can order tests such as computed tomography or MRI, for example, to exclude other diseases that can cause similar symptoms, such as brain tumor or dementia, for example.
How the treatment is done
Paranoid schizophrenia has no cure, but continuous treatment should be performed to avoid exacerbations of the disease.
Generally, the person is accompanied by a psychiatrist, and can also be integrated into a team made up of a psychologist, a social worker and a nurse who are specialists in schizophrenia, who can help improve the person's quality of life through psychotherapy, monitoring in daily activities and providing support and information about the disease to families.
The drugs that are usually prescribed by the doctor are antipsychotics, which help to control the symptoms of the disease. Those that are usually prescribed by the doctor are second generation antipsychotics, because they have fewer side effects, such as aripiprazole (Abilify), olanzapine (Zyprexa), paliperidone (Invega), quetiapine (Seroquel) or risperidone (Risperdal), for example.
However, in some cases, the doctor may prescribe first generation antipsychotics, which, although they have more neurological side effects, are much cheaper.
