In Which I Discuss Schizophrenia

Welcome back! Did you miss me? Of course you did, and I don't blame you.

The hot topic this week is schizophrenia! That's interesting, right? "Why, yes! It is!" you shout with excitement and anticipation.

I want to start off by tackling some common misconceptions about schizophrenia. For one, when people think of the schizophrenia, many tend to associate it with having multiple personalities. This is not the case. Multiple personalities are a symptom of a different condition known as Dissociative Identity Disorder, or (more fittingly), Multiple Personality Disorder.

Another misconception is that people with schizophrenia are violent and dangerous to be around. This is also false. There is no evidence that a person with schizophrenia is any more dangerous than someone who doesn't have it. Many people with schizophrenia are perfectly capable of living productive lives. In fact, it's possible that you may have met someone with the disorder and not known it.

With that out of the way, you's probably like to know what, exactly, schizophrenia is, if it's not what you've seen on TV.

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects about 1% the U.S. population (about 3,115,919ish people). Like many of the other things I've talked about in my blog, schizophrenia affects different people in different ways. Some people with the disorder may experience auditory hallucinations or delusional thinking. Incoherent speech and odd behavior are also common. A lot of people who suffer from schizophrenia aren't able to care for themselves without assistance, while many others can go on to lead fulfilling lives. It's hard for me to tell you what life is like for people with schizophrenia, especially since I don't know anyone who has it, so I found a video of a woman talking about living with the disorder:

As far as the causes of schizophrenia go, it's been determined that it's likely a mix of both genetic and environmental factors. Family has a lot to do with it, of course. As you probably know, we inherent genes from our parents, so it makes sense that 10% of people with schizophrenic parents will also develop the disorder. However, the people with the highest risk of developing schizophrenia are those who have identical twins with the disorder. For these people, there is a 40-65% chance of developing it. Environmental factors include things that a person is exposed to before and just after birth. These may include prenatal infections, head injuries as an infant, and other things that may have an effect on neurological development.

Before I wrap this up, I have a question for you. If you had to have schizophrenia, what point in time would you choose to have it? If your answer was any time other than now, you're wrong and you should feel bad. Now is arguably the best time to be schizophrenic (not that there's ever been a particularly good time), simply because new developments in treating schizophrenia are being made every day. There are two major forms of medications: typical/conventional and atypical. Conventional medications have been around since the 1950's while atypical ones are pretty new, having been developed in the 90's. These medications work to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and usually have noticeable results within a few days. For many people, these medications allow them to live normal lives. Of course, there are side effects. People taking atypical medications may experience tremors, muscle spasms, rigidity, or restlessness. Honestly, though, I think I'd rather have a few sleepless nights than listen to angry voices yell at me.

Schizophrenia is a really complex condition and I could probably write dozens of entries about it. If you're just dying to know more, though, you can visit the National Institute of Mental Health's website. They have tons of information about all kinds of things.

Say goodnight, Gracie.

'Tis the Season

I never ceases to amaze me how, after 23 years (my birthday was yesterday, make me feel special), I'm still learning about stuff that's been common knowledge for a while. I had one of those moments recently when I learned about Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that affects about 6% of the US population (that's about 19 million people), and I didn't even know it was a thing until a couple of weeks ago.

People with SAD see their depression recur around the same time every year, usually during a particular season. Most people begin experiencing symptoms in the fall and they continue through the winter, but some people may experience symptoms during spring and summer months. Because most people experience symptoms during the winter, SAD is more common near the poles because of long winter nights. It's much less common in areas with moderate climates. Interestingly, the symptoms people experience can differ depending on when they begin experiencing SAD.

Winter symptoms include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Heavy, "leaden" feeling in the arms or legs
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating

Whereas summer symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Trouble sleeping
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Weight loss
• Poor appetite
• Increased sex drive

While there's no specific cause for SAD, there do seem to be a few things that come into play. Among these are circadian rhythm, serotonin levels, and melatonin levels. It's thought that the lower levels of sunlight in the winter may disrupt the body's "biological clock", causing a person's body to become conflicted as to whether it should be asleep or awake. This, in turn, can trigger feelings of depression. Additionally, the reduced sunlight may also cause a drop in serotonin levels that can cause depression. Finally, seasonal changes may disrupt the body's balance of melatonin, which can affect mood and sleep patterns.

Luckily, SAD has a reasonably quick and inexpensive treatment called light therapy. People undergoing light therapy sit or work a few feet away from a box (basically a lamp) that gives off a bright light, mimicking outdoor light. Despite not having a lot of research behind it, light therapy seems to be a pretty effective way of treating people with SAD. For those who don't get any benefit from light therapy, there's always medication and psychotherapy. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of videos on YouTube featuring people sitting next to lamps for extended periods of time, but I did find this video from DailyWebTV where some lady interviews some other lady about light therapy:

At 3:28, they make a great point about not using just any old lamp for light therapy. If you have SAD, it's best to consult a doctor before buying a light therapy box to make sure you're not just getting a piece of glowing junk.

I think that about does it. As always, I hope you've learned something, because I'd be really sad if you didn't. Oh, and before I go, isn't SAD the most appropriate acronym for anything ever?

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

PTSD: I'll Think of a Better Title Later

I think it's safe to say that most people have experienced or will experience an event which they consider traumatic at some point in their lives. These events can include car accidents, assaults, natural disasters, or even just witnessing something like this happen to someone else. After everything's over, plenty of people can recover and move on with their lives. Unfortunately for some, however, it's not so simple.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder that some people develop as a response to these events. PTSD isn't a one-size-fits-all kind of thing either; it comes in a variety of flavors, none of which I'd want to try. The symptoms fall into three categories: re-living, avoidance, and increased arousal. The CDC made a handy list that highlights some of the symptoms in each category:


• Symptoms of re-living include flashbacks, nightmares, and extreme emotional
and physical reactions to reminders of the event. Emotional reactions can include
feeling guilty, extreme fear of harm, and numbing of emotions. Physical reactions
can include uncontrollable shaking, chills or heart palpitations, and tension
headaches.

• Symptoms of avoidance include staying away from activities, places, thoughts, or
feelings related to the trauma or feeling detached or estranged from others.

• Symptoms of increased arousal include being overly alert or easily startled,
difficulty sleeping, irritability or outbursts of anger, and lack of concentration.

Much like its symptoms, the disorder itself affects people in various ways. People can be diagnosed with acute PTSD if their symptoms last less than three months after the traumatic experience. Other people may be diagnosed with chronic PTSD, which means that their symptoms last longer than three months after the event. Finally, some may experience PTSD with a delayed onset. They may feel like they've recovered from the event, but after six months, they may begin experiencing the symptoms of PTSD.

You already know how people begin experiencing the disorder, but you may be are absolutely wondering why some people get it and others don't. In a study of 218 people who had been hospitalized after severe car wrecks, it was found that 1/6 of them later developed PTSD. Despite every person demonstrating similar stress levels, only some developed the disorder. The study also found that those who did develop PTSD weren't necessarily in worse accidents than those who didn't. So what could it be? Well, one study found that people with PTSD tend to have a smaller hippocampus than average and low levels of cortisol. What this suggests is that these people aren't as well-suited as others to handle extreme levels of stress, making them more prone to developing PTSD.

No one has come up with a decisive way to prevent PTSD from occurring; after all, its effects can vary wildly from person to person. Some recent studies suggest making people play Tetris or exposing them to the traumatic event again, but those are a little new-agey for some. One tried and sometimes-true method is good old-fashioned cognitive therapy. Studies have found that providing preventative therapy to people who have experienced something traumatic may help to lower the chances of PTSD occurring. With that in mind, I hope nothing traumatic ever happens to you...whoever you are. If it does, get some help.

So long for now and spaceman's luck to all of you.