Schizophrenia affects 1% of French people, or 660,000 people in France. It most often occurs between the ages of 15 and 25 (85% of cases). And can be due both to biological fragility, but also to environmental stress.
The Covid-19 pandemic came to weaken its screening, its care and trigger many new cases. “It is therefore very important during this period to be attentive, in young people, to signs such as voice hearing, sleep disturbance or eating disorders, emphasizes the association Positive Minders. The pandemic has also disrupted the follow-up of a large proportion of patients. Day hospitals, workshops and outpatient structures have closed, group therapies have often been stopped, access to initial care is made more difficult and many consultations are now done by telephone or videoconference.
To deal with psychotic delirium, the most impressive part of this pathology, the association is launching a destigmatization campaign from March 13 to 20.
Psychotic delirium: what is it?
The phases of delirium are often discontinuous, and do not only concern people with schizophrenia. They are manifested by ideas of persecution, intense guilt, desires for greatness (saving the world), divine missions… They can be accompanied byauditory, visual, olfactory, taste and body perception hallucinations. Schizophrenia is ranked in the top 10 most disabling illnesses by the WHO. But many treatments exist and are evolving, allowing 80% of patients to see their symptoms improve.
The schizophrenic patient, at the center of care
How to react ? Several options exist, such as cognitive and behavioral therapies (TCC), which aim to help the patient manage his delusions, in addition to drug treatments.
Taking the patient into account is essential: in the face of crises, the therapeutic alliance, shared decisions or psychoeducation have become key strategies. They are based on listening and open the dialogue with the patient.
Finally, support for caregivers via carers’ associations is very important in care. The objective is to make families understand the symptoms as soon as they appear, to adapt the support and take a step back.
But therapy and associative support are not the only answers, certain technologies also make it possible to channel dysfunctions of the brain : mobile applications, bots, transcranial magnetic stimulation, virtual reality or even avatars. All are presented as part of Technopsy’21.
More informations : Schizophrenia Days from March 13 to 20, 2021.
Read also:
- Schizophrenia: what are the risk factors?
- Certain Placenta Genes Predict Schizophrenia Risk
