Schizophrenia

Every mental health disorder can cause intense and debilitating symptoms, but none cause the severe challenges faced by people with schizophrenia. Sabelle Mbye, PMHNP, and Diana Manjarres, PMHNP, at Just Breathe Wellness and Healing Center in Kennesaw, Georgia, offer support and holistic treatment for schizophrenia. They can help you manage this challenging condition whether your symptoms just began and you need a psychiatric evaluation, or you have a long history of psychotic episodes and need expert medication management and therapy. Don’t wait to schedule an appointment. Call the office or use the online booking feature today.

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia affects your thoughts and perceptions and changes the way you interact with others. Psychosis, the hallmark symptom of schizophrenia, alters your sense of reality and makes it impossible to function in any aspect of your daily life.

What psychotic symptoms occur in people with schizophrenia?

Psychosis includes a group of symptoms that make you lose touch with reality because of the way your brain processes information.

Psychotic episodes come and go in people with schizophrenia, causing the following symptoms:

Delusions

When you experience delusions, you believe something that’s not real, even in the face of evidence proving you’re wrong. Common delusions include believing you’re a famous person or that someone is controlling your thoughts.

Hallucinations

During a hallucination, you feel, taste, smell, or hear something that doesn’t exist. The most common type of hallucination is hearing voices.

Disorganized thoughts and speech

Your thoughts are illogical, racing, chaotic, and disjointed during a psychotic episode. Your speech reflects your disorganized thoughts, causing you to jump from one topic to another, mix up words, say things that don’t make sense, or stop talking before completing a sentence.

Disorganized behavior

Disorganized behavior includes two opposite behaviors: immobility and lack of speech (catatonia), or behaviors that are repetitive, senseless, bizarre, and sometimes dangerous. For example, you may walk in circles or become aggressive.

Does schizophrenia cause other symptoms?

Schizophrenia also causes negative symptoms that are different from psychosis. These symptoms include lacking emotion or motivation, becoming isolated, and neglecting personal hygiene.

How is schizophrenia treated?

The first line of treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medications. These medications reduce the number of psychotic episodes and may put psychosis into remission.

Antipsychotics come in several forms, including long-acting injectables (LAIs) that last for several weeks or months, depending on the medication. LAIs release a consistent dose of medicine, giving you the best chance of preventing future psychotic episodes.

In addition to medication management, your caring Just Breathe Wellness and Healing Center provider offers therapy, teaching how to recognize signs of psychosis and steps to prevent it and skills that support your daily life.

They also understand that schizophrenia needs a team that can help you find work and remain independent. They help you connect with other community resources, working together with them to improve your well-being.

Call Just Breathe Wellness and Healing Center or book online today to get exceptional care for schizophrenia.