If you do not give drugs to the schizophrenic. Schizophrenia is treated without medication. Treating productive symptoms

Medication for schizophrenia is not an abstract concept, but a list of medications that a doctor can prescribe to a patient. Basically, all funds are aimed at eliminating specific symptoms of the disease. Naturally, medications are selected individually by the doctor and it is he who determines the permissible dosage. Taking drugs is long-term, and in 5 cases out of 10 it is possible to significantly improve the patient's condition.

Before prescribing certain pills to a patient, the doctor must correctly diagnose. For this, it is necessary to assess the symptoms. Schizophrenia has several stages of development. During the period of exacerbation, the diagnosis will not cause any particular difficulties.

Depending on the stage of the disease, the patient may present with the following complaints:

Feeling unwell, severe headache.
Fears and anxiety that arise for no apparent reason.
The impossibility of completing some fantastic mission.

Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia can suffer from headaches, for this reason people often complain of similar sensations. They arise spontaneously or have a connection with any events.

Patients often say that they are worried about fears, anxiety states. They are capable of putting forward dubious theories that someone is following them or that someone is following them. Such a psychosis is considered one of the first signs of the development of a terrible illness.

A schizophrenic patient significantly overestimates his capabilities. He can tell the doctor and the orderlies that he arrived on Earth not by chance, but with some kind of secret mission. The disease makes a person think that he is a great commander or an incumbent president.

However, this is not all, the disease is insidious. It can be difficult to recognize at times. But the first thing to look out for is the lack of self-criticism. A person is not able to adequately assess their actions and perceive the requests of others. He interprets them differently, exactly the opposite. At the same time, the patient does not understand at all what caused the indignation of others.

Oddly enough, but most people with this diagnosis are treated on an outpatient basis. A person can be hospitalized only in exceptional cases. For example, if the disease is in an exacerbation stage or the patient, against the background of accompanying factors, behaves inappropriately, creates a threat to his own life or to the health of others.

Important: outpatient treatment allows you to correct the patient's condition and can last up to 9 months. If the patient does not get better during this time, he is hospitalized, and the therapy is corrected.

The most effective is complex therapy, the start of which is given at the initial stage of the development of the disease. Only in this case it will be possible to achieve the maximum effect. If the disease goes into remission and in 5 years the person will not have a single attack of schizophrenia, there is hope that the diagnosis will be removed.

Depending on the signs, doctors classify the symptoms of the disease. They distinguish:

Positive symptoms are signs that are unlikely to occur in healthy people. This can include hallucinations, delusions, hyperexcitability, obsessions, and disordered thinking.
Positive symptoms are followed by negative ones. They are just characteristic of a healthy person and unusual for patients with schizophrenia. Negative symptoms include lack of personality traits. A person is not able to take responsibility for his actions, he has no desire to take initiative, he does not strive for anything.
Changes of an affective nature are a number of signs that characterize the patient's mood. This can include: apathy, depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts or tendencies.
But the cognitive symptoms are manifested, as a rule, at the initial stage of the disease. It is characterized by a decrease in concentration and memory. A person is inattentive, slowly reacts to stimuli.

Other functions may also suffer, such as motor coordination or speech. It is worth paying attention to this and contacting a doctor as soon as possible, even if the patient himself reacts relatively calmly to the first signs of the disease.

If we talk about the statistics of the effectiveness of drug therapy, then it is worth noting that:

1 patient out of 10: therapy will not work.
3 out of 10 patients: Treatment will be of significant benefit.
1 - 2 patients out of 10: will be able to achieve a stable remission with the help of medication.

With regard to the concept of complete cure, for many years, doctors have not used it in relation to schizophrenia. Today, the term "remission" is used, in fact, it means that the patient has managed to completely get rid of the symptoms of the disease.

Schizophrenia treatment

In most cases, therapy takes place in several stages and is long-term. Medicines for a disease such as schizophrenia are selected by a doctor. The dosage is also prescribed by the doctor, assessing the general condition of the patient and the symptoms.

Attention! Since the disease is cyclical, it is necessary to determine the stage of the disease and, based on this, prescribe adequate therapy to the patient.

For the treatment of schizophrenia, doctors use drugs of the following classes:

Sedatives.
Antipsychotics.
Antipsychotic.

Sedatives are a class of medications that are aimed at correcting the condition. They are able to relieve excessive nervous tension and calm a person, normalize his sleep and relieve anxiety and overexertion. Sedatives cannot act as monotherapy for schizophrenia: they are not effective enough. The most effective is complex therapy, in which sedatives are just a component.

Antipsychotics are a class of medicines that include drugs that can have various effects on the human body. They not only soothe, but also help the patient not to respond to external stimuli. He becomes calmer, aggression goes away, to some extent the effect of drugs has a certain similarity with antidepressants.

Antipsychotics - the so-called psychotropic drugs used in the treatment of diseases of various kinds. The action of medications is aimed at reducing positive symptoms. At the same time, the effect of drugs on negative symptoms was not revealed.

In certain cases, tranquilizers can be used. They have a positive effect on the patient's condition, help to calm down and relieve the tension that has arisen.

As for non-drug treatment, it is widespread, aimed at:

work with a psychologist;
implementation of communication needs;
occupational therapy.

Often, routine conversations with a doctor can affect the patient's condition. The doctor must have experience and appropriate classification, since working with people with schizophrenia is associated with certain difficulties. This should be taken into account when conducting a session. It is important to note that classes can be of a group nature, so the patient will not only communicate with the doctor, but also fill the need for communication.

Meeting the need for communication includes communication with other people. It helps the patient to adapt in society (a person can withdraw into himself, which is unacceptable). For this reason, you need to communicate with him, talk, walk in nature, visit public places. Naturally, if the patient's condition has returned to normal and he does not differ in aggression or a tendency to violence.

Occupational therapy, so-called occupational therapy, makes the schizophrenic person feel important. Therefore, psychotherapists recommend keeping a person busy. This will allow him to realize certain aspirations and ambitions.

As a rule, in the treatment of the disease, they adhere to a certain scheme. Therapy is aimed at:

At the initial stage, the medicine will help stop the symptoms and get rid of the manifestations of schizophrenia. Treatment is carried out using typical antipsychotics. The doctor chooses the drug based on the patient's condition, his ability to adequately assess himself and the manifestations of the disease. The therapy lasts from 1 to 4 months. It is based on the systematic intake of medications, after which the doctor conducts a comparative analysis. Medicines should eliminate the symptoms of the disease in part or completely. As a result, the patient becomes calmer, he is able to adequately assess his capabilities.
The next stage is aimed at stabilizing the patient's condition. Antipsychotics are used, but at a lower dosage. When taking drugs, there is a decrease in the intensity of symptoms of a different nature. As the condition improves, the doctor reduces the dosage of drugs. If in the course of treatment it is possible to get rid of the productive signs of the disease, then the therapy can be considered successful. In some cases, the medication is replaced with another, but only if necessary. The duration of therapy can be from 3 to 9 months.
The next period in the treatment of schizophrenic patients is adaptation. It is carried out in several stages and is protracted. Adaptation can take a year. During this time, a person must completely go through several stages: learn to communicate with people, realize himself in a particular industry. Adaptation is aimed at building social contacts, it can include group sessions with a psychiatrist. In the course of treatment, the patient is under the control of the doctor, since there is a high risk of exacerbation of the disease.

In fact, adaptation can be considered the final stage of therapy, but there is also prevention, it is based on taking medications in a low dosage. Antipsychotics or other drugs may be prescribed. Prevention is needed in order to prevent a possible relapse.

Important: schizophrenia is prone to relapse, exacerbation is observed in 50% of patients. For this reason, it is so important to complete the started treatment.

It should be noted that drug therapy has one significant drawback - these are side effects that occur in 30% of patients. Basically, they are in a depressive state that occurs during the treatment process. Your doctor may prescribe antidepressants to correct depression.

For the treatment of schizophrenia, two types of antipsychotics are used: typical and atypical, they have different effects. The typical ones have a more complete effect, while the atypical ones are aimed at normalizing the production of serotonin.

Previously, only typical antipsychotics were used, although both were discovered in 1950. Atypical have been used for the treatment of schizophrenia relatively recently, in the 1970s. For this reason, when atypical antipsychotics are prescribed, the therapy is considered experimental.

Among antipsychotic drugs, "Haloperidol" is used, it is prescribed more often than other drugs. The doctor will indicate the name of the medicine and the dosage, he will individually determine the duration of therapy and predict the result.

Drugs and side effects

With schizophrenia, pills are taken for a long time, some patients have to be treated throughout their lives. In this regard, the patient may develop medicinal parkinsonism, the main manifestations of which are considered: restlessness, muscle stiffness, trembling, spasm of individual muscles. To get rid of unwanted side effects, antiparkinsonian drugs are prescribed: "Diphenhydramine", "Cyclodol" and others.

Attention! Alcohol or drugs can provoke another exacerbation. To protect the patient from this, you should carefully monitor him.

In most cases, doctors prescribe to treat schizophrenia:

Azaleptin is an antipsychotic that is generally well tolerated. But if the drug was prescribed in a high dose, the risk of side effects increases. The patient may complain of dizziness, headache, drowsiness, retention of stool or urination, as well as allergic reactions of various kinds.
Haloperidol is a powerful antipsychotic drug used to treat patients with schizophrenia and psychosis. "Haloperidol" is able to have a complex effect on the body. In some cases, the use of the drug is associated with a high risk. The fact is that "Haloperidol" affects a person's condition and can lead to a deterioration in his health, lead to suicide or cause acute extrapyramidal disorders.
Demanol is a nootropic drug that stimulates the brain. It helps to restore memory and normalize the mental state, affects the characteristics of behavior. Rarely leads to the development of side effects, but allergic reactions on the skin may appear.
"Inveta" is an antipsychotic agent used in the treatment of children over the age of 12 years. The drug is effective in carrying out therapy in children and adults, is used during an exacerbation, acts as one of the components of complex therapy. It can lead to all sorts of side effects, ranging from allergic reactions to headaches, nausea and other reactions.
"Leksotan" is a tranquilizer with a complex action: anxiolytic and sedative effect. It is used in the treatment of various diseases, including mental disorders. When taking the drug, various side effects may occur: nausea, headache, insomnia, vomiting, heartburn, etc.

For this reason, taking medications should be supervised by a specialist. In some cases, if the side effects are pronounced, it is worth replacing the drug with another, but the doctor must do this.

With the correct choice of medication, the treatment of schizophrenia shows a positive trend. In the stage of exacerbation of the disease, therapy is carried out in a hospital in a psychiatric clinic. Treatment is carried out in several stages.

Schizophrenia: facts about the disease

This disease is a complex of mental disorders that are associated with a violation of the emotional sphere, the processes of thinking and perception. All signs characteristic of this disease are divided into several groups. Here they are:

Positive symptoms. We are talking about symptoms that are not observed in healthy people. Hallucinations, increased excitability, obsessive states and ideas, discontinuity and disordered thinking are the main ones.
Negative symptoms. In this case, it means, on the contrary, the absence of those abilities, properties and character traits that should be characteristic of a healthy person. So, patients with schizophrenia are not characterized by purposefulness, initiative, enthusiasm, desire for social contacts, responsiveness.
Changes in affective nature. We are talking about the factors that affect a person's mood. In the case of schizophrenia, such factors may include depression, anxiety, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts.
Cognitive symptoms. In the early stages of the disease, a person has problems with concentration, memory impairment, inattention, slow thinking process, lack of self-criticism, including regarding the disease.

Patients go through a cycle of conditions, which includes 4 stages.

Back to the table of contents

Cyclicity of the patient's condition

Each phase has its own clinical picture. Aggravation. The duration of the phase is from 6 weeks or more. The phase is accompanied by the following symptoms:

decrease in the productivity of the thought process, attention, memory;
loss of interest in life happening around, in yourself;
apathy;
increased irritability, aggressiveness, anxiety, nervous tension;
headache;
overestimating one's own capabilities: absurd ideas about supernatural abilities, missions on Earth, and the like;
rave;
speech disorders;
discoordination of movements;
increased sweating.

Stabilization. Duration more than 6 months. The following symptoms accompany the phase:

violation of perception, which is of a short-term nature;
delirium, however, it is expressed slightly;
ignoring the requests of others;
stubbornness, which is expressed in the fact that the patient does exactly the opposite of what he is asked to do;
minor disorder of memory, thinking and emotional sphere, which are intensified.

Relapse. This phase is characterized by the following clinical picture:

affective symptoms: feelings of melancholy, anxiety, apathetic state;
cognitive symptoms: a sharp decrease in concentration, a rapid loss of interest in something, meaningless actions.

Remission. If the patient did not show signs of the disease for six months, this indicates that she has passed into the last stage. The person is adequate, feels good, looks healthy. In order for the disease to go into remission as soon as possible, it is necessary to treat it. This is especially true of the stage of exacerbation, but you should not bring it to it. As soon as relatives noticed the first signs of the disease, it is necessary to consult a doctor and begin treatment.

Back to the table of contents

Treating schizophrenia with drugs

The primary goal of drug therapy is to eliminate the productive symptoms of the disease, in particular, delusions and hallucinations.
For this, antipsychotics are actively used. Without these drugs, schizophrenia cannot be cured. Depending on the properties of the drug, neuroleptics are divided into. Typical. They affect those parts of the brain in which nerve impulses are transmitted using dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine or adrenaline. This group of drugs has many side effects that significantly reduce the quality of life of a sick person. There are 2 groups of typical antipsychotics:

sedatives, which relax, calm the nervous system, have a hypnotic effect;

antipsychotic, which have a more powerful effect;

Haloperidol, which is an antipsychotic, is often used to treat schizophrenia.

Back to the table of contents

Stages of drug treatment

Medical treatment for schizophrenia is usually carried out according to the following scheme:

Relief of symptoms. Appointment: antipsychotics of the typical group. In the stage of exacerbation of the disease, treatment is carried out inpatiently, in other cases, an outpatient and semi-stationary form is allowed. The drug is selected exclusively by the doctor, taking into account the patient's condition, the severity of symptoms and contraindications to taking this or that medication. With the correct prescription of drugs, the signs of the disease are partially or completely eliminated, the behavior becomes adequate, the criticality of thinking returns, and the patient is aware of his condition and assesses it. The duration of the course of treatment is from 1 to 4 months.

Condition stabilization. Indications: the course of taking the antipsychotic continues. At this stage, treatment is aimed at eliminating symptoms of a productive and residual nature, eliminating pre-recurrent and early recurrent disorders. As the condition improves, the dosage of the medication is reduced. At this stage of therapy, the patient may develop a depressive state, which is corrected with the help of antidepressants. In some cases, it is advisable to replace the drug with an antipsychotic disinhibiting type. The duration of the stage is from 3 to 9 months. Treatment is successful when productive symptoms are completely suppressed.

Adaptation. At this stage, the patient is treated on an outpatient basis. Appointments: activating antipsychotics of the atypical group. The purpose of the treatment is the adaptation of the patient in society, in particular, assistance in establishing social contacts, social and labor adaptation. Since there is still a risk of relapse, the patient is prescribed prolonged-release drugs and constant monitoring of the patient's condition is carried out. The duration of this stage is at least 12 months.

Prevention. In order to prevent relapse, which occurs in 50% of patients, antipsychotics are prescribed at a low dosage. If there is an increase in seizures, carbamazepine, lithium salts are prescribed.

Modern medicine does not stand still and offers new methods of therapy.
Atypical. They also have an effect on receptors, but more actively on serotonin receptors, while they have less effect on dopamine receptors. Their antipsychotic effect is less pronounced. These schizophrenia medications are more focused on relieving anxiety and relaxing. Thus, the difference between typical and atypical antipsychotics is that the former have a wider range of applications, but the latter have a less intense effect on the body, as a result of which side effects are also reduced.

No official, effective, constructive, fully therapeutic, treatment for schizophrenia currently exists. Treatment can be compared to the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with Viagra. The active substance of the drug does not eliminate the cause, but only provides the conditions so that the blood does not prematurely leave the cavernous bodies of the male genital organ. As soon as the effect of the substance ceases, everything returns to its previous state.

The same can be said for antipsychotics. As soon as the level of concentration of a substance in the blood falls, the person will return to the state that was before the start of the course of treatment. This does not mean that he will immediately flare up a new manifestation, another episode will begin. The patient will simply return to the “as is” state. And whether there will be a new aggravation in this state - it depends on karma.

It turns out that treating schizophrenia without using antipsychotics is quite realistic.

Therefore, released from hospitals, free into the pampas, patients with disabilities are registered with a local psychiatrist and receive antipsychotics for free. If, of course, they reach the office. Some people ignore this procedure ...

By the way, there was no accounting in the modern sense before. This was called dynamic observation. From a medical point of view, the term is more correct. For many years, patients have been receiving drugs, some of them are not even allowed to take with them. They must swallow the pill in front of a doctor or paramedic, and then proceed to their pampas at the place of registration. And so every day, in any weather. Not surprisingly, when combined with side effects, whether explicit or fictitious, this creates reasons for patients to seek to give up such a share. They strive to find a variety of ways out of the situation. For example, there is a treatment regimen that provides intramuscular injection of the drug every two weeks. However, the treatment of schizophrenia without antipsychotics from this is not a less relevant topic.

Here we need to remember one simple rule. Any delusional disorder does not lend itself to external psychological correction. Do not work or turn out to be practically inapplicable:

methods of conventional persuasion;
stealth methods;
all CBT methods;
suggestion in a state of hypnosis.

Now we are not talking about exotic or extremely severe forms, but we are considering the standard of paranoid schizophrenia with paranoid delusional syndrome. Let no hallucinations. It is unrealistic to convince or convince the patient of something that is related to delirium. The accompanying methods of exposure, such as electroconvulsive therapy or baths, which the professor recommended to try when treating the poet Ivan Bezdomny, simply have a different functionality. All this does not cure delusion, since it is a consequence of cognitive impairment.

Schizophrenia: new treatments

The newest treatments for schizophrenia are offered. Well, not that a couple a month, but the process is underway. An important contribution was made by Russian specialists as well. According to the staff of the Department of Psychiatry, FUP, GBUZ NSO GNOPB No. 5 of the city of Novosibirsk, they successfully use the method of delivering governing cytokines to the limbic system of the brain. Such an approach will require a change in the dominant theory itself and the inevitable rejection of traditional drugs. Therefore, the author of this article views implementation with great skepticism. The scientists themselves, who developed the methodology, also understand that no one will welcome them with open arms like that. They even say that in the experiments themselves there is a certain character of a scientific dream.

Medical scientists regularly test new theories for the treatment of schizophrenia in practice.

The bottom line is that they believe that autoimmune destruction of neurons and glia is the only explanation for the etiology and pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Instead of traditional antipsychotics, they prescribe a cryopreserved cytokine composite solution (CCCC). It gets inside with the help of inhalation, through the nose. The results they get are overwhelming. There are cases that all psychiatrists who have worked with patients describe the diagnosis of F20.0 with victorious, non-standard formulations like "the debut ended without any signs of a defect." At the same time, a little more than 100 inhalations are carried out during the course of treatment.

Cytokine therapy, as a practical part of the autoimmune theory of schizophrenia, most likely should be considered the most effective method, which can already be called treatment in the full sense of the word. The only question is that all the developments are still at the stage of clinical trials. The theory itself is as old as all psychiatry. In the 20th century, scientists from various countries of the world, including Soviet and American, actively worked in this direction. Perhaps, if someone is looking for something new in the treatment of schizophrenia, then attention should be paid to attempts to treat schizophrenia with cytokines. This is not an advertisement for the method, tests are still underway, there is nothing to advertise yet. This is just an attempt to show that the work is being carried out all over the world, in Russia too, and this is good news. If we get bogged down with existing methods, then we will conserve the already conservative approach to the problem. However, we are far from predicting bright prospects. While the main method is treatment with antipsychotics, and we propose to proceed from reality, whether you like it or not.

Why try to do without antipsychotics?

History will tell us how schizophrenia will proceed without antipsychotics. Before their appearance in the early 50s of the 20th century, patients were tied to beds, kept in rooms with bars on the windows and were treated worse than criminals, even if the unfortunate did not do anything criminal. The treatment was often lifelong or incredibly long. Modern patients who tried to go some alternative way, if they are in fact sick, and not someone who once deserted the army through the discovery of their diagnosis, speak of several months of great suffering.

People go this way for several reasons:

they are afraid of psychiatry as such - killer doctors, sadistic orderlies, disenfranchisement;
are afraid of the side effects of antipsychotics - flattening and sausage, mental capacity decreases;
they fear that sooner or later antipsychotics in schizophrenia will provoke a new psychosis - there is an opinion that after 5-7 years of taking antipsychotics they begin to act differently and cause more severe forms of schizophrenia.

As a result, the antipsychiatric movement, which is quite popular in certain circles, is formed. At the heart of the concept is that psychiatric hospitals supposedly contain perfectly healthy people. The methods are terrible and everything is gloomy. Scientologists are almost the most vicious. At the same time, critics rarely offer any alternative paths. We are already familiar with the example of those who propose. These are the authors of the cytokine treatment method. The approach itself excludes the use of traditional, typical and atypical, drugs of all types during the course, but this is just another drug therapy.

The same can be said about the Stanislav Grof method. He uses psychedelics in the course of treatment - drugs that can introduce a person into an altered state of consciousness. However, it should be borne in mind that Grof has long denied the use of LSD as such, in isolation from psychotherapy. The shock that LSD produces does not lead to anything good. At Grof's clinic, patients are taught how to relate to the unfolding psychological theater. This is a difficult, painstaking work that simply cannot be put on stream. We need training for doctors, patients, and the patients themselves must have a certain level of intellectual development. Otherwise, the psychedelic drug will simply plunge the patient into the world of mental theater. In 80% of cases, there will be a negative result if you leave it there to the mercy of fate.

Soteria - therapy with almost no antipsychotics

Another classic alternative approach is the "Soteria" project, which is activated, then slows down, and then completely closed in various countries of the world. But then it opens again somewhere. The idea belongs to Lauren Richard Mosher, a renowned American psychotherapist who specializes in schizophrenia research. The essence of the approach is that during the period of manifestation of the acute form, patients are placed in separate houses. The basic principle is a minimum of psychotropic drugs or their low dosage. Psychotropic drugs may not be used at all. It is given only to those patients who are really itching to. At the same time, they can participate in the choice of the means themselves. The staff is recruited from among the non-professionals. The main thing is that a person is sincerely ready to help someone.

The latest treatments for schizophrenia involve minimizing psychotropic drugs

In these peculiar psychiatric communes, patients prepare their own food, but they cannot - the staff helps them. They take care of themselves, but they cannot - they are helped. They are under constant supervision, but at the same time they are also helped to constructively rethink delusions and hallucinations. Constructiveness is based precisely on unprofessionalism. If there are doctors there, they treat patients as if they were not doctors. Nothing from specialization. Doctors are needed mainly to help lay people choose the drugs themselves, but even then always in the mildest dosages.

Complexes of modern psychiatry

To understand what such an effective treatment for schizophrenia is, it is inevitable that it is necessary to develop not only the criteria for improvement or recovery, but also the rate of their occurrence. Unfortunately, standard psychiatry suffers from some silly childhood complex. The person is delusional, experiencing hallucinations, and the psychiatrist sets himself the task of keeping within a month's course of treatment. Therefore, an absurd approach arises, the sooner he stops raving, the more effective the scheme is considered. As a result, the cult of haloperidol begins. Acceleration of recovery is achieved in too artificial ways. Psychiatrists themselves do not notice that in their noble practice they jump out of the scientific approach.

Suppose that the patient is hospitalized on January 1 - delirium, hallucinations, etc. Already on the third, mental activity decreased as a result of injections. On the 12th, the injections were replaced with pills. On the 20th, he had an adequate conversation with a psychiatrist. On the 29th, the last entry in the medical history appeared, and the sufferer was sent free, to the pampas mentioned above. If the doctor writes in the “Treatment” column “The good non-professional Vasya was lying on the bed next to him and consoled the sufferer until he was released,” then the head of the department, having familiarized himself with this technique, at best, will send the doctor on vacation, as he was too tired on a difficult the work of a specialist. But this trick will be repeated and he himself will be offered to work as an orderly for the time being. But what is the feat of the fact that the patient from our example has ceased to rave about the third? They gave a horse dose of haloperidol, and the horse will stop raving. And who said that it was necessary so quickly? And what is the general sign of the quality of treatment, if, under the influence of an antipsychotic, dopamine receptors have ceased to distinguish it? And if the patient's head is cut off, then with a guarantee he will cease to rave in general in 2 seconds.

The results of Soteria showed that more patients recover in this specific home environment and this happens faster if we analyze the long-term perspective and understand the recovery as the absence of new exacerbations for a long period of time, more than 5 years. Such treatment for schizophrenia is not effective in the same way as when using antipsychotics. It gives an individual experience of relating to the wave of psychosis that is growing from within. The psyche receives training that standard psychotherapy, including CBT, cannot provide.

There are Soteria groups in Russia. This is mainly the result of the work of enthusiasts and it is aimed at the rehabilitation of patients, and not at treatment in a state of acute manifestation of the episode. Rather, not Soteria as such, but some rehabilitation centers are partially trying to apply the approach in the treatment of drug addiction and psychosis.

The result of an experiment in the USA and Europe showed that the use of antipsychotics became mandatory simply for the reason that such is the tradition. Without them, in the same way, remission occurs, even an almost complete recovery. Therefore, in order not to provoke rash refusals from medications, psychiatrists bypass the topic. It must be emphasized that the home environment, communication with non-professional staff and the opportunity to receive medication if necessary is a form of therapy, and not just a withdrawal from antipsychotics. You can refuse only when the refusal itself fits into the treatment regimen, even such a non-standard, but treatment.

A little about drugs and "side effects"

Haloperidol is indicated in the treatment of schizophrenia if the pathogenesis itself brings suffering, which in its destructive power outweighs the side effects and if the main "actors" of the episode are the so-called speech hallucinations, delusions and mental automatisms. However, there is no scale on which to weigh the level of suffering. Subjectively, the patient himself can assess the state of the attack exclusively in black colors, he can persist. Behavior is impossible to predict. But few people are engaged in a subtle analysis of what would be the most effective and necessary, and if some special schemes are being developed, then only in the case of very good reasons.

Haloperidol is generally not the main antipsychotic in schizophrenia. Its popularity is associated with the spread of delusional disorders in general, and paranoid schizophrenia can also be attributed to them. Medical treatments for schizophrenia depend on the prevalence of certain symptoms. The most versatile remedy is olanzapine, which is appropriate for both productive and negative symptoms. Amisulpride and Risperidone are often used to relieve recurrent episodes of psychosis, and are suitable for productive symptoms associated with depression.

However, a large number of drugs does not mean that patients have to drink handfuls of them. Modern treatment of schizophrenia is 90% associated with monotherapy. These are one or two drugs. Sometimes the second is used in order to enhance the effect of the first, or the patient has a complex symptom complex.

Haloperidol is sometimes used to treat schizophrenia

It should be noted that most of the side effects reported by patients are somatoform in nature. They do not invent the consequences, but increase the perception of the effect in the mind. Schizophrenia itself creates a confused state, difficulty in making decisions, duality, some lethargy, a feeling of unreality of what is happening and the strangeness in awareness of oneself in the environment. During the episode, all these background little things turned pale before the presence of a super-idea of delusion, hallucinations and various pseudo-hallucinations. Antipsychotics slowed down information exchange, and voices disappeared, and objects stopped changing shape. As a result, consciousness can allow itself the luxury of realizing that thoughts go with difficulty, which pulls you into sleep. One psychiatrist said that the patient who was admitted to the hospital was already trembling. His shoulder twitched, his eyelid, he often made involuntary stretching. It did not come to a vivid physical automatism, but there were a lot of unnecessary movements. True, the person did not realize this, because he was busy with things that were more significant to him. After taking antipsychotics, significant things were gone, and physical twitching remained. Of course, he asked for a review of the course of therapy because of this. Although, in fact, there was no clear connection with the drugs used.

If citizens learn to assess their condition calmly for at least 20 minutes, then they themselves will understand that taking antipsychotics does not interfere with their lives. Moreover, as much as it is drawn by some. And let's not forget about alcohol. What is a sin to conceal? We have comrades who manage to combine antipsychotics with vodka in their outpatient pampas.

Some landmarks for an alternative path

Treatment for schizophrenia with modern methods exists, but it does not always resemble what members of the public imagine. Let's note two very important facts:

the premiere or new episode does not depend on the will of the person;
a person is able to realize that this is an episode, and not shining through his head with rays and the voice in his head is just an interpretation by the consciousness of some process of information metabolism.

It is possible that realizing is tantamount to stopping. Only it is not necessary and unreasonable to try to stop.

This question never ceases to worry. Is the treatment for paranoid schizophrenia always medication? Is it possible to do without them at all. Let's leave the devils alone and eyes in the dark for a while. Let's forget about voices ... Pure paranoid schizophrenia is a stream of consciousness of a corresponding nature, which is considered to be a painful disorder. What does this hold on? On an internal dialogue - an endless stream of consciousness, which creates our picture of the world, or the psychological coordinate system "I and the environment around". Consciousness is engaged in continuous fixation of itself in itself. Try to stop this internal dialogue. This cannot be fully accomplished, but meditation techniques can bring about constructive change. First, you can direct this dialogue towards something you want. Secondly, you can change its intensity. Thirdly, you can "turn off" its surface forms. Then the dialogue does not stop, but becomes different.

The period of the episode is unusual - it is like a dream. The ability to "bring" awareness into sleep and see lucid dreams, the ability to gently correlate their course with one's intention is equivalent to the ability to control the manifestation of a schizoid episode. Only management is a purely conventional concept. The ability to intend oneself and situations is used, but not doing them. This happens outside of volitional effort. In other words, the ability to control the flow of thinking, contemplation of thoughts, gives the ability to be aware of dreams and travel in them. The same ability will make it possible to transform the episode into something else, even "freeze" it or stop it altogether.

This approach is somewhat closer to the approach of Grof and the proponents of transpersonal psychotherapy, but it can do without any substances. Learn that you need to be able to use the following link.

Energy work that aims to restore psycho-energetic metabolism, and not just accumulate energy. We need an energetic interchange.
Work aimed at being able to control your thinking. At the same time, we perceive the word "control" as a conditional one. It is stopping the internal dialogue, redirecting it and gaining a flexible psychological vision of oneself and the environment.
Sleep and sleep work.

And plus to this the ability to relax, right down to the deepest level.

Work with patients in a dream is actively practiced

The latest in schizophrenia treatment is not expected to be the same. People want either safe and guaranteed pills, but not antipsychotics, otherwise they supposedly have a head from such, they want some kind of laser irradiation of blood, nanotechnology and the like. The main thing is not to do anything yourself. We paid the doctors and we sleep well. And then they sadly realize that modern methods of treating schizophrenia are simply more modern, and more expensive too, antipsychotics and other drugs. You guys wanted to do nothing. Doctors and scientists understand this and create new drugs for you. And you are again looking for something so that you can not even take a fish and a fishing rod. Let's hope that the method of treatment with cytokines will be brought to mind, and it will become available to everyone.

Today, the topic of non-drug treatment of various diseases is very popular. Often the same position can be found in relation to the treatment of such a complex disease as. Especially many supporters of this approach can be found on the Internet. We in no way can dispute the rights of each person to independently choose that method of treatment (or not to choose any of the methods of treatment), but, in our opinion, before making such a decision, a person should receive the most truthful information about all possible methods of treatment. his illness, prognosis and consequences of refusal of treatment. That is why we decided here to consider the question of whether it is possible to treat schizophrenia without drugs, what are the consequences of refusing to use pharmaceuticals, and whether there is an objective possibility of treating schizophrenia with folk remedies. Here we will try to conduct an objective analysis of certain methods of treating schizophrenia, as well as the consequences of refusing any of them.

Why did the question arise about the need to abandon pharmacology in the treatment of schizophrenia?

Argument: at the moment, in Russia, as once in the West, the antipsychiatric movement is very fashionable, the supporters of which are considered as pests, maliciously locking absolutely healthy people in psychiatric hospitals, and popularizing non-drug treatment of schizophrenia.

Counter-argument 1. Indeed, the law provides for a psychiatric hospital. But it is performed only when the patient's condition threatens him or those around him, if he is helpless, or if he is not admitted to the hospital, his condition will worsen.

Counter-argument 2. In most countries, including Russia, state psychiatric care is provided free of charge, that is, at the expense of health insurance funds. The cost of inpatient treatment is too high for the state to be able to afford to keep healthy people in psychiatric hospitals in addition to the sick.

Argument: schizophrenia appeared thousands of years ago, and in those days when pharmacology was not known, patients, nevertheless, were somehow treated.

Counter argument: really treated. Until a certain time, patients with schizophrenia were kept practically in prison conditions, behind bars and chained, or simply expelled away, and until the appearance of the first psychopharmacological drug in 1952, the only way to relieve psychotic excitement was to be tied to a bed.

Any pharmacological treatment for schizophrenia causes more harm to the body than none?

Argument: a large number of side effects from drugs that have to be drunk "by handfuls" makes the patient's life unbearable, and causes enormous harm.

Counter argument: at the moment, there are methods that can minimize the number and severity of side effects from drugs against schizophrenia. With the correct prescription of the drug, the patient, while taking the drug, can completely ignore its action and does not experience any inconvenience. Monotherapy method makes it possible to limit the treatment of schizophrenia to only one (less often - two) drugs. And the control of the concentration of the drug in the blood makes it possible to determine as accurately as possible the dose required to achieve the effect, but, at the same time, not to exceed it. And no side effects from taking drugs are simply incomparable with the consequences of refusing them: the occurrence of each new acute episode of schizophrenia, which lasts more and more time and causes more and more harm, or - the danger of the patient.

When treating schizophrenia, can you limit yourself to non-pharmacological methods?

Argument: there are a large number of traditional methods of treating schizophrenia (for example, from "healers" they recommend drinking comfrey broth for 2 weeks with interruptions). It is possible to treat schizophrenia without medication, if, by interrupting the treatment, a person simply tries to "keep himself in hand", and then there will be no relapse.

Counter argument: any sane person understands that it is impossible to cope with the disease in the acute stage of the course with folk remedies. And most often, a patient who first became ill with schizophrenia comes into the field of vision of a doctor in a state of acute psychosis. Sometimes, even when prescribing drug therapy, a long hospital stay is required (with schizophrenia it lasts 6-8 weeks) for quality treatment and elimination of positive symptoms, which include, for example, hallucinations. And the development of the disease itself, its exacerbation and progression, alas, in no way depends on the desire, the will of the patient himself.

This does not mean at all that a person who once became ill with schizophrenia will have to take pharmacological drugs all their life. But with the manifestation of the disease, or after a repeated acute episode, treatment of schizophrenia without drugs is simply impossible and dangerous. Yes, there are non-drug treatments for schizophrenia, but they only "work" in combination. Both psychotherapy and cognitive, social training, instrumental therapy are effective when combined with pharmacotherapy.

So, schizophrenia, being not fully understood, a complex disease with a biopsychosocial origin, is treatable. But this treatment should work, target all three determinants (causes). That is, take into account biological, psychological, social factors.

It is impossible to do without pharmacological therapy, but socialization (including vocational rehabilitation), prevention of isolation, full-fledged inpatient treatment, time structuring, physical activity and support of the patient's family are also extremely important.

You can choose a clinic for the full treatment of schizophrenia by reading.

It is the full consideration of all these factors that makes it possible to provide assistance to patients with schizophrenia.

I am posting fresh research by scientists who have tested the treatment of such a condition as schizophrenia - by psychological methods. Due to the fact that the material came in a closed mailing list, I will post it openly for everyone interested. And I will comment a little

Can you do without pills?

Schizophrenia was suggested to be treated without pills. Not certainly in that way. This is the title. In fact, this is just a treatment option, see below!

A study by scientists from the University of Manchester showed that a psychological approach to treating schizophrenia can be an alternative for patients who, for whatever reason, do not take medications, which, although they are first-line therapy, have serious side effects. The results of this work have been published in The Lancet.

Here it is clear, this is an introduction.

Schizophrenia, accompanied by hallucinations, delusions, delusions, paranoia, emotional problems, or difficulty focusing on daily activities, affects about 60 million people worldwide.

Even if this is not a single condition / disease, but many separate ones - all the same - the problem is very global. Let me remind you that the risk of contracting a disease designated as schizophrenia is about 1%. And this applies to anyone! Only those who do not have sufficient intelligence do not get sick ... so the percentage among smart people is slightly higher ..

John Nash - this scientist had schizophrenia and retained mental health and intelligence

In a study conducted in 14 countries in 1999, it was shown that the state of active psychosis in this respect ranks third in the world among non-bodily diseases, after complete paralysis (quadriplegia) and dementia, surpassing paraplegia and blindness in disabling effects.

However, the course of the disease reveals a significant variety and is in no way connected with the inevitability of chronic development or progressive growth of the defect. In some cases, the frequency of which varies across cultures and populations, recovery may be complete or nearly complete.

I have highlighted the important and useful for us. There are prospects.

There are currently over 20 antipsychotic drugs, such as risperidone, haloperidol, and clozapine, that are effective against many symptoms of the disease, but long-term use of these drugs can cause uncontrolled muscle movement, significant weight gain, or heart attack.

And I will note - in many cases they limit the possibilities of treatment. If there is no alternative, the risk of complications from the disease itself is high.

In recent years, a growing number of psychiatrists and psychologists have supported a psychological approach to the treatment of mental disorders, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has already been shown to be effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders, as an adjunct to antipsychotic medication.

Cognitive therapy is based on the premise that dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes are the cause of mental disorders. This method works with conscious content and aims to directly affect the patient's cognitions (thoughts, attitudes and expectations).

Therapy is about looking for distortions in thinking and learning an alternative, more realistic way of thinking about your life.

Here is a presentation of cognitive therapy in general, without reference to the disease under study. Translated, this is another ... it's friendship! Friendship of human souls ..

In schizophrenia, patients sometimes begin to engage in mental dialogues with imaginary images of people or otherworldly beings (called "voices"). The task of a specialist in this case is to explain to a patient suffering from schizophrenia that he is not talking with real people or creatures, but with the images of these creatures created by him, thinking in turn either for himself or for a given character.

To encourage the patient, the psychologist conveys to him the idea that mentally healthy people sometimes conduct conversations with invented characters, but consciously, for example, in order to predict the reaction of another person to a certain event.

And this and that and much more. People are infinitely varied, and such specialists are infinitely varied.

It's hard to join such a world ... but you have to

A person suffering from schizophrenia may replay a fantasy image or plot in his thoughts many times; gradually such fantasies are deeply recorded in memory, enriched with realistic details and become very believable.

At the same time, there is a danger that a person will begin to confuse his fantasies with reality and may, because of this, begin to behave inappropriately, so the psychologist may try to restore real facts or events in the patient's mind with the help of external reliable sources - documents, people whom the patient trusts , scientific literature, talking with witnesses, photographs, videos, or designing an experiment to test a judgment.

Conditions can be very unpleasant, painful! Both rational therapy, if possible, and cognitive therapy are applicable.

Over the past few years, scientists have conducted dozens of clinical trials with CPT treating schizophrenia, most of which have found moderate success in reducing symptoms. In a new study led by clinical psychologist Anthony Morrison, cognitive therapy was studied in 74 volunteers diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizophrenic spectrum disorder between the ages of 16 and 65.

The participants in the randomized controlled trial were divided into two groups: the first was assigned standard treatment, the second - standard treatment along with a course of cognitive therapy for 18 months. Every three months, the subjects passed a standard set of tests to determine the level of their emotional experiences and social interactions.

I would like to point out what I have emphasized - volunteers! That is, people themselves agreed and / or asked to talk, communicate, take with them, in addition to pills ...

Studies have shown that the group of subjects who received cognitive therapy sessions had fewer psychotic symptoms than the control group. The overall effect size (statistical measure of difference between groups) was 0.46 units on a scale in which 0.2 units is considered a low effect size, 0.5 is moderate, and 0.8 is high.

The size of the effect was found to be equivalent to that of most antipsychotics compared to placebo, the researchers said.

This does not mean "replacing" drugs with psychotherapy, in my humble opinion. This says that it is necessary to work in a complex manner, and by all means include similar methods in work with patients with this disease! And not oppose ... pills and "talk".

After all, in the treatment you need to achieve the best possible result .. Except for cases when pills are simply impossible, of course. We'll only have to go for an alternative.

The authors of the work warn that despite the encouraging results, this does not mean that people with schizophrenia can stop taking medications, since the patients participating in the study did not need to be hospitalized and they did not pose a danger to themselves and their environment.

Yes. And it's not even about .. danger to yourself or others! Simply abolishing the pills - without the work of psychotherapists - is not a method of treatment! Well, there should be a group of specialists, but simply "leave one waiting for himself to feel better" ..

However, according to statistics, up to 50% of people with schizophrenia, one way or another, do not take antipsychotic drugs for a long time. “Whenever possible, giving people the choice to take their medication or not seems to be a smart move,” Science quoted Professor Morrison as saying.

It's true. Provide a choice, but not understand this choice, hmm, in the everyday sense - "hurray the pills we throw out!"

Each of us is a microcosm ... But we have the right to intersect - and this is the basis of happiness!

And in the case when a complex treatment is possible - then give an opportunity to it. Note that I hardly work - with people with schizophrenia. Not my specialty. But I, like other people, have to deal with related issues.

To help a "special" person, and not to ridicule him, not to spread rot on the "unusual" is the right of any rational being ..