In this article

What are the symptoms? How common is it? What's the course of the disease?

What support is available? What can I do to help myself?

What professional help is available? Myth busting

If you've acknowledged that you have schizophrenia, there are four elements to self-management that may prevent the further development of both positive and negative symptoms: support, stimulation, medication and crisis.

Support

It's very important that someone with schizophrenia gets the right kind of support. Often, relatives or friends will either tend to be overprotective, or become distant and angry. How members of family or other social supports respond to this illness has been shown to be a crucial factor in predicting further acute episodes.

Because of this, it's important that the family also gets the right kind of support and help. Being overprotective of someone with schizophrenia can lead to them feeling stifled and frustrated; being angry and distant can make then feel even more isolated than they already are.

This is easier said than done. Many carers, particularly parents, feel guilty and think that they're in some way responsible for the condition in the first place. This is never the case.

The genetic element, which isn't under anyone's control, simply adds to a person's likelihood of developing schizophrenia and isn't a cause in itself.

Many organisations in our useful contacts section have resources for carers. Some local NHS mental health services also provide support for carers.

Stimulation

It's important that life after a schizophrenic episode doesn't become a vacuum. At the same time, it may not be advisable to return to the lifestyle that existed before the episode. Just as with social support, it's a case of getting the balance right. This can be done by using thought and mood monitoring - this is probably best done with either a carer or a professional.

Medication

Not continuing to take medication is another predictor of further acute episodes. It's also very easy to advise this if you're not the one taking the medication.

First, if the person diagnosed with schizophrenia isn't convinced that they're ill, then they won't be convinced that they need medication.

Second, some medication can have quite unpleasant side effects. It's important for the person taking it to talk this through with their psychiatrist or community psychiatric nurse (CPN). There may be other treatments for the side effects, or it may be possible to try an alternative medication, or it may be possible to reduce the dose further.

Despite the side effects of some drugs, a lot of progress has been made in the past few years and things are improving. The new generation of 'atypical antipsychotics' - though expensive - do give new hope for some people with the condition.

Crisis

It's best to plan and agree in advance with carers what you want to happen if another acute episode occurs.

Working with your mental health team, it's possible to draw up a crisis card detailing the type of care you want (or don't want) in a crisis.

There is also comprehensive information about schizophrenia on the Institute of Psychiatry website that includes information for carers, and details of current and past research studies.

Almost every member of local mental health teams has something to contribute to the care of people with schizophrenia. It's no longer simply a case of medicating people and monitoring them in the hope that they won't experience a second episode.

Psychiatrists are able to balance different medications discussed above and in our A-Z of drugs. Psychologists, CPNs, occupational therapists and social workers all have roles to play helping to maintain an environment for the person with schizophrenia that's healthy from both a social and psychological perspective.