How to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person

How to care for a bipolar schizophrenic person??

Bipolar schizophrenic person is a person with complex mental health condition combining symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Seeing a loved one suffering from a disease or disorder right before your eyes is a very painful feeling. It became more difficult, distressing and emotional if you are living with and caring for a person with bipolar schizophrenia. Its effective treatment requires a better strategy and taking complete care of your loved ones, and most important trying to understand their mental state.

In this blog, on the bases of research we will help you to better understand how to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person.Furthermore, We will share strategies, practical tips and valuable insight that will make easy to deal with these individuals.

Symptoms of Bipolar schizophrenic persons

Bipolar Schizophrenia also known as schizoaffective disorder. It is a chronic mental disorder. So, before understanding how to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person, it is very important to understand the symptoms and signs of bipolar disorder so that a better strategy can be adopted accordingly. Dealing with schizophrenia without understanding it, can sometimes lead to increased stress and anxiety for both of you and the person with bipolar schizophrenia. It is very essential to remember that everyone’s experience with such individuals is unique, and such individuals do not exhibit all of these symptoms. Here are some symptoms of bipolar schizophrenia to discuss.

• Manic Symptoms:

  Bipolar Schizophrenic person feel too strong, restless and agitated, appearing overly excited and happy for no reason, lots of thoughts rushing through your mind at the same time, causing you to lose focus or concentrate, too much waste of money, carelessness, Impulsive behavior, and promiscuity issues, being very irritable for no apparent reason, and losing temper very quickly.

• Depressive Symptoms:

  Feeling empty for a long time, feeling sad all the time, and feeling hopeless about everything, Feeling tired or lacking energy. Experiencing noticeable changes in weight or appetite, experiencing excessive sleep or sleepiness, and experiencing insomnia, losing interest in activities that individual once enjoyed.

• Psychotic Symptoms: 

  Seeing, hearing and feeling things that are not actually there in front of you, believing things that are not true despite having evidence, having thoughts in the mind that are difficult to follow or vague, Experiencing unpredictable and erratic behavior, Abnormal loss of emotion, motivation and activities.

• Cognitive Symptoms:

  Difficulty in paying attention or focusing to someone or something, having trouble remembering an old thing or person or learning something new, not being able to assess risk and having difficulty making decisions, having a conversation that is difficult to understand or follow.

• Emotional Symptoms:

  A sudden change in mood, such as going from sad to suddenly happy, getting scared and worried for no reason, taking a sudden dislike to even a small thing, Feeling very guilty or shameful even sometime for no reason,having difficulty expressing your emotions.

• Behavioral Symptoms:

  Keeping yourself away from relationship, social gatherings and social interactions, behaving recklessly and impulsively, showing aggressive and sometimes violent behavior, trying to torture or hurt.

Causes of Bipolar schizophrenia

Medical researchers are trying their best to find out the causes and treatment of every disease or disorder but till now the exact causes of Bipolar schizophrenia could not be ascertained, because it is a complex problem of abnormality of brain structure. But there are some possible reasons that must be mentioned to understand that what are the main causes of schizophrenia and how to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person.

Genetic Factors:

According to research, genetic variations and mutations may play a significant role in negatively affecting brain development and functioning. This increases the risk of bipolar schizophrenia. It is worth noting that it is the influence of multiply genetic factors that increase the risk of bipolar schizophrenia rather than a single factor.

• Family history:

  People with any type of mental illness or a family history of schizophrenia are more likely to develop schizophrenia.

• Genetic mutations:

  Specific genetic mutations affecting the Disc1 gene are also thought to be the main cause of Bipolar schizoaffective disorder.

• Epigenetic factors:

  Epigenetic changes that affect the expression of genes without changing the DNA sequence are also responsible.

Neurochemical Imbalance

Neurochemical imbalances are a major factor in disrupting the normal functions of the brain. This neurochemical imbalance can cause you to experience hallucinations, disorganized thinking, and delusions. When these chemicals lose their balance, a person loses the ability to perceive and recognize reality.

• DOPamine dysregulation:

  Abnormalities in DOPamine signaling are also thought to contribute to the development of bipolar schizophrenia.

• Serotonin imbalance:

  Change in Serotonin levels and receptor functions play an important role in the pathophysiology of bipolar schizophrenia.

• Glutamate dysfunction:

  Alterations of glutamate signaling also play a role in the development of bipolar schizophrenia.

Key brain structure and function factors:

Symptoms of schizophrenia such as distorted thoughts, blurred vision, and disorganized behavior show when brain structures and functions are impaired. The main reason is that brain areas like amygdala, cortex, hippocampus are affected, which regulate thinking, emotions, perception in the brain.

• Amygdala hyperactivity (Emotional Overload):

  A small almond-shaped brain region that is responsible for processing emotions, called the amygdala. In people who suffer from bipolar schizophrenia, this part of the brain called amygdala is overactive.

• Prefrontal cortex dysfunction: (Thinking and Decision-Making Problems):

  In our brain the prefrontal cortex is responsible for making decisions making, thinking and understanding. If it doesn’t work properly. As a result, it will reduces your ability of problem solving, to make decisions and thinking.

• Disrupted neural circuits: (Disrupted Brain Connections):

  The emotions and thought processes that are sometimes affected are mainly due to a disruption in the brain’s communication system, which causes mood swings, confusion, and other symptoms.

Key environmental factors:

Social isolation can cause you to suffer from a major mental disorder. Additionally,  Childhood neglect or abuse, suffering, anxiety, and injustice or discrimination in society can be the main reason for you to suffer from this disease.

• Stress:

  Acute and chronic mental stress can also cause bipolar schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals.

• Trauma:

  Childhood neglect, childhood abuse, or other traumatic experiences greatly increase the risk of bipolar schizophrenia.

• Social isolation:

  Social isolation causes many mental illnesses in you. And this can be an effective cause of bipolar schizophrenia. 

Hormonal imbalance:

Hormonal changes which may cause disorganized thinking, Hallucinations, Delusions. These hormonal imbalances during significant life events, such as puberty, pregnancy, or major stress, may cause schizophrenia in people who are already vulnerable in this situation.

• Cortisol dysregulation:

  Abnormalities in cholesterol regulation and levels may contribute to the development of bipolar schizophrenia.

• Thyroid dysfunction:

  Dysfunction of thyroids, hypothyroidism, plays an important role in the pathophysiology of bipolar schizophrenia.

• Gonadal hormone imbalance:

  Estrogen and testosterone are gonadal hormones. Imbalances in these hormones may also increase the development of schizophrenia.

A comprehensive approach to schizophrenia care:

You can minimize the effects of schizophrenia with a few simple steps. At least it can help you to take care of a schizophrenic person and it also may help you to understand how to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person.  The main factors that can influence its improvement are the following.

Medical Treatment:

• Antipsychotic medications:

  To reduce symptoms such as disorganized thinking, hallucinations, and delusions, we can take help from this medication.

• Therapy:

  Cognitive behavioral therapy, group therapy, and family therapy can help to reduce the effects of the illness in people with bipolar schizophrenia.

• Mood stabilizers:

  These medications can help to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and also manage mood swings.

Lifestyle Changes:

• Regular exercise:

  Exercising, walking and doing yoga activities on a daily basis can reduce stress and improve mood.

• Healthy diet:

  We can balance our diet to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and improve overall health. To do this, we should consume whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, etc.

• Sleep habits: 

  You can also reduce the effects of schizophrenia on yourself by improving your sleeping hours. For this you should create a calm environment for sleeping.

• Stress management:

  Stress can increase your chances of bipolar schizophrenia. You should keep yourself calm by doing yoga, deep breathing and stress reducing techniques such as meditation etc.

Social Support:

• Family support:

  Family support can help the affected person. For this it is very important for family members to understand all the symptoms and mental health of the patient. Otherwise, both the victim and the caregiver may suffer.

• Support groups:

  Also, joining support groups gives you a sense of life purpose and belonging. And decision-making skills are also enhanced with joining theses kind of groups.

Self-Care:

• Self-monitoring:

  By keeping a close eye on these symptoms in affected people and avoiding things that ignite these symptoms, we can improve the health of schizophrenic person.

• Leisure activities:

  Engaging in activities that bring you joy. Engaging in some creativity or going out to explore nature can make you feel better.

• Building a daily routine:

  Organizing the daily activities of life is also a great way to control it. Such as making time for exercise, making time for social interactions, and finding adequate and restful sleep.

Crisis Management:

• Crisis planning:

  Developing a crisis plan with a mental healthcare provider can help individuals with schizophrenia and can help before time to prepare for emergency situations at the time of critical schizophrenic behavior.

• Emergency contact:

  These people should have emergency contact numbers so that they or someone close to them can contact their family, caregiver or mental healthcare provider in case of emergency.

• Hospitalization:

  

  Hospitalization may be necessary in severe case to ensure safety and provide intensive care and treatment.

Conclusion:

Treating schizophrenia is a time-consuming process that requires medication as well as patient care, attention to symptoms, social interaction and support, and family support. Furthermore, It is also including the affected person’s own effort to lead a better and meaningful life in the society. For all of this, you should seek the full help of a mental health provider for better understanding that how to deal with a bipolar schizophrenic person and follow his or her guidelines, because this is a complex issue that can be harmful if taken lightly or with inexperience. “Prevention is the Best Protection”.

https://medicalnews2day.com/signs-and-symptoms-of-mental-health/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia