HealthStar Home Health is presenting a series on various mental health and behavioral health topics. In this series of articles, we take a look at different subjects and provide information to help you know how best to care for your loved one.
The Mayo Clinic defines schizophrenia as a severe mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally. This chronic condition may present itself with a combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs the daily functioning of a person.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), schizophrenia affects about 1% of Americans. The illness can occur at any age, but the average onset typically is in a person’s late teenage years to early 20s for men and late 20s to early 30s for women. Due to its nature in that schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves on a daily basis, people struggling with this may seem as though they have lost touch with reality.
Contrary to what many believe, schizophrenia is not multiple personalities or a split personality. Most who suffer from this illness are not violent towards others and do not pose a threat to others. Common misconceptions are that schizophrenia is brought on by childhood experiences, poor parenting is a driving factor, and that symptoms are the same for all. These simply are not true. In fact, research shows that a combination of genetics, brain chemistry, and environment are contributing factors to the development of this disorder. At HealthStar Home Health, our caregivers are educated in this disorder and support our clients by responding calmly, ensuring medications are taken as prescribed and understanding potential situations that may trigger symptoms or disrupt normal activities.
Here at HealthStar Home Health, we serve individuals in our adult and children’s mental health programs that are diagnosed with schizophrenia as well as other mental health disorders. When serving individuals with schizophrenia, we understand that coping with this illness is difficult. We have learned that our clients who suffer from any form of mental health disorder tend to have great insight into their symptoms and we support and use that insight when caring for them.
Symptoms and the severity can widely vary, but typically involve delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized communication as well as an impaired ability to function. Symptoms can include:
- Delusions
- Hallucinations
- Disorganized thinking and speech
- Abnormal motor behavior
- Negative symptoms
To learn more about each symptom as well as risk factors, treatment options and more, visit: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443
We invite you to learn more about the mental health services offered by HealthStar Home Health. Both our Children’s Therapeutic Services and Supports (CTSS) and Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS) feature cultural sensitivity and are provided with empathy to the underserved members of the communities and regions we serve.
Our highly trained and culturally competent multi-disciplinary team of mental health professionals, practitioners and behavioral aides provide CTSS and ARMHS services in the home, school, and in the community.
HealthStar Home Health understands how overwhelming and challenging it can be to care for a loved one at home and also offer a variety of home health care services to help support your loved one to live a more independent and fulfilling life at home. To learn more about the various mental health and behavioral health topics being presented in this series, such as autism, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and bipolar disorder, visit our blog.
With cultural care values as the foundation, our caregivers are able to provide quality service, delivering it with increased awareness and perspective. As we serve our clients and communities, we are motivated by our desire to bring services to everyone in need. Call us today at 651-633-7300 for more information or to schedule a no-charge consultation.
