living with schizophrenia

article above continued....

the first point to emphasise. schizophrenia is chronic and greatly effects life. Even if someone is in remission the symptoms can and will affect their life. Just because remission appears doesn't mean the illness is gone.

Things in your life that will/ may be affected by your illness are
-focusing and maintaining attention
-remember recently passed events and appointments
-being motivated to do normal things
-being optimistic and flexible
-having a suffecient EQ
-acting and behaving 'normal'
-over coming social anxiety

When in remission it becomes difficult for people with schizophrenia to identify if the symptoms are coming back. so it is necessary to rely on other people to give feedback. People like family, roomates, spouses, doctors, and close friends should watch for changes in behavior. These people that are chosen to keep a close eye on the person should be educated in what to look for and if changes are noticed then they should call the doctor of the person and inform the person

Changes to look for include:
-starting to talk back to the voices or if the person becomes upset with them
-having harder time getting up in the morning
-being late
-seeming more 'ADD' than normal. can't focus as well, easily distracted
-less happy or less emotional
-more aggitated
-having a worsened memory, difficulty doing arithmetic
-reacting to hallucinations more
-seem to be obsessed with the delusional

If the changes present themselves a change in medication may be administered and then after the episode has passed the original dosage will be administered. When living alone people with schizophrenia are advised to use PDA's to help them remember appointments and stay organized and on time. People's social workers describe a set of activities of daily living that a person with schizophrenia may have difficulty with and should practice:

-independently monitoring medication and changing it
-personal hygine
-laundry
-making the bed
-eating regularly and preparing food
-shopping
-maintaing a budget
-using public transportation
-if the illness is a problem then going to the bathroom may be an issue (changing adult diapers)
It is important to set goals for what you want to accomplish in terms of overcoming difficulties of the illness.
you should:
-join group therapies so you are not alone and are shown and able to empathize with others like you that understand what you're going through
-ask loved ones to support you and stick with you
-participate in social skills training. These allow you to learn how to function and do things with the illness
-Online dating can help you meet new people without encountering the problems that make communication hard
article found at: http://schizophrenia.about.com/od/livingwithschizophrenia/a/LivIndependence.htm