Schizoaffective Psychosis - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment Of Schizoaffective Psychosis

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Causes and symptoms of schizoaffective psychosis

Content:

• Symptoms of schizoaffective psychosis
• Causes of schizoaffective psychosis
• Diagnosis of schizoaffective psychosis
• Treatment of schizoaffective psychosis

What is schizoaffective psychosis?

Psychosis of the schizoaffective type, is a serious illness of the mental type, which is manifested by attacks of a periodic nature, expressed by an affective disorder of an endogenous type (depression, manicity) or schizophrenia (delirium, hallucinations). Schizoaffective psychosis is a long-term illness that affects all areas of life. The disease has a relatively favorable prognosis, often manifested by relapses of psychosis.

The pattern and dynamics of seizures can have simultaneous coexistence or sequential development. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that changes in a person the process of thinking, acting, expressing emotions, a sense of reality and attitude towards others. Affective disorder is a mental state that is characterized by a sharp change in mood with the inclusion of states of various manias and depression.

Symptoms of schizoaffective psychosis

The symptomatology of schizoaffective psychosis is very diverse and can be reflected in sharp amplitude fluctuations in mood, manifest as hallucinations, absent-mindedness of the thought process. Symptoms are mild or severe in intensity. Depression is characterized by decreased appetite followed by weight loss, altered sleep patterns, loss of energy, and lack of interest in daily activities. The presence of depression is indicated by the emerging feeling of hopelessness, self-accusation mixed with guilt, thoughts of suicide.

The depressive state, as a rule, is replaced by the state of mania, for which an increase in activity in all spheres of life (home, work, social, sexual activity), a high-speed tempo of speech and thought, and a minimum time spent on sleep are typical. An agitated state sets in with excessively inflated self-esteem and increased distraction. Human behavior is self-destructive and becomes life-threatening.

For attacks of schizophrenia, a state of delirium is characteristic, ideas that do not have a reality, but the patient does not accept this. These states are manifested by disturbed thinking, unusual behavior. Hallucinations are noted in the form of implausible voices, visions, smells. The patient's movements become slow or completely stop, there is a deficit of emotions in facial expressions and speech, it is difficult for a person to communicate with people and generally talk. Motives for action disappear.

Causes of schizoaffective psychosis

To date, the exact cause of the disease has not been found. Scientists suggest a possible connection between schizoaffective psychosis and heredity, since there is a tendency for the transmission of the disease at the level of genetics from parents to a child. Another reason for this psychosis is due to the imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Neurotransmitters are responsible for the transmission of messages between brain cells, and an imbalance in their balance causes the manifestation of symptoms of the disease.

When observing patients with schizoaffective psychosis, the influence of external factors was revealed, which include the presence of viral infections in the body, the presence of stressful moments in life, and isolation from society. These factors are exacerbated by genetic predisposition. The progression of schizoaffective disorder begins in adolescence or early adulthood, between about 16 and 30 years of age. It is more often observed in women than in men, it affects children extremely rarely.

Diagnosis of schizoaffective psychosis

When symptoms appear, the doctor looks at the patient's physical health after examining the medical history. Blood tests, x-rays and other tests are done. The absence of physical reasons for the onset of symptoms allows the patient to be referred to a psychiatrist (psychologist). A specialist in the field of mental illness can make a diagnosis of schizoaffective psychosis only if there are periods (at least two weeks) of uninterrupted illness, that is, the presence of signs of mania, psychosis, depression, as well as symptoms of schizophrenia.

Treatment of schizoaffective psychosis

The basis of treatment is drug therapy, the choice of which depends on the degree of the disease. Typically, these are antipsychotic medications aimed at relieving the symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as antidepressants that work with mood swings. The goal of psychotherapy is to study the disease in more detail, to effectively help the patient, to deal with the daily tasks that arise from the disease. Family-type psychotherapy makes it easier for relatives to care for a sick family member.

Most of the patients undergo outpatient treatment. There is a need for an emergency hospitalization if the life of the patient or others is threatened, as well as with severe symptoms of the disease.

Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist

Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".