What is schizoaffective disorder?
A schizoaffective disorder is a condition where symptoms of psychosis and mood disorders happen at the same time. The word “Schizoaffective” has two meanings that help people understand what the condition is about in a little more detail. The word ‘schizo’ references psychotic symptoms and the word ‘affective’ contemplates the current mood of the person.
There may be difficulties when it comes to looking after your mental health as you may not understand the causes. The episodes that come with schizoaffective disorder can become beneficial to you.
The timing of the episodes can take a short or long time depending on how bad the condition is. A person can have more than one episode at a time. However, it does not happen to everybody as the symptoms usually start during your young adult years.
Schizoaffective disorders are different and vary in symptoms to that of schizophrenia. This is because schizoaffective disorders are diagnosed differently compared to other mental health symptoms.
Different types of schizoaffective disorders
There are many different types of schizoaffective disorders. Mood disorders and psychotic disorders consist of more than one type, there are also various types of schizoaffective disorders too. They include:
- Depression
- Manic disorder
- Mixed symptoms
These types of schizoaffective disorders can include one symptom, two symptoms or both symptoms combined. This could be anywhere from depression or manic disorders. A manic symptom contains both psychotic and manic symptoms that can happen when having an episode. Bipolar disorder and depressive type symptoms are two of the major symptoms of schizoaffective disorder, manic episodes involve increased energy, feeling irritated, the inability to sleep as well as reckless behaviour.
Depressive type symptoms portray decreased energy, feeling sad, unable to manage emotions and the struggle to perform everyday tasks. The reason why schizoaffective disorder is hard to diagnose is that it contains a lot of various symptoms that make it difficult to comprehend and perform an analysis.
People who suffer from schizoaffective disorder may struggle in their day to day lives managing and handling workloads. It changes the way a person thinks and feels making it hard to cope with the condition. People with the disorder are more likely to turn to substance abuse or commit suicide. If you or someone you know is dealing with this disorder it is absolutely vital to get treatment in order to reduce the effects.
According to further research it is stated that schizoaffective disorder is less known than schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. This is mainly due to the difficulty in diagnosing the condition. Other studies suggest that schizoaffective disorder affects 3 in 1,000 individuals in Finland. (Schizoaffective disorder, n.d.)
Causes of schizoaffective disorder
There are different causes that contribute to schizoaffective disorder. This can have a big impact on the condition depending on how long you have had the condition and what treatments you have previously taken in order to ger rid of it. Some causes of schizoaffective disorder may involve a stressful life or trauma during childhood.
It is possible that those around you may have schizoaffective disorder such as family. A close family member may be the reason why you have schizoaffective disorder. This is due to the mood and symptoms they have which they may not have known due to negative experiences with the condition.
Although family can sometimes not be the reason you have schizoaffective disorders but instead the environment around you may involve schizoaffective disorders in people. The true purpose for why people get schizoaffective disorders is unknown but maybe because the individual may have been affected by life events that causes a reaction or a sudden change in the person.
A mixture of causes from schizoaffective disorder may contribute to its development and overall effects it has on a person. Genetics, stress, or drug use can be the major symptoms as to why schizoaffective disorder occurs. If a relative has the condition it does not mean you would get the condition straight away but rather have a great chance of getting the condition.
Unstable relationships or a sudden death within the family may trigger the symptoms and illnesses of schizoaffective disorder. High class drugs such as LSD can link in with the development of schizoaffective disorder.
Condition Connections
A person with the condition may develop additional mental health conditions such as anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, or substance use. If this is the case, then the condition would be hard to manage and get rid of as there are different symptoms that are worsening your mental health condition making you unable to function properly.
Furthermore, the symptoms of the other conditions will begin to show and deteriorate the person’s health causing them to vomit or turn pale. They would lack emotion and not socialise or build connections with others because the condition is overwhelming for most people.
How to take care of yourself
Many people can still look after themselves despite having the condition as it would help distract them from the condition and let them know that taking care of yourself is one of the ways of dealing with the condition.
Making small changes and developing healthy habits can possibly prevent schizoaffective disorders from affecting your mental health or reduce the symptoms.
Trying out different activities such as exercising, managing relationships, or going on a diet can help build progress and contribute to how you are feeling.
Many people can adapt to certain treatments and many others cannot therefore you should seek help and use medicine that works best for you.
Useful helplines
There are many resources and tools available for all individuals who need help. The different services include Mind’s helplines which is an organisation that provides information and guidance through phone and email. Samaritans is another helpful helpline that provides resources to individuals who are struggling with their mental health.
Other services include local minds and side by side. Local minds offer face to face support for individuals across the west midlands. They provide therapy sessions, peer to peer support as well as counselling.
peer to peer support involves the online internet community to help others who are struggling to cope with schizoaffective disorders.
Individuals who are in need of assistance can contact any of the helplines stated above and explain their situation. There are many resources and help available simply dial 999 for further enquires and assistance.