NAIROBI, Kenya- About 24 million people across the world are ailing from Schizophrenia, a mental illness that causes psychosis and is associated with considerable disability and may affect all areas of life including personal, family, social, educational, and occupational functioning.
Despite its adverse effects on patients, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than two out of three people with psychosis in the world do not receive specialist mental health care.
People with schizophrenia often also experience persistent difficulties with their cognitive or thinking skills, such as memory, attention, and problem-solving.
Among the symptoms include persistent delusions, persistent hallucinations-the person may hear, smell, see, touch, or feel things that are not there and disorganized thinking.
Other symptoms include extreme agitation or slowing of movements, maintenance of unusual postures and highly disorganised behaviour.
A person with Schizophrenia does things that appear bizarre or purposeless, or the person has unpredictable or inappropriate emotional responses that interfere with their ability to organise their behaviour.
Schizophrenia is frequently associated with significant distress and impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, and other important areas of life.
WHO says people with schizophrenia are 2 to 3 times more likely to die early than the general population.
This is often due to physical illnesses, such as cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases.
People with schizophrenia often experience human rights violations both inside mental health institutions and in community settings.
Stigma against people with this condition is intense and widespread, causing social exclusion, and impacting their relationships with others, including family and friends.
This contributes to discrimination, which in turn can limit access to general health care, education, housing, and employment.
-Causes of Schizophrenia-
Research has not identified one single cause of schizophrenia.
It is thought that an interaction between genes and a range of environmental factors may cause schizophrenia.
Psychosocial factors may also affect the onset and course of schizophrenia. Heavy use of cannabis is associated with an elevated risk of the disorder.
