Pregnancy and Psychotropic Medications
Pregnancy can be a challenging time for women with long-term mental disorders. While mental illness is common among women of childbearing age, it can bring increased difficulties and risks during…
Schizophrenia
Learning to Understand My Brother’s Schizophrenia
A few years ago, my mother called the police when my brother said he had the desire to kill himself. He’d been admitted to a mental hospital. The lobby looked…
All About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia occurs in about 1 percent of the general U.S. population. That means that more than 3 million Americans suffer from the illness. The disorder manifests itself in a broad…
About Taking Medications for Schizophrenia
Approximately 100,000 people in the U.S. have a psychosis episode each year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Psychosis is a break with reality where a person may…
The Health Impact of Regular Marijuana Use
A recent global review of marijuana (cannabis) suggests it has been used by one in 25 adults aged 15 to 64 years. Published in the Lancet, the report focuses on…
Helpful Hints about Schizophrenia for Family Members & Others
Family and friends of a person with schizophrenia often do their best to support their loved one initially, but over time, may find themselves frustrated by the what seems like…
New Pilot Program Tries to Help the Mentally Ill Quit Smoking
I was shocked when I read this statistic in Melinda’s Beck top-notch column, “Health Journal,” in the Wall Street Journal: Nearly half of all the cigarettes sold in the U.S….
Medications for Schizophrenia
Antipsychotic medications have been available since the mid-1950s. They have greatly improved the outlook for individual patients. These medications reduce the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and usually allow the patient…
How a Bully Is Made
The short- and long-term harm done to bullying victims has received much attention lately. The complex web of factors which go into creating bullies are less often discussed. Every bully…
Psychosocial Treatments for Schizophrenia
Antipsychotic drugs have proven to be crucial in relieving the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia — hallucinations, delusions, and incoherence — but are not consistent in relieving the behavioral symptoms of…
Schizophrenia and Genetics: Research Update
Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since the theory that less-than-affectionate mothers cause schizophrenia. Today, it’s widely accepted that a complex interplay of genes and environment contributes to schizophrenia, which…
Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse
Substance abuse can be a co-occuring issue among those diagnosed with schizophrenia. Roughly 50 percent of individuals suffering from schizophrenia struggle with drug and alcohol abuse. Some people who abuse…
Premature Death Rates Rising in Schizophrenia, Bipolar Patients
People with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a substantially raised risk of premature death, research warns, and the risk seems to be increasing. Attempts have been made in recent years…
Cannabis is linked to schizophrenia in predisposed individuals
Cannabis has long been thought to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. However, the evidence is still not fully conclusive. The first study on schizophrenia and cannabis took place in…
Types of Schizophrenia
The kinds of symptoms that are utilized to make a diagnosis of schizophrenia differ between affected people and may change from one year to the next within the same person…
