Over time, people have faced difficulties as they try to comprehend the symptoms of psychological disorders. Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that impairs an individual’s thinking, understanding, and behavior, leading to delusions and hallucinations (Boerrigter et al.). If not treated earlier, it can lead to lifelong disability. Besides, the patient usually experiences disorderly conduct as well as speaks in a monotonous tone. Generally, individuals suffering from this illness lack emotional expressiveness.
Schizophrenia versus Schizoaffective Disorders
Schizophrenia and schizoaffective are two distinct disorders, each having its way of diagnosis and treatment. However, they share almost similar psychotic characteristics. Often, individuals suffering from schizophrenia experience difficulties in problem-solving and memory lapses. In turn, schizoaffective illness refers to the condition where individuals face psychotic symptoms of Schizophrenia. For instance, the patient may hallucinate, have false beliefs, show signs of depression or mania (Boerrigter et al.). Psychotic manifestations make it hard for the patient suffering from this illness to interact well with other people.
A patient suffering from schizoaffective disorder is likely to have severe mood swings that last the entire illness period. On the other hand, a person suffering from Schizophrenia experiences similar mood incidents, but with shorter intervals compared to the duration of psychotic symptoms (Boerrigter et al.). Moreover, the schizophrenia psychotic symptoms are persistent, while those of schizoaffective tend to be recurring.
Conclusion
Schizoaffective and Schizophrenia disorders have no cure; however, with continued family support systems and long-term supervised treatment by a qualified medical team, these conditions can be successfully treated and managed. Similarly, proper care for Schizophrenia should address undesirable symptoms, cognitive shortfalls, and the typical reaction to the existing antipsychotics. Further drug treatment has shown symptoms’ reduction and possibilities of relapse; therefore, there is a need to strengthen cognitive therapy to reduce symptoms and increase individual functionality.
Work Cited
Boerrigter, Danny, et al. “Using Blood Cytokine Measures to Define High Inflammatory Biotype of Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder.” Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 1, no. 14, 2017, 188.