According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 23 million people worldwide have schizophrenia. This mental disorder is characterized by a set of varying symptoms such as distortions in thinking, perceptions, emotions and behavior. Patients may also experience auditory, visual or olfactory hallucinations accompanied by delusions.
Schizophrenia: treatment is essential to protect the brain
Cynthia, 21, has schizophrenia. "I started to get sick when I was about 15-16, but I didn't realize it right away. I heard voices in my ear whispering loudly. I knew I was wrong, but I thought everyone could hear them ", she says, before adding: "It's like thoughts. They told me what to do and they warned me. It was like someone was constantly commenting on my life."
When she was 18, she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. An announcement that Cynthia saw as an accusation. "I went into a frenzy of conspiracy and persecution", she explains. The young woman was then hospitalized. During her stay, she began a dialogue with caregivers and patients and then realized that schizophrenia is not a "tare".
At the start of her illness, Cynthia was not taking her medication properly. "My father told me that I was drugged, that it was not normal to take medicine every day", she says. Thanks to the help of a doctor, the young woman finally understands that her treatment is essential, because each crisis of delirium can damage her brain and promote the appearance of other pathologies such as violent psychoses towards herself and towards herself. others. "In extreme cases, they can turn into psychopathy or identity and behavior disorders", she specifies.
"Once stabilized, the work is done by itself"
Cynthia explains that schizophrenia is different from person to person. "A big shock or a strong trauma can trigger the disease in our brain, but we are sensitive to have it from birth (…) The source is oneself. These are its reactions or how we will react to something that can trigger seizures ", underlines the young woman.
After the diagnosis is announced, patients go through a long phase of testing during which they try different treatments. "It is very well taken care of. The only downside: once stabilized, the work is done on its own. Nobody is going to refer you to a psychologist in order to improve or reduce the treatment ", says Cynthia.
In Cynthia's eyes, psychiatric illnesses are still taboo subjects. According to her, the more unreal things are, the more difficult it is for people to understand and accept them. "Today, I am stable. I don't have seizures anymore except when there's a really strong trigger, but you have to go. Above all, I learned to accept them ", says the young woman. "It is quite possible to experience crises, as far apart as possible, normally 'without farting a lead'. "
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