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Mood changes, hallucinations, and depression can be difficult to deal with emotionally and physically. These are just some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, a mental illness that affects how a person thinks and feels. Appropriate schizophrenia treatment can help to manage symptoms.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a severe mood disorder that affects how someone behaves, thinks, and feels. It’s a chronic condition that can’t be cured, but it can be treated with medications, lifestyle changes, and psychotherapy.
People with schizophrenia may experience hallucinations, delusions, and altered speech or behavior. Schizophrenia can even cause depression and make people want to socially isolate themselves.
Doctors and researchers don’t know the exact cause of schizophrenia, but it’s thought that genetics, altered brain chemistry, and the environment are contributing factors. It’s estimated that there are over 200,000 cases of schizophrenia per year in the United States. Most people with schizophrenia will require lifelong treatment to effectively manage their symptoms.
How is schizophrenia diagnosed?
First, a doctor or psychiatrist will give a complete medical exam. A doctor will ask for a medical history, do a physical exam, and run medical tests to rule out other mental disorders like bipolar disorder.
A mental health professional or doctor will be looking for specific symptoms during a medical exam and will want to know if you have experienced any of the following:
- Hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren’t real)
- Delusions (false beliefs that don’t have anything to do with real life)
- Depression
- Social withdrawing
- Disorganized speech
- Disorganized behavior
- Paranoia
- Inflated feelings of self worth
- Difficulty concentrating
- Decreased social skills
The best way to prepare for your complete medical exam is to write down any symptoms you’ve been having and as much of your personal and family medical history as you can.
A diagnosis of schizophrenia is rare for children, but anyone can get it. Men often show signs of schizophrenia before women. Right now there isn’t a cure for schizophrenia, but it can be managed with lifelong treatment plans.
Schizophrenia treatment options
Once you or someone you know has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, the next step is finding an appropriate treatment plan. Treatment of schizophrenia is focused on reducing the severity and frequency of psychotic symptoms. "The best treatment for schizophrenia is a comprehensive program of social support, goal setting, patient empowerment, medication, and a detailed plan for when things aren’t going well", says Caroline Fisher, MD, Germane & Wise. These are some of the most popular treatment options for schizophrenia:
- Therapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): focuses on how to deal with triggers and how to manage psychotic episodes.
- Personal psychotherapy: focuses on how to control thoughts and behaviors.
- Family psychoeducational intervention: involves patient, family, and clinician with focus on education regarding the disease.
- Cognitive enhancement therapy (CET): focuses on how to organize thoughts and concentrate better.
- Rehabilitation: focuses on teaching people how to live with schizophrenia and involves counseling, support groups, social skills training, and psychosocial treatment plans.
- Electroconvulsive therapy: small electric shocks are delivered to the brain to help improve mood and behavior. This is done while the person is asleep.
- Medications: antipsychotics are the most commonly prescribed medication for schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia medications
Schizophrenia is most commonly treated with antipsychotic drugs. Some antipsychotics need to be taken orally, and some need to be injected by a medical professional. Injectable antipsychotics tend to last longer and don’t need to be taken daily, but they must be administered by a medical professional.
Antipsychotics work by helping control neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and serotonin. By controlling neurotransmitters, antipsychotics help reduce schizophrenia symptoms.
First-generation antipsychotics
First-generation antipsychotics are an older group of medications that treat positive symptoms of schizophrenia-like hallucinations, delusions, and other cognitive symptoms. These are some examples of first-generation antipsychotics:
- Haldol (haloperidol)
- Prolixin (fluphenazine)
- Thorazine (chlorpromazine)
- Trilafon (perphenazine)
Antipsychotics can cause anxiety, nausea, dizziness, and more serious side effects like seizures and mood changes.
Second-generation antipsychotics
Second-generation antipsychotics are a newer group of medications that help treat negative symptoms of schizophrenia like a lack of social engagement or trouble concentrating. These are some second-generation antipsychotics:
- Latuda (lurasidone hydrochloride)
- Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate)
- Abilify (aripiprazole)
- Invega Trinza (paliperidone palmitate)
- Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate)
- Zyprexa (olanzapine)
- Clozaril (clozapine)
- Risperdal (risperidone)
- Geodon (ziprasidone)
- Fanapt (iloperidone)
- Saphris (asenapine)
Antipsychotic medications can cause headaches, chills, numbness, anxiety, nausea, and more serious side effects like mood changes and seizures.
What is the best medication for schizophrenia?
Psychiatrists often prescribe antipsychotic medications for people with schizophrenia. The specific type of antipsychotic you’ll need will depend on your individual symptoms, age, and medical history. Your psychiatrist can help you decide what medication is best for you. Here are some of the most commonly prescribed antipsychotics for schizophrenia.
| Drug name | Drug class | Administration route | Standard dosage | Common side effects |
| Invega Trinza (paliperidone palmitate) | Atypical antipsychotic | Injection | Injected every 3 months by a medical professional | Headaches, numbness, seizures, and weight gain |
| Invega Sustenna (paliperidone palmitate) | Antipsychotic | Injection | Injected into the deltoid muscle by a medical professional | Headaches, chills, seizures, and weight gain |
| Abilify (aripiprazole) | Antipsychotic | Oral | 15 mg taken once daily | Anxiety, confusion, and seizures |
| Latuda (lurasidone hydrochloride) | Antipsychotic | Oral | 40 mg taken once daily | Nausea, insomnia, anxiety, and sedation |
| Seroquel (quetiapine fumarate) | Antipsychotic | Oral | 150-750 mg taken daily as directed by a medical professional | Dizziness, headaches, fatigue, high cholesterol, and abnormal heartbeats |
Dosage is determined by your doctor based on your medical condition, response to treatment, age, and weight. Other possible side effects exist. This is not a complete list.
What are the common side effects of schizophrenia medication?
As with any medication, there’s always the potential for side effects. These are some of the most common side effects of schizophrenia medications:
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Anxiety
- Confusion
- Nausea
- Insomnia
- Chills
- Dry mouth
- Drowsiness
- Weight gain
- Constipation
- Low blood pressure
- Abnormal heart rhythm
- Elevated prolactin levels
- Tardive dyskinesia (repetitive involuntary movements)
Although it’s rare, antipsychotics used to treat schizophrenia can also cause allergic reactions that result in hives, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the face and throat. You should seek immediate medical attention if you believe you’re having an allergic reaction.
Taking medication for schizophrenia may cause more serious side effects that could require medical attention. If you’re experiencing any mood changes, aggressive behavior, suicidal thoughts or behavior, seizures, or numbness, the FDA recommends that you reach out to a healthcare professional immediately.
This list of side effects isn’t complete. Your healthcare professional can give you a complete list of possible adverse events and drug interactions.
What are the best natural remedies for schizophrenia?
Some home and natural remedies can help reduce the severity of schizophrenia symptoms and help those with schizophrenia live better lives.
1. Exercise
Exercising regularly can help with the emotional and physical effects of schizophrenia. Yoga, in particular, has been shown to be helpful for the mental well-being of people with schizophrenia.
2. Healthy eating
Some studies have shown that people with celiac disease and those who don’t metabolize essential fatty acids properly experience schizophrenia more often. Staying away from any food allergies, food sensitivities, and processed foods can help the body function properly. Some research even suggests that the keto diet can help people with schizophrenia.
3. Supplements
Some supplements can help reduce schizophrenia symptoms and side effects of schizophrenia medications. Vitamin D, B vitamins, omega-3s, ginseng, and L-cysteine are all examples of supplements that might help your schizophrenia symptoms.
Frequently asked questions about schizophrenia
Can schizophrenia be cured naturally?
There’s no cure for schizophrenia, but many people find relief from some of their symptoms by improving their diet, exercising, taking supplements, and making other lifestyle changes like going to counseling.
What is the best cure for schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia can’t be cured but it can be successfully treated with medications, treatments, and lifestyle changes. If you have schizophrenia you’ll always have it, but proper treatment means you’ll experience fewer symptoms. A psychiatrist is the best person to ask for advice on how to treat schizophrenia.
Can schizophrenia be treated with medication?
Schizophrenia symptoms are commonly treated with medications like antipsychotics. These medications help control neurotransmitters in the brain like dopamine and serotonin. When the brain is treated with medication, many people experience fewer symptoms.
Can you treat schizophrenia without medication?
Schizophrenia can sometimes be treated without medication, but not everyone will be able to manage symptoms without antipsychotics. Treating schizophrenia without medication involves lifestyle changes and other treatment methods like psychotherapy.
What is the best treatment for schizophrenia?
The best treatment plan for someone with schizophrenia will be one that focuses on managing symptoms. There isn’t one single treatment that will work best for everyone, but most successful treatment plans involve a combination of medication, lifestyle changes, and psychotherapy.
What vitamin is good for schizophrenia?
Many people claim that taking certain vitamins help them manage their schizophrenia symptoms. Even though vitamins aren’t approved by the FDA for treating schizophrenia, there’s some research that suggests certain vitamins can be helpful. This might include vitamins like:
- Vitamin D
- B vitamins
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
What foods are good for schizophrenia?
Nutrient dense foods that contain important vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats are good for schizophrenia. These types of foods help support the brain and immune system, which can lower the intensity of symptoms and increase how well the body responds to medications. Here are some nutrient dense foods and supplements that are good for schizophrenia:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Organic meats and fish
- Omega-3 rich foods
- B vitamins
- L-cysteine
- Ginseng