Schizophrenia: symptoms and signs in women

Mental illness, which is difficult to treat, inhibits emotional functions, disrupts the processes of thinking - this is schizophrenia. Symptoms and signs in women depend on the type of disease, the causes of development and neglect of the pathological process. It is widely believed in society that patients with this diagnosis are mentally retarded. In fact, the disease affects people with high and even very high levels of intelligence. With schizophrenia, the patient’s brain is able to adequately perceive and remember information. A failure occurs at the data processing stage.

Schizophrenia in women - causes

Scientists do not adhere to a single point of view in determining the causes of the disease. There are several theories, each of which identifies its predisposing factors.

One category of researchers associates the development of schizophrenia with hereditary factors, another with hormonal disorders, and a third with autointoxication.

So, the main causes of schizophrenia:

• increased levels of dopamine in the blood;
• excessive activity of serotonin receptors;
• violation of the normal operation of the noradrenergic system;
• abnormal changes in the structure of the brain;
• lack of understanding of society, constant conflicts with loved ones;
• genetic predisposition;
• cerebral oxygen starvation;
• frequent stresses, depression, problems in work and personal life.

A person with schizophrenia avoids communicating with other people for fear of being rejected.Experts in the field of psychology and psychotherapy even introduced such a thing as “schizoid temperament”. This category includes people who are suspicious of the world around them, suspect a conspiracy everywhere, and try to change the outside world.

The first signs of female schizophrenia

According to statistics, out of 1000 women, 8 are diagnosed with schizophrenia. This disease is not new, but nowadays it takes on a new look. The number of people with schizophrenia is rapidly increasing. Associate this negative trend with various factors. It will not be possible to completely cure the disease, but the patient’s behavior and condition can be corrected, a positive result can be achieved for a long period if you seek qualified help in time.

At the initial stage of development of schizophrenia is manifested by the following symptoms:

• refusal to perform the usual actions that seem to the patient meaningless;
• violation, slowing down of speech, response in monosyllables;
• a sharp decrease in emotionality (emotions do not appear in facial expressions and gestures, it is impossible to understand the state of a person);
• inability to focus on anything specific;
• loss of interest in activities that previously brought pleasure and joy.

Emotional adequacy in the primary stages is poorly expressed, but still persists. During the progression of the pathological process, the symptoms intensify, new signs appear. Patients may show interest in previously unusual activities. Many begin to draw. Only their drawings are not ordinary, but bizarre, even sometimes frightening, not clear to a mentally healthy person. Having noticed the first signs of schizophrenia in women, you should immediately contact a medical institution. The patient can assure that she is healthy, but do not take a word. An extraordinary medical examination has not hurt anyone.

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The main signs of schizophrenia in women

Signs of schizophrenia are four areas of brain activity in which disorders can be localized.

• Alogy. A person is not able to build logical chains, his vocabulary is reduced, he cannot bring his thoughts and reasoning to the end.
• Autism. The patient is trying to distance himself from other people. He reacts poorly to external stimuli, thinks in patterns and stereotypes.
• Inadequacy. The emotions of a sick person are difficult to decipher and explain. He may laugh during a funeral or roar at someone’s wedding, blame and curse unreasonably.
• Ambivalence. Schizophrenic experiences conflicting feelings about people, objects, or actions. The patient can at the same time love and hate something, he has brilliant, but mutually exclusive ideas.

Finding a common language with a sick person is very difficult. He does not trust people, spends most of his time alone with himself, behaves absurdly, asocially, loses his working capacity.

Symptoms of various types of schizophrenia in women

Manifestations of the disease are classified into two main categories: positive and negative. Women become nervous, aggressive, go into themselves, stop supporting a well-groomed appearance. There are several types of pathology. The clinical picture of the disease depends on this.

• Sluggish. Violations are minor, have a paroxysmal character. A woman’s relationship with loved ones worsens, her interest in performing familiar activities decreases.
• Paranoid. A man denies reality, his imagination often draws some kind of image, speech incoherent, illogical. In the later stages, constant hallucinations, persecution mania, join.
• Senile dementia affects people in late old age. Typical symptoms include memory lapses, delirium, insomnia, and a decrease in intelligence.
• Manic.Patients with this form are characterized by a sharp change in mood, fixation on their delusional ideas. It seems to the patient that he is constantly being persecuted, he is trying to escape from non-existent dangers.
• Alcoholic schizophrenia develops against a background of dependence. A woman becomes irritable and aggressive, she is haunted by visions, her body temperature rises.
• Neurosis-like. The main symptoms of this form are dissatisfaction with external data, a feeling of loneliness, hysteria.

Assume that a woman begins to develop schizophrenia, it is possible if she became nervous and irritable, lost interest in her favorite activities. Obsessive movements, repetition of the same word, aggression and emotional coldness should alert relatives.

Features of behavior in a schizophrenic state

To behave with a woman who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, you need to be very careful and careful. Her behavior is fundamentally changing. Conversations and disputes with non-existent interlocutors, delirium, hallucinations, causeless laughter - this is characteristic of a schizophrenic. The man looks preoccupied, he closes in himself, avoids communication, it is difficult for him to concentrate.

Be prepared for what you have to ask again, repeat information several times, while maintaining emotional balance. In no case should you tell the patient that he is not healthy. The behavior of women with schizophrenia can be very unpredictable. Patients often have suicidal tendencies, so you should not leave the schizophrenic alone for a long time.

Schizophrenia after childbirth

Often in women, the first signs of schizophrenia in the postpartum period begin to appear. Interestingly, childbirth is not a cause, but a trigger. Prior to this, a background had already been created for the occurrence of the pathological process. Poor heredity, hormonal changes in the body, stresses, excessive loads that had to be experienced during pregnancy, and directly the birth process - these factors do not have the best effect on the patient’s mental health.

If the family noticed a woman after childbirth, disorders that may be the first signs of schizophrenia, you need to convince her to undergo an examination, otherwise the consequences may be unpredictable.

Methods for treating schizophrenia in women

Schizophrenia is an incurable mental illness, so it is completely impossible to cure it. The main goal of therapy is to achieve a long, stable remission, the prevention of complications. During an exacerbation, treatment should be carried out in a hospital setting. The rehabilitation period can take place at home, surrounded by close people.

The patient is prescribed medications from the following categories:

• antipsychotics;
• normotimics;
• benzodiazepines.

If with the help of drugs it was not possible to achieve a positive result, resort to insulinocomatous therapy or ECT. Effective in schizophrenia are such techniques as psychotherapy, family and cognitive-behavioral therapy. It is important to provide the woman in the family with absolute understanding and support. For this, relatives are advised to take special courses where they will be taught how to communicate and interact with a person who is diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Prognosis for Schizophrenia

Favorable forecasts are given by doctors in those cases if they asked for help at the initial stage of the development of the disease. Good chances for a normal, full life are in patients who have the first signs appeared at a later age. Therapy aimed at restoring cognitive functions will help a person adapt. An important role in this is played by the attitude of relatives and the reaction of society. In the later stages of the patient, constant hallucinations, delusions and thoughts accompany him. The disorder of thinking is so strong that it becomes impossible to convey any information to him.A person can cause physical harm to himself, including suicide. In such cases, only inpatient treatment and round-the-clock supervision.