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Alternative Therapies in Health and... Jul 2023Schizophrenia is a mental condition that is affecting approx. 1.0 percent of the worldwide population, with devastating consequences for affected individuals and their... (Review)
Review
CONTEXT
Schizophrenia is a mental condition that is affecting approx. 1.0 percent of the worldwide population, with devastating consequences for affected individuals and their families. Homoeopathy could be an effective alternative mode of treatment and can minimize the consequences of it.
OBJECTIVE
This study is done to have a brief review of the condition of Schizophrenia and to evaluate the role of Homoeopathy as an alternative mode of treatment in patients suffering from this condition.
DESIGN
The research team performed a narrative review by searching Pubmed, IJRH, ISOR-JDMS, WHO, and Medscape databases. Reference books related to medicine and homoeopathy were also reviewed. The search used the keywords like Schizophrenia, Homoeopathy, psychiatry, hallucinations, paranoia, ICD-10, DSM-5, etc.
SETTING
This study is conducted at Faculty of Homoeopathic Sciences in Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women's University.
RESULTS
Schizophrenia alters the thinking, feeling and behavior of affected person and is presented in form of delusion, hallucination with social withdrawal. Homoeopathy can be an alternative mode of treatment to not only help in improving this condition but also treat the same. There are not much studies that has been conducted to evaluate the role of Homoeopathy in schizophrenia. Out of few, one study has suggested improvement in the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score system.
CONCLUSIONS
Schizophrenia is a psychiatric condition not only affecting routine of daily of life but also the Quality of life. Homoeopathy is a non-toxic, gentle, permanent treatment which is based on totality of symptoms (TOS) and individualization. In the process of construction of TOS and individualization, more importance is given to mental symptoms. As again pschizophrenia is a psychiatric condition which affects the mental process of patient, Homoeopathy can be used as an effective method of treatment but to establish the efficacy of it, more studies including randomized controlled trials are suggested.
Topics: Humans; Female; Schizophrenia; Homeopathy; Quality of Life
PubMed: 34453506
DOI: No ID Found -
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in... Nov 2023Schizophrenia stands as one of the most studied and storied disorders in the history of clinical psychology; however, it remains a nexus of conflicting and competing... (Review)
Review
Schizophrenia stands as one of the most studied and storied disorders in the history of clinical psychology; however, it remains a nexus of conflicting and competing conceptualizations. Patients endure great stigma, poor treatment outcomes, and condemnatory prognosis. Current conceptualizations suffer from unstable categorical borders, heterogeneity in presentation, outcome and etiology, and holes in etiological models. Taken in aggregate, research and clinical experience indicate that the class of psychopathologies oriented toward schizophrenia are best understood as spectra of phenomenological, cognitive, and behavioral modalities. These apparently taxonomic expressions are rooted in normal human personality traits as described in both psychodynamic and Five Factor personality models, and more accurately represent explicable distress reactions to biopsychosocial stress and trauma. Current categorical approaches are internally hampered by axiomatic bias and systemic inertia rooted in the foundational history of psychological inquiry; however, when such axioms are schematically decentralized, convergent cross-disciplinary evidence outlines a more robust explanatory construct. By reconceptualizing these disorders under a dimensional and cybernetic model, the aforementioned issues of instability and inaccuracy may be resolved, while simultaneously opening avenues for both early detection and intervention, as well as for more targeted and effective treatment approaches.
Topics: Humans; Schizotypal Personality Disorder; Schizophrenia, Paranoid; Schizoid Personality Disorder; Personality; Paranoid Personality Disorder
PubMed: 37936219
DOI: 10.1186/s13010-023-00142-8 -
Journal of Mental Health (Abingdon,... Feb 2024Time perspective (TP) offers a new understanding of human personality, postulating that there are individual differences in how our mind assigns our experiences to...
BACKGROUND
Time perspective (TP) offers a new understanding of human personality, postulating that there are individual differences in how our mind assigns our experiences to different time categories. This concept may shed new light on the role of personality traits in shaping vulnerability to the internalized stigma.
AIM
In this paper we propose a novel approach to clarifying the underpinning of self-stigma by empirically exploring its links with TP.
METHOD
We conducted a cross-sectional study among 86 patients with ICD-10 diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia to validate the predictive role of TP for self-stigma. We used the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale (ISMI) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).
RESULTS
We found significant positive correlations of self-stigma with Past-Negative, Future-Negative and Present-Fatalistic TP categories and negative correlation with the Future-Positive category. The hierarchical regression analyses revealed that two TP categories and Deviation from the Balanced Time Perspective (DBTP) are significant predictors of self-stigma over and above sociodemographic and clinical control variables. Conclusion. The results of the study confirm the hypothesis that TP opens new possibilities to understand proneness or resistance to self-stigmatization, and this may provide a basis for novel approaches to anti-self-stigma interventions.
Topics: Humans; Schizophrenia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Social Stigma; Stereotyping; Self Concept
PubMed: 36883339
DOI: 10.1080/09638237.2023.2182413 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Jul 2023Although the influence of the weather on the well-being and mental health of psychiatric patients has been widely seen, the relationships between various seasonal...
Although the influence of the weather on the well-being and mental health of psychiatric patients has been widely seen, the relationships between various seasonal weather factors and depressive, manic, anxiety, and psychotic states have not been systematized in the literature. The current article describes the seasonal changes in weather-related immune responses and their impact on the development of episodes of depression, mania, psychosis, and anxiety, highlighting the T-helper 1 (Th1) and Th2 immune balance as their potential trigger. In autumn-winter depression, the hyperactivation of the Th1 system, possibly by microbial/airborne pathogens, may lead to the inflammatory inhibition of prefrontal activity and the subcortical centers responsible for mood, drive, and motivation. Depressive mood periods are present in most people suffering from schizophrenia. In the spring and summertime, when the compensating anti-Th1 property of the Th2 immune system is activated, it decreases the Th1 response. In individuals immunogenetically susceptible to psychosis and mania, the inhibition of Th1 by the Th2 system may be excessive and lead to Th2-related frontal and subcortical hyperactivation and subsequent psychosis. In people suffering from bipolar disorder, hyperintense changes in white matter may be responsible for the partial activation of subcortical areas, preventing full paranoid psychosis. Thus, psychosis may be mood-congruent in affective disorders.
PubMed: 37510730
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12144615 -
BMC Psychiatry Sep 2023Literature has typically associated delusional disorder with a poorer prognosis relative to schizophrenia, without considering the confounding effect of age despite the...
BACKGROUND
Literature has typically associated delusional disorder with a poorer prognosis relative to schizophrenia, without considering the confounding effect of age despite the differential age of onset. This study therefore aims to investigate the diagnostic stability, clinical, functional, and neurocognitive differences of Chinese first-episode psychosis age-matched patients with delusional disorder and schizophrenia at four years.
METHODS
71 delusional disorder and 71 age-matched schizophrenia patients were followed up for four years after their initial episode. Their symptoms, insight in psychosis, side effects of medication, medication compliance, functioning, and neurocognitive performance were assessed at four years.
RESULTS
At four years, 65% of DD patients maintained the same diagnosis, while the rest shifted to SZ. Only those without a diagnostic shift were included in the analysis. Delusional disorder patients (n = 46) experienced greater general psychopathology and poorer insight, but better attitude towards medication than schizophrenia patients (n = 71). Social and occupational functioning, quality of life, and cognitive functioning, however, were similar in delusional disorder and schizophrenia patients.
CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that delusional disorder is less diagnostically stable than schizophrenia. Their outcomes in a Chinese population were largely similar at four years after removing the confounding age factor, implying that delusional disorder and schizophrenia may not be as distinct as previously thought.
Topics: Humans; Child, Preschool; Follow-Up Studies; Quality of Life; Schizophrenia, Paranoid; Psychotic Disorders; Age Factors
PubMed: 37723482
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05175-z