Category: Speech Therapy

It all started early Saturday morning whilst my wife and I sat in bed talking and sipping our morning cups of coffee. Excitedly she reached down and hauled her notebook computer into bed with us. Just the prior day we’d joined a program that allowed us to visit hundreds of historical sites for free, and she could hardly wait to select one off the web to go visit. When I suggested that perhaps we should pass on that Idea and just go somewhere local, everything changed. She stopped smiling, closed down the computer, and grabbed a book to read. As any married man can attest to, things are at a dangerous point when the book pops up.

Hoping there was some way out of this situation I tried to talk excitedly about going for a walk on the beach (something that she usually gets really jazzed about). With downcast eyes she replied, “I’d rather just go sit in the garden.” My head screamed at me, “Leave it alone!” At the time I just couldn’t. It was the day before Mother’s day and I knew if things went wrong now the bad feelings were liable to carry over. So I did what every well meaning but silly husband does, I tried to talk logically about the situation (though I should’ve known better). And, like every time a man’s logic is mixed with intense female emotions, there was a meltdown of communication. Using the baby’s breakfast as an excuse, I bravely raced out of the room.

A few minutes later the family assembled for breakfast. As we ate, one of my sons mentioned that he needed a new pair of shoes. Had this been the usual run of the mill day, I would’ve lectured him on having worn them out so quickly (I buy him a pair a month on average). But this was no ordinary day! I could’ve grabbed him up and hugged him. This was the buffer I needed. The family would be so busy shopping that surely my wife would forget about our misunderstanding and we could negotiate somewhere fun to go in the area afterwards. I must be honest here and say that this plan went over like a lead balloon.

The entire shopping trip my wife refused to say a word. Then to top it off she drove silently down to the beach. The beach was warm and sunny and the weather divine. It was truly the most pleasing day that we’ve had in months. Families were playing on the shores whilst sailboats drifted by. Right then I wished desperately that I was any one of those smiling people.

We both attempted to talk to one another, but I’m afraid that the communication was still a sizzled mess. After several tries it became quite apparent that silence was still the wisest choice.

As we plodded along, my mind furiously churned. Then, all of a sudden, something really bizarre yet wonderful happened. Without intending it, I went into a hypnotic trance and my mind detached from all the sadness I felt. All of a sudden nothing mattered except the warmth of the sun, the lapping of the waves, and all the laughing people. My mind had filtered out everything negative. Though things weren’t where they should be with my wife, the rest of the walk was a delight.

Sometimes the most joy can be found in simply refusing to focus on the problem. And the best news is, once it wasn’t being focused on, the negativity lost all of its power. Consequently, everything was all right between my wife and I shortly after the walk.

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disease. This disease can completely change the life of the patient if not treated well. Peoples with this disease can completely lose the touch with the real world. The suicide and violence rate in schizophrenic patients is very high. Early treatment can help in the recovery of the patient.

Following symptoms can be found in schizophrenic patients.

Symptoms

.The patient will hear voices in his mind. He will start talking with himself just like he is talking with someone.

.Patient will tell his guardian that someone is ordering him.

.Patient may report seeing something unusual like that is not possible in the real world.

.The patient will feel an unusual type of taste, smell.

.Will believe someone special is in touch with him.

.Mayreport someone is giving him a message through Tv or phone.

.The patient will tell someone is after him for something or he is being followed.

.Schizophrenic may consider his thoughts are being controlled. Someone can know what he is thinking and he can transfer his thoughts to another person.

.Will believe, through his thoughts he can control the peoples or world.

.Maybelieve himself a special person or a messenger of God.

.Patient may strictly believe in false beliefs.

.The patient may start smiling or crying without any reason

.Schizophrenictake high stress and tension on tiny matters.

.A patient talking and thinking behavior will change. He will talk and think differently. When he will talk about something then abruptly he will change the topic and will mix his speech with different topics. Like this patient who was observed by Nancy C. Andreasen “The next day when I’d be going out you know, I took control, like uh, I put bleach on my hair in California.”

.The patient will ignore peoples. His social activities will decrease and he will like solitary. He will spend most of his time at home and will avoid going out to meet peoples.

.The patient will become emotionless. He may not react to the circumstance that can evoke emotions in others.

.The patient’s thinking capability will decrease and he will not be able to deliver the right answer.

.The patients will become depressed and their ability to feel pleasure will decrease.

.Patient will get sleep problemslike severe insomnia.

Causes

Genetics, environment, substance use is mostly considered a risk factor but precise causes are not clear. If a family has schizophrenic patients then in this family newborns are at risk of developing this disease. Malnutrition or infection during pregnancy can also become a cause. Stress can also play a role in developing this disease. Cannabis use can become a contributing factor in developing schizophrenia.

Treatment

Antipsychotics medicines are used to treat these patients. These medicines have disturbing side effects. Like blood pressure and diabetes patients schizophrenic patients are required to take these medicines for remaining life but the American Psychiatric Association(APA),advises doctors to stop recommending antipsychotics to those patients who have no symptoms for the last one or two years. Most schizophrenic patients start living a normal life with good treatment. Some of them also recover completely. These patients also required good social support to recover.