Story – I see you

I always look forward up to the nights. Because that’s when we meet, right? I never felt myself until I met you. Like the day, I don’t feel the need to hold up a bright smile before you; I don’t feel the need to turn back and look at my shadow(s). With you, they go nowhere but into an invisible bin in space but come back again the following day. But with you, I am ready to embrace it all. With you, even the silence feels comfortable, and it doesn’t creep in into every vein in my body. With you, it’s all easier, easier to live, to breathe, to laugh, talk and have fun. Whenever the thoughts in my mind get a bit louder than the silence the night holds, you’re there to hear me out. You never say much, it’s always me rabbling on things, and you hear it all without complaints. With you, I feel like I’m being listened to. With you, I don’t feel judged; like the night sky, you have seen me cry.

Is it only me who felt warm last night?

The nights are often cold and frigid, but with you, they’re warm and cozy. I feel safe when you place your right arm on my right shoulder, and I lay my head on your chest – your language of telling me not to worry and life’s momentary; this shall pass too. But I don’t want this to pass away just like that. I want to lie against your chest a bit longer. I want you to hold me this way a bit longer.

But that’s when mum stepped in and invaded our personal space. As she switched on the lights, you were nowhere, as if you disappeared in the thin air.

Mom: Siya, who are you talking to?

Siya: I’m talking to Ajay. Please leave my room mom and don’t interrupt our talk.

Mom: Who Ajay? Our neighbour’s child? But, I can see no one here.

Siya: But he is right here (pointing towards the left), can’t you see him?

Mom: I can see no one here. You gotta sleep.

Siya: Fine.

*While walking back to her room, Siya’s mom was in a riddle. How could Siya talk to someone who died a week ago?*

The following day, Siya was drawing while chit-chatting with someone asking how was the drawing. Her mom when peeped at the paper, it was a guy aged as same as Ajay and wearing clothes similar to his style. When asked to Siya, she said that Ajay liked her drawing too and later she went to play chess in her room. Siya’s mom followed her to figure out the situation and realised Siya’s just 13, who taught her to play chess, that’s when she remembered Ajay; he was a state-level champion of chess. Siya’s mom was concerned about her daughter, so along with her dad, she took Siya to a child psychiatrist. The psychiatrist came up with a conclusion that she’s affected by a major psychiatric illness – schizophrenia. The disease is called “early onset” schizophrenia when it occurs before the age of 18. And this is the reason she’s been seeing visuals of things/ peoples that ain’t actually there.

What happens next once your child is diagnosed with schizophrenia?

Siya’s parents were quite distressed if there was a treatment to this or lifelong she’ll have to deal with the positive or negative symptoms. Further, the psychiatrist explained to them that there is no permanent cure for this but they could try reducing the severity of symptoms. The next step is developing a mutually agreed-upon treatment plan — incorporating psychotherapy, medication, and school and community support — that works for you, your child, and your family.

How do we treat schizophrenia?

As you addressed this early, the treatment might turn out more successfully. Your clinician will prescribe treatment methods that may include medication, psychotherapy, specialized educational or activity programs, and support groups. Siya’s parents supported the treatment as advised by the clinicians, which obviously freed Siya from often repercussions.

So, this is just a request to all the parents to address thier child’s mental health every once in a while and support the treatment procedures too. If addressed early, it’s better for everyone, the child, the parents and for the family too. Ignoring the symptoms might just worsen the symptoms and make the recovery impossible.

Helpful Links:

For parents:

20/20 Presents: Stories of children with schizophrenia

For teens:

CopeCareDeal

Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a long-term brain disease. Some symptoms include speech confusion, delusions, lack of motivation, trouble thinking, and hallucinations. But there are many treatments that can alleviate symptoms and minimize the chance of a recurrence.
Documents on Schizophrenia | English
Schizophrenia Papers for Students and Children Jan 8, 2021, Prasanna
Schizophrenia Papers: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that occurs in early adulthood and primarily affects emotions in personal life, thinking and speaking.
This is a life-long disease, but treatment can help control symptoms. A person may experience anxiety and inattention before the actual symptoms of schizophrenia appear.
You can also find more essay writing articles on events, characters, sports, technology, etc.
English short and long essays on schizophrenia for students and children
We provide students with a 500-word long essay and a 150-word short essay on schizophrenia for students’ reference.
Schizophrenia Long Essay 500 English words
Schizophrenia Long Essay is usually taught in classes 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Schizophrenia is a long-standing brain disease. Some symptoms include speech confusion, delusions, lack of motivation, trouble thinking, and hallucinations. But there are many treatments that can alleviate symptoms and minimize the chance of a recurrence.
One of the most terrifying mental illnesses, schizophrenia, has affected humanity for countless years without declining. Schizophrenia reached its prominence as an independent clinical unit in 1860. Between 1936 and 1956, approximately 7,000 articles were published on this subject. In the past 100 years, more researchers have spent more money, time, and energy writing articles on schizophrenia, perhaps more than all other mental illnesses combined.
People still have a profound lack of knowledge about its process, definition, causes, results and treatment. There is no permanent cure for schizophrenia, but research is leading to safe and innovative treatments. By studying genetics, using advanced imaging techniques to look at brain structure and function, and conducting behavioral studies, experts are unraveling the causes of this disease.
Due to the complexity of the illness, people have many misunderstandings about schizophrenia. Many people think that schizophrenia means multiple or split personalities. However, in general, patients with schizophrenia are not more violent than the normal population. It is a misunderstanding that most people with schizophrenia end up living in the hospital or being homeless, although due to the limited mental health resources in the society, some people may have to go to the hospital frequently or may lead to homelessness. But most people with schizophrenia live alone or with their families.
Schizophrenia Papers | English Learners and Children’s Schizophrenia Papers
January 8, 2021, Prasanna
Schizophrenia Papers: Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that occurs in early adulthood and mainly affects personal life Emotions, thoughts and words.
This is a life-long disease, but treatment can help control symptoms. A person may experience anxiety and inattention before the actual symptoms of schizophrenia appear.
You can also find more essay writing articles on events, characters, sports, technology, etc.
Long and short English for students and children with schizophrenia
We provided students with a sample of a 500 word essay and a short 150 word essay on the topic of schizophrenia for reference.
Long Essay on Schizophrenia 500 English Words
Long Essay on Schizophrenia is usually given in classes 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Schizophrenia is a long-standing brain disease. Some symptoms include speech confusion, delusions, lack of motivation, difficulty thinking, and hallucinations. But there are many treatments that can reduce symptoms and minimize the chance of recurrence.
One of the most terrifying mental illnesses, schizophrenia, has plagued mankind for countless years and has not declined. In 1860, schizophrenia as an independent clinical unit reached a prominent position under the heading of earlier dementia. Between 1936 and 1956, around 7,000 articles were published on the subject. In the past 100 years, more researchers have spent more money, time, and energy writing articles on schizophrenia, perhaps more than all other mental illnesses combined.
People are still very ignorant of its process, definition, causes, results, and treatment. There is no permanent cure for schizophrenia, but research is leading to safe and innovative treatments. By studying genetics, using advanced imaging techniques to look at brain structure and function, and conducting behavioral studies, experts are unraveling the causes of this disease.
Due to the complexity of the illness, people have many misunderstandings about schizophrenia. Many people think that schizophrenia means multiple personality or split personality. But, in general, people with schizophrenia are not more violent than normal people. Most people with schizophrenia end up living in hospitals or homeless, which is a misunderstanding, although due to society’s limited mental health resources, some people may have to go to hospital frequently or may end up homeless. home. But most people with schizophrenia live alone or with their families.
Studies have shown that schizophrenia can have an earlier onset in men, although it affects men and women equally. Due to the high incidence of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, patients with schizophrenia are more likely to die than the general population.
A plot that cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy when the disease is active. As with any other disease, the duration, frequency, and severity of symptoms can vary. Once a person begins to age, the incidence of severe psychotic symptoms generally decreases.

The use of alcohol or illegal drugs, stressful situations, and unregulated drug use often increase the symptoms of schizophrenia. The three main categories of this disease are i. Positive symptoms include hallucinations, such as seeing or hearing things that are not there, and distorted perceptions, behaviors, and beliefs. ii. Negative symptoms include decreased or loss of ability to speak, make plans, or express emotions. 3. Disorganized symptoms, including speech and thinking confusion or disorder, abnormal movements, or difficulty in logical thinking.

Depression

Depression alludes to a restorative clutter that leads to sentiments of the misfortune of intrigued, as well as sentiments of pity. Depression has an effect on how an individual carries on, considers, and feels. There are numerous physical and enthusiastic issues, which may exude from misery. Most individuals enduring depression may have negative sentiments towards themselves. Depression has an effect on the day-to-day exercises of a person, particularly amid the days when one endures from discouragement. Discouragement could be a common ailment, and it can have genuine suggestions on a person’s life.

The causes of misery incorporate a combination of natural, organic, mental, as well as hereditary variables. When an individual is experiencing sadness, neurotransmitters tend to be out of adjusting. Discouragement is caused by lopsidedness within the different parts of the brain, which control rest, considering, behavior, temperament, as well as craving. Discouragement can too be a hereditary clutter that runs in families.

 A few qualities may incline individuals to sadness, particularly when hereditary components combine with natural variables that cause sadness. Other causes of misery incorporate injury, which may result from losing adored ones, unpleasant circumstances, or encountering trouble in connections.

There tend to be higher rates of sadness in ladies than in men. This radiates from variables such as mental variables, hormonal, lifecycle, as well as natural components, which ladies tend to encounter more than men. For occurrence, there’s a plausibility that ladies will create postpartum discouragement upon giving birth, particularly since there are a few hormonal changes that have taken place and there’s the obligation of taking care of the infant child.

Sadness may moreover radiate from budgetary inconveniences; for the case when an individual faces challenges in raising the cash that he or she has to settle a few of his bills. The day-by-day hassles at work can moreover cause discouragement. This comes about from work over-burden and need of satisfactory rest. Struggle with companions and family individuals can moreover cause discouragement. Determined debates have been distinguished as noteworthy causes of discouragement since they disturb a person’s hormonal adjustment, as well as how the individual considers. Misery can too be caused by certain solutions and drugs that an individual may be taking. For occasion, drugs utilized within the treatment of tall blood weight increment the chance of having misery.

Major life occasions have to been recognized as fundamental causes of misery. These occasions may incorporate been included in a mischance, losing a work, resigning, or going through the thorough handle of separate. Substance manhandle can moreover cause misery; people having substance manhandle issues have are helpless to either clinical or major misery. Sadness can moreover be caused by individual issues like social segregation, which comes about from mental ailments or being cleared out of social bunches or out of the family. Sentiments of confinement and depression can cause sadness since an individual may feel not a portion of the whole society.

People enduring sadness don’t encounter comparative side effects; the side effects of sadness tend to contrast from one individual to another. The term, recurrence, as well as seriousness of depressive symptoms, tend to differ with respect to how an individual reacts to depressive scenes. Be that as it may, there are a few side effects of misery that can be named as applicable to nearly all people. A few of the foremost common indications of misery incorporate negativity, as well as sadness. Discouragement may moreover be characterized by uneasiness, purge sentiments, as well as sentiments of diligent pity. People enduring sadness may too involve sentiments of weakness, uselessness, as well as blame sentiments. Fretfulness and fractiousness can moreover be named as common signs and indications of depression.

Misery too leads to the onset of a few side effects such as diminish in vitality, which may radiate from sentiments of weariness. People enduring misery may too create sentiments of the misfortune of intrigue in a few exercises that were once pleasurable. For occurrence, they may halt going to social occasions or wear occasions. Discouragement can moreover lead to challenges in making choices, recalling a few points of interest, as well as trouble concentrating. Other side effects of sadness incorporate intemperate resting, as well as a sleeping disorder. Discouragement causes misfortune of craving or gorging, endeavors to commit suicide, migraines, as well as torments, and spasms.

Misery is gone with by different shapes of the clutter, which people enduring from this ailment tend to involvement. One of the shapes of misery incorporates postpartum discouragement, which basically influences ladies after they donate birth. This frame of sadness radiates from the hormonal changes that take put after giving birth. Another frame of sadness incorporates maniacal sadness; this takes put when an individual endures from serious sadness. Insane sadness can too exude from a psychosis such as fancies, as well as aggravating convictions such as mental trips. Misery can too be within the shape of regular emotional clutter (Pitiful). This frame of discouragement happens amid a few periods such as winter when the common daylight isn’t satisfactory.

Discouragement may co-exist with a few sicknesses; a few of the ailments that misery may co-exist with incorporate uneasiness clutter, obsessive-compulsive clutter, post-traumatic stretch clutter, and social fear. Other ailments which will co-exist with discouragement incorporate freeze clutter and generalized uneasiness clutter. The posttraumatic stretch disorder can be respected as the most clutter, which goes with discouragement.

Misery, whether extreme or gentle, can be analyzed and treated in a number of ways. For successful treatment of this clutter, the treatment ought to begin when the ailments are recognized. In arrange to analyze discouragement viably, an understanding ought to visit a mental wellbeing specialist or pro. In most cases, the determination of misery takes the frame of mental assessment. Mental assessment plays a basic part in diagnosing sadness since it makes a difference in distinguishing the indications in arrange to maintain a strategic distance from misdiagnosis of the ailment. A few of the issues to examine whereas diagnosing this sickness incorporate assessing when the sickness began, as well as the length of the indications.

There are a few methodologies that can be utilized within the treatment of misery; one of the strategies that can be viable in treating misery incorporates the utilize of solutions such as antidepressants. Antidepressants can be respected as significant since they work on neurotransmitters (brain chemicals). Antidepressants offer assistance in changing the temperament of people enduring sadness since they work on neurotransmitters, which influence a person’s mood. Psychotherapy moreover plays a vital part within the treatment of sadness and side effects that go with sadness. Amid psychotherapy, the objective of treatment incorporates recognizing the root causes of misery and creating treatment plans based on the indications that the discouraged patient exhibits. The foremost compelling shape of psychotherapy within the treatment of discouragement incorporates cognitive behavior treatment (CBT). CBT makes a difference to alter the negative sentiments and thought designs, which may have caused discouragement.

Schizophrenia . A Mental Disorder not A Character Flaw .



What about the world of a schizophrenic? Maybe it’s as real as our world. Maybe we cannot say that we are in touch with reality and he is not, but should instead say, His reality is so different from ours that he can’t explain his to us, and we can’t explain ours to him. The problem, then, is that if subjective worlds are experienced too differently, there occurs a breakdown in communication … and there is the real illness.”

When, Philip K. Dick questioned about the reality we live , didn’t it remind you of Francesca Zappia the author of Made You Up quoting ,

“Sometimes I think people take reality for granted.”

And then there are people who have no luxury to take reality for granted because their reality may not really be real .
It may be hallucinations or delusions or just random voices in the head or all of them together which is notably entitled as
Schizophrenia .




Schizophrenia is a long-term mental disorder .
Schizophrenia has its origin from Greek word :- skhizein ‘to split’ + phrēn ‘mind’.
Due to its origin ,Schizophrenia is among the most misunderstood of mental health disorders.
The etymology of the word schizophrenia has led many to confuse it with multiple personality disorder ( Dissociative Identity Disorder).




The term “schizophrenia” was first used in 1911 by a Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler. He used this term to emphasize the mental confusion and random thinking characteristic of people with a disorder . But people confused the actual meaning with split or multiple personality confusion which has become an ingrained myth regarding schizophrenia that continues to this day.

So what is really Schizophrenia ?

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder . People with schizophrenia may be said to have lost touch with reality leading to unsound perceptions and actions , fantasies and delusions .

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects how a person acts, thinks, and feels. It can keep one from seeing the world in a normal way , making their own reality different from us .
People with schizophrenia have difficulty in distinguishing reality from fantasies .



Schizophrenia affects men and women equally. Schizophrenia can occur at any age , the most common age to be diagnosed with schizophrenia is late teen to early 20s for men and late 20s to early 30s for women .


Some people with schizophrenia are dishevelled and disorganized n
That doesn’t mean a person with schizophrenia can’t live a normal life .


“I have schizophrenia. I am not schizophrenic. I am not my mental ill. My illness is a part of me.”

– Jonathan Harnisch, (Novelist, artist, filmmaker )

There are people who have actually lived with schizophrenia and have managed to lead highly productive and satisfying lives.

People like :-



John Nash Jr. ,
one of the world’s most brilliant mathematicians. The Nobel Prize winner Economics suffered from paranoia, delusions, and other symptoms of schizophrenia.

Eduard Einstein ,

The youngest child of Albert Einstein was studying medicine when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20.

Vincent van Gogh,
the Dutch post-impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art, suffered from several
common symptom of schizophrenia like
Hallucinations, including hearing voices .

Contrary to other people’s opinion , people with schizophrenia have no split or multiple personalities and most pose no danger to others .
It is possible to live well with schizophrenia.

Symptoms :-




People diagnosed with schizophrenia are characterized by episodes in which the person is unable to distinguish between real and unreal experiences.

The symptoms fall in three categories :-

1: Positive symptoms: these symptoms are those that are abnormally present . They can be mild or severe depending on its nature.
They include


Hallucinations ( hearing different multiple voices which may be critical and threatening ,
hallucinations can affect all the senses like for instance, for example, a person may also see, feel, taste, or smell things that are not really there.)

Delusions ( experiencing delusions may believe that something is true when there is no strong evidence for it to be unrealistic , paranoid , confused thoughts , false beliefs )

Thought disorder ( dysfunctional thoughts making it difficult to put cohesive thoughts together or make sense of speech )

Movement disorder ( clumsiness , unusual mannerisms , repetitive actions , motionless rigidity )




2: Negative symptoms: These symptoms are those that are abnormally absent in most of the patients . These symptoms disrupt a person’s normal ability .

These includes :-

• A loss or a decrease in the ability to initiate plans
• Finding no pleasure in living .
• Disorganized symptoms.
• lack of facial expression
• lack of emotional expression
• lack of motivation
• difficulty concentrating
• Neglecting everyday activities, including self-care.
• Withdrawal from social life ( possibly through fear that somebody is going to harm them.)


3: Cognition symptoms :-. These symptoms are another area of functioning that is affected in schizophrenia leading to problems with attention, concentration and memory, and to declining educational performance.
Patients with cognitive symptoms find it hard to lead a normal life .

These includes :-

Anosognosia ( a lack of ability to perceive the realities of one’s own condition. It’s a person’s inability to accept that they have a condition that matches up with their symptoms or a formal diagnosis)

• Trouble in paying attention or focusing .

• Problem with working memory ( difficulty understanding and using information.)



Severe psychotic symptoms often decreases as the person becomes older
Like any illness, the severity, duration and frequency of symptoms vary from person not person however, in persons with schizophrenia.



Schizophrenia is a lifelong condition, but treatment can help manage the symptoms.



Types of schizophrenia

There are several types of schizophrenia.

Paranoid schizophrenia :-


This is the most common type of schizophrenia. Symptoms include hallucinations and/or delusions, but your speech and emotions may not be affected.

Hebephrenic schizophrenia :-

Also known as ‘disorganised schizophrenia’, Symptoms include disorganised behaviours and thoughts, alongside short-lasting delusions and hallucinations.


Catatonic schizophrenia :-

This is the rarest schizophrenia diagnosis, characterised by unusual, limited and sudden movements. The patient may often switch between being very active or very still. They may not talk much, and you may mimic others’ speech and movement.

Undifferentiated schizophrenia :-

This type of schizophrenia may have some signs of paranoid, hebephrenic or catatonic schizophrenia, but it doesn’t obviously fit into one of these types alone.

Residual schizophrenia :-

You may be diagnosed with residual schizophrenia if you have a history of psychosis, but only experience the negative symptoms (such as slow movement, poor memory, lack of concentration and poor hygiene).

Simple schizophrenia :-

This includes both positive and negative symptoms .
Symptoms such as slow movement, poor memory, lack of concentration and poor hygiene are most prominent early and worsen, while positive symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganised thinking are rarely experienced.

Cenesthopathic schizophrenia :-

People with cenesthopathic schizophrenia experience unusual bodily sensations.



Treatment :-


There’s a tremendous need to implode the myths of mental illness, to put a face on it, to show people that a diagnosis does not have to lead to a painful and oblique life… We who struggle with these disorders can lead full, happy, productive lives, if we have the right resources.”
– Elyn R. Saks



As the cause of schizophrenia is unknown there is no cure . So a doctor’s treatment includes medications that can ease symptoms and prevent them from coming back.

Such treatments include :-

Antipsychotics:

These medications tame Psychosis ( delusions , hallucinations , etc.)
The medications doctors prescribe most often for schizophrenia are called antipsychotics.
This medication is taken as pills or liquid form . Some antipsychotics included injections given once or twice a month .
These drugs work on chemicals in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin.

Schizophrenia patients are most likely to have to take schizophrenia medication their entire life .


Psychosocial Treatment :-

The term psychosocial refers to an individual’s psychological development in and interaction with their social environment. Psychosocial treatments (interventions) include structured counseling, motivational enhancement, case management, care-coordination, psychotherapy and relapse prevention.




Coordinate Speciality care :-


“There are a number of things that family and friends can do to help a person with schizophrenia. One of the simplest and most effective is to create a positive environment around the person.”
– Milt Greek (Mental health advocate and author of Schizophrenia: A Blueprint for Recovery)

Creating a positive environment and showing support can make schizophrenia patients believe in the reality we live in rather than the reality they think is real .

Coordinate Speciality care includes model integrated medications and psychotherapist , family support , education and employment support etc.


Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) project.
The goal of RAISE was, and is, to help decrease the likelihood of future episodes of psychosis, reduce long-term disability, and help people to get their lives back on track so they can pursue their goals.



Schizophrenia can make it hard to stick to a medication plan. One needs a strong support system to continue the medication.


Medication for schizophrenia can improve symptoms and sometimes help keep them from coming back.

Therapy can help people living with schizophrenia learn to recognize signs of an episode and explore strategies to manage symptoms and the distress they cause.

One must support in positive, supportive ways without making the patient feel criticized or helpless.


Schizophrenia is NOT A Character Flaw

Just like any other mental disorder schizophrenia is not a choice nor it is a character flaw , it’s a disease which needs to be treated .

People with schizophrenia have no luxury of taking reality for granted .
But that doesn’t stop them from living in a reality which is different from ours .
Their multiple voices doesn’t make them psycho or split personalities , those voices are voices of the subconscious that’s much more superficial than others .


I thought of the voices as… something a little different from aliens. I thought of them more like angels … It’s really my subconscious talking, it was really that… I know that now.”
– John Forbes Nash, Jr. (Nobel Prize winning mathematician )


The stigmatisation that often accompanies mental illness can be cruelest .

This stigma unfairly causes people to feel ashamed for something that is out of their control and prevents many from seeking the help they need.

This stigmatization is due to the misconceptions or myth that mental illnesses are usually the cause of laziness or personal behaviour , a weakness that can be controlled on its own .

In reality a mental illness is not a character flaw. It is an illness that has nothing to do with being weak or lacking willpower.

Seeking appropriate help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Mental illness should not be treated as a problem rather it should be accepted as part of self that needs little more care and self love .

Since there’s no cure of schizophrenia ,it seems a lot more scary .

But as Elyn R. Saks said ,

” My good fortune is not that I’ve recovered from mental illness. I have not, nor will I ever. My good fortune lies in having found my life.”

A person with schizophrenia is not schizophrenic. He is not his mental illness rather it is a part of him . They are not different than us they just think differently .

Mental illness is not contagious . Hence being kind towards people diagnosis from any kind mental illness can’t hurt us . Support and spread awareness . Make them feel their worth which is much more than their illness .