In schizophrenia, as in the case of other mental disorders, it is very important to stabilize the sick person. Since this disease is currently considered incurable and inevitably leads to personality deformation, maintaining remission, reducing the number of relapses is paramount.
For schizophrenia, a change in "light gaps" and exacerbations is typical. When the disease is just beginning to develop, the moments of relapse may not be very bright, cause insufficient anxiety in a person. However, over time, the problem becomes obvious, and constantly occurring exacerbations lead to serious consequences. If you do not try to correct the condition, do not treat schizophrenia, if you ignore any suspicious signs even at first, you can provoke a very rapid deterioration in the condition.
Why are constant exacerbations of schizophrenia dangerous?
The more often a person falls into a state of psychosis, the faster personality changes begin to build up. Rapid progress leads to a noticeable deterioration in life, threatens physical health and can be fatal if at one moment the patient, unable to cope with everything that happens, decides to commit suicide.
Regular relapses lead to more frequent hospitalizations. On the one hand, being in a hospital can help bring the patient into long-term remission. On the other hand, a constant stay within the walls of a hospital does not benefit a person's state of mind. In addition, with frequent hospitalizations, including forced ones, financial costs can also increase.
When a person with schizophrenia regularly encounters exacerbations, he becomes more and more closed in himself. Painful anxiety, irrational fear, constant anxiety, negative thoughts and obsessions become stronger, worsening overall well-being. Often, frequent exacerbations are the reasons for the development of severe depression in schizophrenia. Detachment from the world and others leads to loneliness and even more feeds the disease.
Also, the negative aspects of regular relapses include:
- difficulty in achieving complete remission;
- shortening the time of "light gaps";
- difficulties during the recovery period;
- faster loss of skills, abilities, abilities;
- a sharp decrease in self-esteem and the dominance of suicidal thoughts in the patient's mind;
- a tendency to self-harm (deliberately inflicting physical harm on oneself).
What can provoke frequent exacerbations
The reasons why the state of health of a patient with schizophrenia is rapidly deteriorating are most often the following points:
- refusal of therapy;
- independent adjustment of the dosage of drugs or their complete exclusion (refusal to take);
- excessive physical activity or, on the contrary, an apathetic and passive lifestyle;
- intoxication of various kinds;
- the use of psychotropic substances, alcohol, various stimulants of the nervous system;
- somatic diseases, there are cases when even a simple cold can exacerbate mental illness;
- moving to another country, changing climate and time zones;
- abrupt changes in everyday life, rejection of the normal daily routine;
- stress, strong emotional distress, prolonged nervous / psycho-emotional stress;
- overheating or hypothermia.
Signs of an impending relapse of the disease
As a rule, the signs look the same at the onset of the disease, with the development of pathology and in a situation of sluggish schizophrenia. However, their severity can gradually progress, increase.
Changes in the daily routine are a common sign of an impending relapse. A person may start to sleep poorly, and then completely face persistent insomnia. Taste sensations change, hunger is not felt, or, conversely, an unrestrained appetite appears.
Before an exacerbation, the patient may become very jerky, agitated, too anxious and restless. However, there are cases when schizophrenia also manifests itself through a complete breakdown, constant drowsiness, apathy, overly expressed depressive thoughts and speculations about imminent death (independent of the patient himself or achieved by suicide). Any drastic changes in behavior and relationships with the world, other people should be alerted, since this can also be a sign of an approaching psychosis in schizophrenia.
Also, such moments can give out an upcoming relapse:
- strange - on the verge of delirium - reasoning, ideas, stories;
- difficulties in formulating thoughts, problems with writing (loss of letters, change in endings, loss of words in a sentence, and so on);
- changes in the emotional background;
- difficulties in performing daily activities and responsibilities, problems at work or school, inability to concentrate, concentrate, be attentive.
Often, when an exacerbation approaches, schizophrenics flatly refuse to continue the treatment of their illness, do not take medications, and do not visit their attending physician. Gradually, the patient may become violent, aggressive, irritable and angry.
