THANE: A 40-year-old housewife used to think that all the internet connections in
Ghodbunder Road are hacked by a man and he displays stories and details about her in order to make her an actress. As absurd and weird as it might sound to a mentally-sound person, it was an imaginary world that the woman had created as she was suffering from
schizophrenia, which is a mental disorder.
Accodring to the statistics by the
World Health Organisation (WHO) nearly 23 million people are affected by Schizophrenia worldwide. However, the condition is treatable. So on World Schizophrenia Day, which is observed on May 24, TOI talks about how one can identify the symptoms of this mental disorder so that patients are treated sooner.
Disoriented or jumbled thinking, false beliefs, hallucinations, altered sense of self, loss of purpose, social withdrawal and more are some of the symptoms which patients suffer from. They get irritated, at times even violent, when people deny accepting the tales they tell.
“There are two kinds of people—first is someone who might look and behave well, but in their mind they create an implausible world and their life revolves around it. Secondly, there are those who have no sense of self care, don’t eat or sleep well, stay dirty, talk alone or hallucinate about seeing and hearing something or someone’s sound, have speech problems. These people mostly even go away from their homes,” said Dr.
Shailesh Umate, psychiatrist at the Institute for Psychological Health.
Dr. Umate added, “The disorder is 90% of the times genetic and typically these signs are seen when the child is 16 to 26 years or in the age group of 30 to 40 years, when there is any breakdown due to personal or professional reasons.
In Thane’s mental hospital there are around 42% patients suffering from this disorder. The officials even stated that many times patients are taken to doctors as a last resort and the condition of the patient gets worse as many are still unaware about the disorder.
“Out of almost 1,500 patients, approximately 42% are the ones suffering from Schizophrenia. Most of the times their families take time to get the patients to the doctor as they feel that the patient is possessed. So, instead of a doctor, they take them to a godman. But these patients only get cured once they are taken to doctors either through medications or at times electroconvulsive therapy,” said Dr.
Vishakha Chavan, psychiatrist at the mental hospital.
There are two kinds of people—first is someone who might look and behave well, but in their mind they create an implausible world and their life revolves around it. Secondly, there are those who have no sense of self care, don’t eat or sleep well, stay dirty, talk alone or hallucinate about seeing and hearing something, have speech problems