Understanding schizophrenia

To the casual observer, Janey Antoniou looks like an ordinary woman. The 46-year-old molecular biologist works as a mental health trainer for the London police. But what most people don’t know is that she hears voices of people who aren’t there. This is because she is suffering from schizophrenia.

“To be honest, I can’t remember when I first heard the voices. They have certainly been there at least since my late teens. I hear between four and seven, both male and female — different ones at different times. They have English accents like me,” she told Stella Breeze of the Daily Mail, a popular British newspaper.

“I am lucky because I am a scientist and can try to understand what is happening to me. But I also have to accept that there will be times when it is impossible to ignore them — and I have learned to live with that,” she added.

Schizophrenia is a serious disorder of the mind and brain that occurs in all societies regardless of class, color, religion or culture. It is found in over one percent of the population over the age of 18 or as many as 51 million people worldwide.

It appears between the ages of 15 and 25 with men getting the disease earlier than women according to Schizophrenia.Com, a non-profit online community that provides information, support, and education to people with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is costly for both families and society. In the US alone, schizophrenia consumes a total of $63 billion a year for direct treatment, societal, and family costs. It is one of the Top 10 causes of disabilities in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization.

In the Philippines, a disability survey made by the National Statistics Office revealed that mental illness (which includes schizophrenia) is the third most common form of disability with a prevalence rate of 88 cases per 100,000 population.

Available treatments can relieve the symptoms of schizophrenia but there is no cure for the disease. In general, the earlier the patient is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome.

Unfortunately, half of all patients with schizophrenia are unaware they have the disease and are not being treated. The stigma associated with the disease has made many people reluctant to seek medical help.

“Antipsychotics are the mainstay of psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia. They reduce the symptoms of psychosis. Most antipsychotics take around seven to 14 days to have their main effect. Though expensive, the newer atypical antipsychotics are usually preferred for treatment over the older ones since they are often better tolerated and associated with lower rates of side effects,” said Dr. Rodney Dalisay.

With Otsuka (Philippines) Pharmaceuticals Inc. (OPPI) Light One’s Life: A Patient Quality of Life Program, one can learn more about mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The program educates patients and their families on how to manage these conditions. A helpline is provided to direct patients to specialists who can help them live normal and productive lives.

For more information, call Otsuka’s Helpline at 811-4723 for people in Metro Manila or 1-800-1888-4-723 for people outside Metro Manila.