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As we work to create light for others,
we naturally light our own way.
– Mary Anne Radmacher

Treatment for schizophrenia

As upsetting as a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be, ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. Beginning treatment as soon as possible with an experienced mental health professional is crucial to your recovery. At the same time, it’s important not to buy into the stigma associated with schizophrenia or the myth that you can’t get better. A diagnosis of schizophrenia is not a life-sentence of ever-worsening symptoms and recurring hospitalizations. With the right treatment and self-help, many people with schizophrenia are able to regain normal functioning and even become symptom-free.

Treatment basics

The most effective treatment strategy for schizophrenia involves a combination of medication, therapy, lifestyle changes, and social support.

Schizophrenia requires long-term treatment. Most people with schizophrenia need to continue treatment even when they’re feeling better, in order to prevent new episodes and stay symptom-free. Treatment can change over time, though. As your symptoms improve, your doctor may be able to lower the dosage or change your medication.

Medication for schizophrenia works by reducing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and disordered thinking. But it is not a cure for schizophrenia. It is also much less helpful for treating symptoms such as social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and lack of emotional expressiveness. Finding the right drug and dosage is also a trial and error process. While medication should not be used at the expense of your quality of life, be patient with the process and discuss any concerns with your doctor.

Therapy can help you improve coping and life skills, manage stress, address relationship issues, and improve communication. Group therapy can also connect you to others who are in a similar situation and are able to offer valuable insight into how they’ve overcome challenges.

Self-help

Medication and therapy can take time to take full effect but there are still ways you can manage symptoms, improve the way you feel, and increase your self-esteem. The more you do to help yourself, the less hopeless and helpless you’ll feel, and the more likely your doctor will be able to reduce your medication.

Schizophrenia: The 7 keys to self-help

Seek social support. Friends and family vital to helping you get the right treatment and keeping your symptoms under control. Regularly connecting with others face-to-face is also the most effective way to calm your nervous system and relieve stress. Stay involved with others by continuing your work or education. If that’s not possible, consider volunteering, joining a schizophrenia support group, or taking a class or joining a club to spend time with people who have common interests. As well as keeping you socially connected, it can help you feel good about yourself.

Manage stress. High levels of stress are believed to trigger schizophrenic episodes by increasing the body’s production of the hormone cortisol. As well as staying socially connected, there are plenty of steps you can take to reduce your stress levels. Try adopting a regular relaxation practice such as  yoga, deep breathing, or meditation.

Get regular exercise. As well as all the emotional and physical benefits, exercise may help reduce symptoms of schizophrenia, improve your focus and energy, and help you feel calmer. Aim for 30 minutes of activity on most days, or if it’s easier, three 10-minute sessions. Try rhythmic exercise that engages both your arms and legs, such as walking, running, swimming, or dancing.

Get plenty of sleep. When you’re on medication, you most likely need even more sleep than the standard 8 hours. Many people with schizophrenia have trouble with sleep, but getting regular exercise and avoiding caffeine can help.

Avoid alcohol, drugs, and nicotine. Substance abuse complicates schizophrenia treatment and worsens symptoms. Even smoking cigarettes can interfere with the effectiveness of some schizophrenia medications. If you have a substance abuse problem, seek help.

Eat regular, nutritious meals to avoid symptoms exacerbated by changes in blood sugar levels. Omega-3 fatty acids from fatty fish, fish oil, walnuts, and flaxseeds can help improve focus, banish fatigue, and balance your moods.

Causes

While the causes of schizophrenia are not fully known, it seems to result from a mix of genetic and environmental factors.

Genetic causes

While schizophrenia runs in families, about 60% of schizophrenics have no family members with the disorder. Furthermore, individuals who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia don’t always develop the disease, which shows that biology is not destiny.

Environmental causes

Studies suggest that inherited genes make a person vulnerable to schizophrenia. Environmental factors then act on this vulnerability to trigger the disorder.

More and more research points to stress—either during pregnancy or at a later stage of development—as being a major environmental factor. Stress-inducing factors could include:

• Prenatal exposure to a viral infection
• Low oxygen levels during birth (from prolonged labor or premature birth)
• Exposure to a virus during infancy
• Early parental loss or separation
• Physical or sexual abuse in childhood

Abnormal brain structure

In addition to abnormal brain chemistry, abnormalities in brain structure may also play a role in schizophrenia development. However, it is highly unlikely that schizophrenia is the result of any one problem in any one region of the brain.

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LEVELS OF DEPRESSION:

MILDLY DEPRESSED #3

Feeling slowed down, sad, trouble keeping negative thoughts out of head, self-critical, fatigued, easily distracted, bored, still able to work.

MODERATELY DEPRESSED #2

Feeling very sad, hopeless, slowed down, uninterested in things most of the day, want to sleep more, reminiscing about past failure, grouchy, irritable, missed days at school or work.

SEVERELY DEPRESSED #1

Severe, incapacitating anxiety or fear, 

SUICIDAL #0

Thoughts of ending your life

THE SUPPORT TEAM….@www.bipolarsupportgroups.com

SCALE:

1.) Feeling active, vital, alert or wide awake.

2.) Functioning at high levels, but not at peak; able to concentrate.

3.) Awake, but relaxed, responsive but not fully awake.

4.) Somewhat foggy, let down.

5.) Foggy, losing interest in remaining awake, slowed down.

6.) Sleepy, woozy, fighting sleep, prefer to lay down.

7.) No longer fighting sleep, sleep onset soon, having dream like thoughts

X.) ASLEEP

The Support Team @

02pm

Mood CHART

#10. Total loss of judgement, excessive spending, religious delusions and hallucinations.
#9. Lost touch with reality, incoherent, no sleep, paranoid and vindictive, reckless behavior.
HYPOMANIA
#8. Inflated self-esteem, rapid thoughts and speech, counter-productive, simultaneous tasks.
#7. Very productive, everything to excess (phone calls, writing, smoking, tea), charming and talkative.
BALANCED MOOD
#6. Self-esteem, good, optimistic, sociable, and articulate, good decisions, and get work done.
#5. Mood in balance, no symptoms of depression or mania. Life is going well and the outlook is good.
#4. Slight withdrawal from social situations, concentration less than usual, slight agitation.
MILD TO MODERATE DEPRESSION 
#3. Feeling of panic and anxiety, concentration difficult and memory poor, some comfort in routine.
#2. Slow thinking, no appetite, need to be alone, sleep excessive or difficult, everything a struggle.
SEVERE DEPRESSION 
#1. Feeling of hopelessness and guilt, thoughts of suicide, little movement, impossible to do anything.
# 0. Endless suicidal thoughts, no way out, no movement, everything is bleak, and it will always be like this…

THE SUPPORT TEAM….@ http://www.bipolarsupportgroups.com

Goal setting is an extremely powerful accomplishment, but for Goal Setting to really be effective requires more than just writing down what we want to achieve. This article will present important steps that will help to define and achieve goals with more success.

Benefits of Goal Setting

Goal setting helps us determine our priorities, get organized, make big decisions, and realize our dreams. Almost all motivational experts incorporate goal setting as an important part of their programs. Zig Ziglar, when speaking of the importance of goals, poses the question “Are you a wandering generality or a meaningful specific”. I personally became so sold on the power of goals that I created a website called MyGoalManager.com. The objective of the website is to direct the user through the entire Goal process from definition to achievement. This Goal Achievement process entails the following requirements:

1. Well formed Goal Statements
2. Breaking goals down into manageable Steps
3. Motivation and Commitment
4. Reminders and Keeping on track
5. Frequent Review and Re-assessment

1. Well formed Goal Statements

The Goal Statement forms the basis for the entire process so careful attention should be placed on formulating a clear and accurate goal statement. A good way to remember how a goal statement should be defined is the old S.M.A.R.T. acronym used by many experts in goal setting. SMART stands for:

Specific

Measurable
Action-Oriented
Realistic
Time and Resource Constrained

The Goal should be specific enough so that we know exactly what we are striving for, measurable so we can tell exactly when the goal has been reached, action-oriented to indicate an activity that will produce results, realistic in that it is practical and can be achieved, and time and resources constrained meaning that it has a definite deadline for completion and realizes limited availability of resources. The goal statement “Increase sales 25% by the end of the fiscal year without increasing advertising spending” is an example that follows these rules.

2. Breaking down Goals into manageable Steps

Once we have a well-formed Goal Statement we need some direction to follow to achieve this Goal. The creation of Goal Steps gives us a list of the important things that need to be done to achieve the Goal, an action plan, and also allows us to track our progress towards the goal. While the goal “Increase sales 25% by the end of the fiscal year without increasing advertising spending” is a great goal statement, this is a monumental task without being broken down into smaller detailed steps.

3. Motivation and Commitment

Motivation and commitment are what make us strive to achievement. They give us the push, desire, and resolve to complete all of the other steps in the Goal process. This motivation can be obtained by developing a statement that creates a high level of emotion and energy that guarantees achievement. Commitment is what sets us on direct course to reach our goals and creates costly negative consequences for failure.
4. Reminders and Keeping on Track

Reaching our goals requires persistence and regular attention. We need some sort of system to keep us reminded and accountable. MyGoalManager.com uses a combination reminder emails, calendars, and reports to keep users organized and on track. If some accountability system is not used then we are likely to loose sight and fail.

5. Frequent Review and Re-assessment

Goal Setting is definitely an ongoing process that is accomplished over time. When we first sit down and start to define goals it can seem like a difficult and daunting task but over time it begins to get much easier. Patience is required. All goals due in the next year should be reviewed at least once a week and daily if possible. The great thing about frequent review is that this forces us to make big decisions and determine priorities in our life. We should keep watch for goals that aren’t being achieved on time or for goals on which we keep extending the deadline.

I hope this article will help you achieve your goals and give you more focus and direction. The website at MyGoalManager.com automates all of the philosophies and procedures laid out in this article and is a very helpful tool for reaching your goals. This website also has a demo that shows some examples of the strategies described in this article. Good luck as you realize all of your greatest dreams!

@

If you don’t know where your going,any road will take you there. Lewis carrol

Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility. Oprah whinfrey.

I am in control of my world and my body. I am responsible for myself. I release this unnecessary stress and allow my body and mind to relax into a comfortable state of being. I am calm and relaxed. I have a positive and optimistic attitude.

Repeat this three times in your head Close your eyes and inhale and exhale. Until you feel your body starting to relax.

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