Schizoaffective Disorder - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment. by James S Pendergraft

Schizoaffective Disorder is one of many disorders which are very tough to recognize. Very often, when it passes through the mind of the patient it has two effects-

· Psychotic disorders

· Mood swings

These two conditions however, differ in intensity and the time period in which it prolongs. It is the mood swing which lasts for a longer time. This disorder is tough to recognize because the symptoms are similar to other disorder and the most prominent symptoms are from the psychotic disorder. Even depression is a very important factor which helps in the diagnosis of the Schizoaffective Disorder.

While the psychiatrist is diagnosing the patient, he must find at least two major symptoms in order to confirm that the patient has the disorder. This disorder includes the symptoms of a psychic disorder such as hallucination, delusion, and catatonic behavior. Similarly the speech of the patient cannot be understood by anyone and it makes no sense for them. The patient also loses interest in any normal activity and does not even bother to keep himself hygienic. Their behavior in public can be much unexpected. They have the capability of undressing in front of a huge crowd when they are under the influence of the Schizoaffective Disorder. This is done by them in order to gain attention, cause shame to the onlookers or to see the expression of shock in people. These patients tend to get very emotional and can go into depression and the mood swings that occur are very extreme. The patient can even act fanatic at times.

The cause for the occurrence of the Schizoaffective Disorder is yet very unclear. It is mostly related to the genetic structure or a stressor which can be an incident in the past. It can either be a small or a significant event that has had a huge impact on the patient. This incident may even be from his childhood. This is a type of disorder which can hit a person in their late teenage or early twenties. The incident can even be a very traumatic accident and he would have possibly seen death from a very close distance. This cause has one of the gravest impacts- discrimination from siblings by parents or mental torture. Or abuse to another family member may also have an impact on the psychology of the patient.

The treatment given to the Schizoaffective Disorder uses anti psychotic drugs and medicines like

· Risperdal

· Seroquel

· Zyprexa

At times when the patient gets hyper and out of control 'Haldol', a type of injection is used. Other antibiotic drugs in order to help the betterment of mood swings are also used. Apart from the antibiotics, therapies are also used to treat the disorder. With the therapies, the patient is educated about the disorder that he is suffering from and also helps him with the way to cure. They also set aims to which the patient has to improve. In extreme cases, the patient is hospitalized for fear of self damage.