What Is Residual Schizophrenia?

Residual schizophrenia is also called incomplete remission residual type, which refers to a schizophrenia with a characteristic of personality deficiency that is mainly characterized by "negative symptoms" after an active period mainly with "positive symptoms". Among all the types of schizophrenia, the residual type is the most special one, and the harm is more serious. Residual type is still relatively rare in the clinic, but once it is affected, it will cause a huge negative impact on the patient, so we must pay attention to the prevention of this disease. ^[1]

Residual schizophrenia is characterized by slow onset, and patients may have only one brief acute episode in their lifetime, with the basic symptoms of typical schizophrenia, such as hallucinations, delusions, and mental association disorders; but whether they are treated in a timely manner , Or untreated, their acute attacks will soon be relieved. After the acute attack, the obviousness of the symptoms disappeared quickly, and the condition was relatively still. For a long period of time, whether or not active treatment was given, the remaining mental symptoms such as indifferent emotions, poor speech content, and lazy life did not improve or worsen.

In addition, the more common symptoms of this type of disease are: dullness, slow response, inflexible brain, poor memory, poor concentration, decreased ability to work, and emotional instability. Easily agitated, insomnia, headache, dizziness, etc. Individual patients may have fragmentary hallucinations and delusions. Some patients' similar symptoms are not necessarily residual symptoms, which may be caused by side effects of the drug. It may be relieved as long as the drug is discontinued or replaced with other drugs. Therefore, it cannot be easily asserted that some symptoms remain in someone's condition, and Should go to a professional hospital to make a decision before drawing a conclusion.

Residual type is a chronic form of schizophrenia. The residual mental symptoms of most patients do not hinder the self-care of daily life, but the decline of social function is slowly progressing.

If residual schizophrenia cannot be cured for a long time, or the disease recurs repeatedly, the patient will have negative symptoms such as poor thinking, indifferent emotions, and lack of will. At this time, the patient's intelligence is relatively normal, but his life is lazy and he lacks affection for his family. He has no plans for his future, sits silent all day, and loses his ability to work and live. This is the "mental decline". From the perspective of social functions, it is called "mental disability".

1. At least one previous psychotic episode that clearly meets the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia;

2. The extent and frequency of those distinctive symptoms have been reduced to a minimum or significantly reduced for at least one year, and they present a "negative" schizophrenic syndrome;

3. The main symptoms are negative symptoms of schizophrenia, mental retardation, too little activity, dull emotions, passiveness and lack of initiation, lack of speech volume and content, facial expressions, eye contact, sound frustration and posture, etc. Diagnosis of residual schizophrenia such as poor non-verbal communication, poor self-care, and poor social performance;

4. Lack of dementia, or other organic brain disease or disorder that is sufficient to explain negative symptoms, and chronic depression or long-term hospitalization.

1. Carry out genetic counseling. For patients with schizophrenia who are already in the age of marriage and childbearing, marriage and childbirth should be avoided until the symptoms have disappeared, especially if both parties have suffered from schizophrenia.

2. Carry out community mental health promotion. Early detection and early treatment. The occurrence and recurrence of schizophrenia are mostly related to the adverse mental stimulation in the surrounding environment. Therefore, it is very important to create a friendly humanistic environment. For those who have experienced mental symptoms, they should pay special attention to care and love, and avoid giving bad mental stimulation.

3. Adhere to regular outpatient review. We must insist on regular re-examination at the outpatient clinic, so that doctors can continuously and dynamically understand the condition, so that patients are often under the medical supervision of a psychiatrist, and the dose is adjusted in time according to the change of the condition. Through the review, the righteous person can get timely counselling and psychological treatment to relieve patients of various confusions in life, work and medication, which also plays an important role in preventing the recurrence of schizophrenia.

The treatment of mental illness mainly adopts drug therapy, behavior therapy, work therapy, recreation therapy, psychological therapy and counseling in various aspects to eliminate or alleviate various obstacles of the sick. In addition, diet therapy is also a very good choice.

1. Drug treatment. The advantages of drug treatment are generally quick and effective, but it has obvious effects. However, western medicine has large toxic side effects and drug dependence. It is recommended that patients follow the doctor's advice when taking the medicine, pay attention to the dosage, and do not adjust the dosage.

2. Psychotherapy. For patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia, it is mainly disorders of personality, emotional response, will, behavior, and social function. Therefore, in addition to continuing to take appropriate antipsychotic treatment for these patients, special attention should be paid to psychological treatment. And fully cooperate with behavior therapy in work and entertainment, and family therapy.

3. Behavioral therapy. When performing behavioral therapy, they can be allowed to participate in recreational activities and self-care activities, adopt positive reinforcement method, and when patients perform good and normal behaviors that meet the treatment requirements, they will be awarded points to strengthen their normal behaviors and motivate them. At the same time, they should be patiently educated, inspired and induced, cultivate good living and labor habits, and encourage them to participate in collective labor and cultural and sports activities to enrich their spiritual life and activate their emotions. This has an important role in improving patients' brain function and preventing decline, and can also improve their self-care ability and social ability.

4. Family therapy. The family is the living base of the patient, which has a great impact on it, so it should be actively cooperated with family treatment at the same time, which can play an important role in preventing the recurrence of the disease and the deterioration of the disease. In the eyes of ordinary people, patients may have strange thoughts and behaviors, but they also need respect, love, and care. Family members of patients should understand the patient's condition, treatment principles and methods, and prognosis. It should be treated with sympathy, thoughtfulness, patience and sympathy, and adopt reasonable and practical methods to deal with the personal problems of patients and their families. Family members can remind patients to take medicines and seek medical attention early when symptoms occur. Studies show that family management can reduce relapses. In particular, you should not be shy about letting the patient go out. The more the patient participates in social work and work, the more stable the condition becomes. ^[2]