If you leave Schizophrenia untreated, what will happen to the patients?

Question

I am experiencing with my boyfriend who has Schizophrenia. He has already shown the symptoms when we were together, however he and his family members do not know/deny he has this illness. Probably means he will keep himself schizophrenic for the rest of his life. I would like to know what will happen, if leave him untreated? Now Trying hard to persuade him for visiting Pdoc is somehow useless. I do not want to waste my energy and feeling any more. Please tell me the consequence of this untreated mental illness. Thanks very much.

I have already posted my questions regarding his symptoms last months. Please refer to my questions. I feel I am right about his illness.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsbZuXdPtY.0_GZbxrEiCOPsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071112135827AAfCuVx

His mother and himself think the "Unstable, feelingless, psychotic" symptoms are part of his personality.

Answer 1

It greatly depends on the individual and the support system that they have (family and friends). Some people can end up in difficult situations due to their mental illness including unemployment, homelessness, drug and alcohol problems to mask their symptoms, and they can become harmful to themselves or others (suicidal and/or violently aggressive) due to the psychosis that often accompanies severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

It is often better for individuals with schizophrenia to get appropriately medicated and supervised (varies from person to person) for both their personal well-being and their family and friends. People with schizophrenia and other severe mental illnesses often do not understand the need for medication and they may even believe it's bad for them. That's why it's very important for family and friends to advocate for them to ensure that they are receiving appropriate psychiatric care.

As a loved one it's important to differentiate between the person that you love and the behavior that that person exhibits that you do not like. Love the person not the behavior. Remember that and you can have a rewarding relationship. Good luck.

Answer 2

Untreated Schizophrenia

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
If you leave Schizophrenia untreated, what will happen to the patients?
I am experiencing with my boyfriend who has Schizophrenia. He has already shown the symptoms when we were together, however he and his family members do not know/deny he has this illness. Probably means he will keep himself schizophrenic for the rest of his life. I would like to know what will...

Answer 4

This depends on what yuo mean by untreated. Many voice hearers learn to cope with their voices in a positive way, and they have jobs and social lives. A lot of people who say that they are psychics are actually schizophrenics who have learned to deal with their symptoms. An unenlightended majority in America beleives that teh only treatment is drug therapy, but in Europe and Australia there is a large movement towards learning to cope with the voices and the people there who have schizophrenia have more rewarding and fulfilling lives than here in the USA. They are expected to cope and hold hold down jobs and have a social life. Schizophrenia in those countries isn't nearly as debilitating as it is in the USA. As for the guy that says that schizophrenia is genetic 98% of schizophrenics have no known relative who has schizophrenia. Only 2% show evidence of a genetic link. As far as having children goes, were it not for the ignorance of the USA psychiatric profession on the latest trends in mental health those who have schizophrenia could live normal and productive lives. I have schizophrenia and was diagnose 17 years ago. I don't take medicine and i have since graduated from college and started my own businesses. I am better at relating with women than the average man and I have superior communication skills. I am a warm, empathic and caring person and any woman worth her salt would be blessed to have children with me. As for the guy who said don't have children, maybe he should consider not giving birth to a dumb as* such as himself.

Answer 5

Schizophrenia is when a person usually experiences hallucinations, delusions and extreme paranoia which makes them lose contact with reality and not understand what is real and what is not as they believe the hallucinations and delusions are real. Other symptoms include disorganised speech, catatonia, depression, self harm, suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts, insomnia, anxiety. These symptoms have to be on going for a full 6 months before being diagnosed with schizophrenia. People who have schizophrenia usually have no idea that they are ill in any kind of way and often deny that anything is wrong with them. My friend has schizophrenia and it started when she would say that everything tasted funny and decided she was not going ot eat anything anymore because people were trying to poison her. Then I noticed she would talk to herself in her room even though no one was there, she would sit and stare into space and randomly laugh for hours. She withdrew herself from us (her friends) and claimed we only wanted to be her friend to get inside her head and kill her and that she had new friends now. Her new friends were not real, they were voices and hallucinations in her head. She was constantly on edge and really paranoid, sometimes I would talk to her online and she would say she didn't know me but other days would say things like her friend told her I was bad and she had to stay away from me. The last time I saw her before she was hospitalised she had not slept in days and looked very tired and was very edgey and paranoid, she could not keep eye contact from fear of being killed. She had cuts from her wrist to elbow on each arm which were self inflicted and they all needed stitches. I took her home and told her parents and left. Next thing she was in her room threatening to kill herself and her parents with a knife, she was then arrested and sectioned for just under a year getting better. This all went on for 8 months before she got the help. They are not called "mental prisons" they are called psychiatric hospitals and people who have schizophrenia are usually hospitalised in psychiatric wards until they are taking medications that work and stabilse them so they can be discharged. My friend spent just under a year in one getting the help she needed. If it is left untreated it just continues and probably gets worse and worse as time goes on. My friend is on a medication which helps her a lot, she doesn't have psychosis, she sometimes gets depressed but nothing like how she used to. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

If he does indeed have schizophrenia, traditional studies prior to modern day medication state that 1/3 will remit not requiring medication or treament, 1/3 will require routine office visits and medications, and 1/3 will deteriorate requiring long term hospitalization - hope this was helpful

Answer 7

Untreated schizophrenics typically end up in involuntary confinement following an interview with a judge--some end up in poorly run institutions, others wind up in single person cells in jails or prisons. Many others end up homeless or dead.
How do you know he is schizophrenic? Only an MD can make the decision for sure....and the MD will be required to provide treatment, such as Abilify and Risperdal, or other appropriate drugs, as well as confinement to a treatment center or nursing home if that is necessary.

Answer 8

I would think this would be an individualized thing. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with schizo and hospitalized in her late teens(early 1950's). She was "talking" to people in German concentration camps. Presently, she doesn't hear voices unless something really upsets her. When her cat disappeared, she needed to be treated again for a little while. Now, she really just displays symptoms of depression(I have major depression). If your boyfriend is displaying symptoms, he should definitely get some help.

Answer 9

Must be diagnosed, to determine what is the cause.
Three basic type's, organic, genetic, and chemically induced.
If he uses alcohol/drugs, the symptoms, will begin to remit, if he stops.
Treatment for the others must be determined by a mental health professional.

Answer 10

There are many different consequences. Many homeless people and people in jail suffer from Schizophrenia. He needs treatment or be supervision of a doctor.