Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse Treatment in Orange County, California

This is a mental state where people partially or completely lose touch with reality. This is believed to be caused by a disruption in the way that the brain processes information and stimuli. During a psychotic episode, a person’s perceptions become completely unreliable as they could be perceiving a specific thing or all things around them in a very different way.

This different perception will then influence how they react to it. A person who is undergoing a psychotic episode will react in the most normal way given the circumstances of their perceptions. A person could be in an office, school, or a park, and their senses could be telling them they are underwater, so they will react as if they truly are.

Simply put, someone who is experiencing delusions will have difficulty separating what is real from what is imagined. A person who is said to be delusional will completely believe what they think to be real, regardless of the circumstances that surround it. An example is when people keep on saying and believing that someone is after them or watching them.

People who suffer from this condition take issues such as paranoia to a completely different level. Some people could become dangerous because of their delusions, such as those who are not above attacking others who they believe are watching or stalking them. In most cases, no amount of convincing will work on the delusional person, and they will continue to hold on to their beliefs even in the face of irrefutable proof. In many cases, trying to convince a person suffering from delusions that their fears and suspicions are unjustified will only serve to make them even more aggressive and suspicious.

Some people take substances known as hallucinogens to experience an alternative form of reality, although they tend to regain their normal sense of reality once the effects of the substance wear off. People who suffer from hallucinations, however, suffer from a mental disorder that affects and alters their perceptions.

The most common manifestations of hallucinations often involve the sense of hearing, as many have often complained of hearing voices or things that only they could perceive. The next most common form of hallucination involves the sense of sight, as people who suffer from hallucinations could see things that are not there, or look at one thing or even someone but see something completely different. In most cases, hallucinations are dangerous to the person who experience them as they could be in a potentially dangerous situation but they will not even begin to perceive the danger because they are seeing, hearing, or smelling something else.

Much like when a person is experiencing a delusional episode, a person experiencing a particular form of hallucination could become violent or aggressive, as they might be perceiving a threat that isn’t there.

This symptom of schizophrenia could seriously impede a person’s ability to communicate and carry out even the simplest of things because their thoughts and speech patterns become jumbled or incoherent. This is particularly evident in people who seem to suddenly change behavior for no apparent reason. Many often mistake this condition as someone who is suffering from a personality disorder, bipolar disorder, or mood swings, as the person typically shifts from one type of emotion or behavior to something else with no transition.

People who suffer from disorganized thinking could be talking about or doing something and suddenly shift to something else. They could be docile or friendly one moment and then suddenly become severely agitated or even aggressive with no warning or provocation. People who suffer from disorganized thinking don’t need a trigger or cue to suddenly shift their behavior. Some people even manifest a state of catatonia, where a person suddenly appears to be in a daze, completely unresponsive to outside stimuli, and will show little to no movement for extended periods.

The greatest potential threat to a person suffering from schizophrenia is the suicidal tendency that potentially arises due to the nature of the condition. People who suffer from schizophrenia may still understand and relate with other people on a certain level, and interacting with the people could serve to highlight just how different their perceptions could be, as it becomes more apparent to the person with schizophrenia that they are the only ones who see, hear, feel, and believe the things that they do.

This realization is often more than enough to impress upon them just how damaged they are, and this could push them into deciding they might be better off if they end up dead. In cases where the person suffers from severe paranoia, they could experience fear that is so intense that they would rather take their own lives than fall victim to some perceived threat that they dread.

Studies have shown that the chances of genetically inheriting schizophrenia are between 70% and 80%, with the greatest risk factor for developing the condition is having a first-degree relative who already suffers from it. Research into the genetic link reveals that if one parent is affected the probability of inheriting schizophrenia is around 13% and if both are affected the risk is almost at 50% certainty.

There is, however, a great paradox involved in the theory that genetics is a huge factor in increased chances of developing schizophrenia, given that people with schizophrenia have lower fertility rates. Still, having low fertility rates do not necessarily mean that conception is impossible, and given that many genes could play a part in a person developing the condition, further study is being devoted to this theory.

There are numerous environmental factors that experts are looking at that they believe could significantly contribute to the chances of a person developing schizophrenia even from the prenatal phases. These include oxygen deprivation, specific infection, prenatal maternal stress, and malnutrition in the mother during prenatal development. This theory derives from the known fact that maternal stress and infection have been demonstrated to alter fetal neurodevelopment.

Viral infections of the brain during childhood are also being looked at as a driver of developing schizophrenia later on during adulthood. Malnutrition in the form of vitamin D deficiency in the mother during pregnancy is also being scrutinized as this could potentially affect the development of the brain of the fetus.

External factors are also being eyed in the environmental risks of schizophrenia, including adverse childhood experiences (ACE), which is more commonly known as childhood trauma. These intense experiences include being bullied or abused as a child, accidents, and the death of a parent. These adverse childhood experiences could cause toxic stress and increase the risk of psychosis.

Data taken from mental health treatment in Orange County indicate that at least half of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia also use recreational drugs, including cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol in excessive amounts. Certain substances, including stimulants like amphetamine and cocaine, are already known to produce psychosis in the user with continuous use. This theory, however, is highly debatable as substances are known to produce psychosis, while many people diagnosed with schizophrenia are also known to use substances to quell many of its symptoms.