Hi. I hope everyone is doing good. This time, I would like to discuss about a medical illness and people who survived the illness with proper help and medication. I learned about this illness from one of the K-dramas, “Daily Dose of Sunshine."
In general, we think that we are all doing well until we experience any physical pain. But we don't even bother about our mental health. We all believe that meeting a psychiatrist or go for counselling or therapy will label as having some serious illness and no one is ready to confess even though they are fighting against any illness that drains them mentally.
After watching this series, I started wondering if we, as a group, must come forward to break this culture. Everyone must start taking care of themselves and seek help based on their situation or illness. Nothing is wrong with having a mental illness, and seeking timely support.
Scroll down to learn more about the illness and the real-time survivor of the illness.
WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?
It is a serious mental illness that affects the way people think, feel, and behave. People suffering from this illness seem to have lost touch with reality, and this causes immense pain and sorrow for them and their families.
The disease was first discovered by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in late 1800. He happens to witness patients with schizophrenia symptoms. The term schizophrenia was first introduced by Swiss psychiatrist Paul Eugen Bleuler in 1900. This term was derived from the Greek roots, meaning “split mind.” Paul used this term to address the illness when he was presenting a lecture at a meeting of the German Psychiatric Association in Berlin.
This illness is not similar to spilt or multiple personality disorders. It is a functional psychotic disorder that includes delusional beliefs (people start believing things that are not the truth). Though people around them explain it with proof, they still choose to believe things that their mind makes up, such as hallucinations (false perceptions of objects or events that involve your senses: sound, smell, touch, and taste), and disturbances in thoughts or behavior.
DIAGNOSIS CRITERIA!
If the person experiences the following symptoms for a period of time, he or she must undergo a schizophrenia disorder diagnosis test:
Delusions: during this period, the affected person believes that his or her food is poisoned by someone and refuses to have it. They also look more disturbed, and their condition gets worse if the signs are not given any attention in the next six months.
Disorganized speech (repetition, speaking very fast, irrelevant, and so on).
The psychiatrists can confirm the presence of a disorder by asking us to take up the following tests:
Cognitive testing (check for problems in brain functions—including thinking, learning, remembering, and language).
Personality testing (helps to understand a person's motivations, preferences, interests, emotional reactions, and how they interact with others in different situations).
Open-ended or projective testing such as the Rorschach (inkblot) test (persons will be asked to draw their perceptions using inkblots, and psychiatrists will use algorithms to crack them).
Initial symptoms are that people started to behave strangely; the affected individuals always prefer to be alone, and when they talk, they happen to discuss one common topic that is based on religion, government, or politics. According to the survey, 1 percent of the population is affected by this disorder. Men who are in their early 20’s and women in their late 20’s are likely to be affected by this disorder. This disorder may pass on as a genetic disease, but no specific gene is claimed to be responsible for it. The disorder rate is higher in Indonesia, and in India, 0.5 percent of the of the population is affected by it.
REAL-TIME SURVIVOR!
TANARA – Her life took a huge turn when she was diagnosed with schizophrenia disorder at the age of 27. She describes herself as a bubbly woman with a happy personality who is living a peaceful life. She is interested in fashion, loves R&B music, likes to cook and spend time with her family, and enjoys shopping.
In 2011, she was sent to jail after having an argument with her neighbor in the parking spot. This incident seemed weird (abnormal) to her and to her family.
LIFE BEFORE AND AFTER DISORDER!
In 2007, Tanara (23 years old) was pursuing her college degree and working as a part-timer in the restaurant. She loved her job and was one of the best servers in the restaurant. She was good at taking orders without using a notepad.
At the end of 2008, she started experiencing the strange symptoms. She happens to feel paranoid, hearing voices and seeing things. As the days passed, she did not even like to dress up or even get out of the bed. She was not able to figure out what was happening to her.
In July 2009, Tanara was hospitalized. After examining Tanara, her doctors believed that she was suffering from a mood disorder or bipolar disorder. This was because she never told doctors about her symptoms. So, the doctor’s prescribed her different medications. A few days later, Tanara was discharged from the hospital. She felt fine after stopped taking all the medicines.
After this, she was no longer focusing on her studies; instead, she started working as a painter who painted the buildings at the camps. But still, Tanara experiences the strange symptoms, which keep bothering her at times.
In April 2010, Tanara's condition got worse. So, her family convinced her to meet the psychiatrist. Even during this examination, she never shared her true symptoms with the doctor; instead, she pretended to be her old self, acting cool and easy-going. So, this time they concluded that she was suffering from a manic attack (extreme changes in mood, emotions, and energy level) and prescribed her with new medicines. Tanara started experiencing side effects, like twitching, while consuming these tablets. So, she stopped taking it and quit her job as a server at the restaurant (due to side effects).
BREAKING POINT!
In 2010, during Christmas, Tanara's grandmother was terribly sick. Encountering her grandmother in the hospital covered by tubes left Tanara with anxiety and an extremely stressful state. That was the time she got into an argument with one of her neighbours in the parking slot and was imprisoned for her action.
As per judgment, Tanara was asked to visit the psychiatrist and work on her psychological conditions. Though Tanara was nervous, she decided to open up her heart and share about the symptoms she had been experiencing for the past four years. After listening to her, the psychiatrist concluded that she was fighting “schizophrenia disorder." This was completely new to Tanara, and she can’t even understand what it was.
Tanara started taking treatment for her disorder (monthly injections and medications as prescribed) and was admitted to the hospital to be under a doctor's observation for a period of time. She started feeling better and made friends. She also gained knowledge about her illness. She happily took part in all the activities, like watching movies, cooking classes, and education sessions about the illness. Through these sessions, she thought she could help people with the same disorder suffering out there in society. Tanara gained enough knowledge about her illness and her triggering points, which need to be avoided.
Tanara was asked to be hospitalized for three months. She felt very bad when her birthday passed during that time. But somehow, she managed to fight the situation bravely. Her sadness ended when her doctor said that she would be sent home in the month of November 2011. Tanara felt that, finally, she could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
After Tanara came back home, she started taking part in a rehabilitation program and taking new prescribed medicine (along with monthly injections). She tried her best to work on herself, and this helps in controlling her schizophrenia symptoms. She finally got back to normal and started living her life, which she had missed so far.
DREAM JOB!
As Tanara's illness was under control, she started applying for restaurant jobs, but unfortunately, most of her applications were rejected. After multiple rejections, she finally settled on one restaurant job. This job treated her well, and she developed good relationships with her boss and her coworkers. But deep down, she wanted herself to settle down in an office job. During one of her visits to the rehabilitation center, she happened to hear that there was an opening for a peer support specialist role through one of the nurses. She applied for it and got it, luckily.
HAPPY ME!
Six months after joining the job, she felt that she was ready to take on more responsibility. She enrolled in a week-long course about the peer support profession and ended up scoring 99% on the exam. After three years, Tanara started doing wellness checks on patients, taking them to doctor’s appointments and grocery shopping too.
She is now helping people who are all suffering from schizophrenia disorder and creating opportunities, paving the way for them to lead a happy life. She did her best to help people fighting the illness because she knew the pain behind the disorder.
RELATIONSHIP!
Tanara felt that she would lead her life all alone and end up being a server. But luckily, she found her better half, and they moved in together recently. She is happy now. She believes that she went through a lot to reach this place, and she sure can lead a normal life. In the future, she would like to have children and get married too.
From this, I conclude that illness is not something to be ashamed of. The right treatment with a proper guide can make things good, and people with illnesses can lead a normal, happy life. Just stay calm and fight the battle. We are all here for you!
Let’s inspire others and get inspired too. ILLNESS IS NO LONGER ABNORMAL!
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