INTRODUCTION

Schizophrenia is a debilitating illness of the mind.  Once diagnosed, prognosis is bleak, cure unavailable.  It is a lifelong illness and for some, it is so extremely distressing, it induces suicide.  It is difficult to describe and it is difficult to diagnose.  Many get thrown into the psych system without even having the illness as the symptoms are merely perceptions of the highly educated psych nurses and psychiatrists.  If a person is unemployed for a long time for no apparent reason, maybe indulging in drugs and alcohol, they are considered good candidates for inmates.  Delinquents usually find their way into the psych ward with all the aversive treatment they receive and the need to legalize their torture.  Any sign of aggression in society and the psychiatrists are quick to slap a schizophrenic label for the behaviour conditioning.  With all the misdiagnosed patients in hospital, there are the small 2% that are actually suffering from hallucinations.  The doctors will inform the lay of the positive and negative symptoms and confuse people with what schizophrenia really is.  It is basically hallucinations.  there is no way to diagnose hallucinations!  there is no scan, x-ray or blood test to determine whether or not one is hallucinating.  Schizophrenia is the scapegoat for all the delinquents and eccentric folk in society that do not socialize well.

TREATMENT

The problem with treating schizophrenia is that current medications are based on a theory.  A hypotheses!  The dopamine hypotheses.  One psychiatrist compared the dopamine theory to gravity.  I could postulate that gravity is induced and shatter that comparison.  Another would compare it to Biblical dogma of genesis and the creation of the universe or maybe even the big bang theory.  Every leading scientist has their theories and the lesser minds have to regurgitate whatever is easiest to understand.  The dopamine theory has been the dogma for the past seventy years and patients have killed themselves in order to avoid the pains of ‘treatment’.  Whether it be over sedation, electrocution, severing limbs, inducing dental cavities or breaking bones, the pains of ‘treatment’ is unbearable.  The weak kill themselves.  The strong fight till all their brain cells have been burnt, sending them into a state of dementia.  Apparently the hallucinations are being subdued by the dopamine antagonist!?  Where is the proof I ask?  In order to subjugate millions of patients on this ‘medication’, the antipsychotic, there needs to be be some sort of evidence!  Proof!  Sighting of some dopamine would be nice!

EFFICACY

The fact of the matter is that the ‘treatment’, of those labelled with schizophrenia, is a very costly affair.  Hospitalization is not cheap.  There is the price of the bed, the doctors, the nurses, the ‘meds’, the security, the cleaners, the chefs, the food, and all the contractors that do the odd jobs to keep the prison to some standards.  Then there is the costs of community follow up after discharge.  Some patients need supported accommodation as they are unable to look after themselves.  Not to mention the costs of the large pensions these hooligans rort out of the government.  But wait, there’s more; relapse!  That’s right.  As the patients are noncompliant with their medication, they have to get carted back into hospital for re-offending.  I repeat; there are only 2% of the total of schizophrenic patients that actually suffer from hallucinations.  For these patients, there is no hope.  I have personally spoken to these patients, and they claim that the ‘medications’ do squat!  After two or three decades of compliance on all the available antipsychotics available, they still suffer from hallucinations.  But the psychiatrists like to paint a rosy picture with the threat of losing their jobs.  They will claim that it is only a small percent that the medication do not work for, while in fact it is only a small percent that actually suffer from hallucinations in the first place.

ALTERNATIVE TREATMENTS

Psychosocial rehabilitation has been put forward in recent times as an alternate solution to the treatment of schizophrenia.  These people need a lot of attention.  They need structured programs on a daily basis.  There needs to be constant supervision.  These degenerates need to be put back into society.  Back into employment.  They need to be trained on how to function in society.  And a job is crucial.  It could be as simple as serving coffees for 20 hours a week at a cafe.  It could be painting houses for 20 hours a week.  It could be landscaping gardens for 20 hours a week.  According to leading psychologist, Maslow, it is the self esteem and social acceptance of the second and third order of the hierarchy of needs that lead us toward self actualization and happiness.  I doubt that many can find happiness with a needle in the ass, basic shelter and dog food!  A peek at those in the east would show that our chinese neighbours are much healthier.  We could even get masters from the orient to train our patients in the arts of chi kung, tai chi and meditation.  We have tried all the antipsychotics for the past seventy years to no avail, hence we might as well give something else a go.  I have proposed a study be done to determine the efficacy of current medications on www.psychiatryrevolution.blogspot.com.au

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I reiterate: diagnosing hallucinations is difficult and once diagnose, prognosis bleak, cure unavailable!  There are millions who are diagnosed with schizophrenia, however only a small percentage of those on medication actually suffer from hallucinations.  As the dopamine theory is flawed at outset, the measuring stick to test the effectiveness of the ‘treatment’ is dubious.  The psych team, in fear of losing their jobs, will paint a rosy picture of the efficacy of their treatments, however the actual figures are extremely disheartening.  Most of the patients are having some sort of problems managing their lives and socializing.  Some have family problems, some have problems maintaining friends, some have problems holding down a job, while a few actually hallucinate.  The radical psychosocial approach has been suggested as an alternative to antipsychotics and a study must be undertaken to appraise the worthiness of this solution.  Schizophrenia costs billions of dollars to every state and the globe has been left in confusion with the Americans’ dopamine theory.  The dopamine theory is nothing more than a theory.  Even Aristotle and Ptolemy had their theories and it took centuries for their theories to be put in the back burner.  Let us not wait till millions more kill themselves before we summon the will to do the right thing!!