Schizophrenia in Dogs - Sudden Behavioral Changes

Schizophrenia in dogs is not as uncommon as one may think. Dogs who show signs of sudden behavioral changes could be experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia. Your canine may be friendly one minute, then growl and snap at you the next, leaving you wondering what brought on the rapid change.

Schizophrenia in dogs is marked by acute alterations in personality without any apparent reason. Most often it is due to a change of mood of the pet owner, and occurs in households where chaos rules. It can also be evident in homes where the pet owners have set no boundaries or limits for their pets. In addition, there may be many personalities the dog must cope with in the home, and these differences can have an affect, possibly leading to aggressive behavior.

Aggressive behavior in an otherwise friendly dog is great cause for concern. A family member or visitor to your home can be attacked and severely injured should your pet perceive a threat that does not exist. In many cases, the pet owner has been attacked by their own beloved pet. The more the owner tries to soothe and calm, the more aggressive the dog becomes. Sadly, the pet may need to be euthanized.

Your dog is a member of the family, and it is not easy to admit there is a problem that needs rectified a quickly as possible. In light of this, contacting a qualified trainer or veterinarian for help in finding a solution can save everyone from the dire consequences of a ferocious attack.

Keep a record of your dog's behavior and the events in the home surrounding the onset of a negative mood, such as sudden loud noises or arguments between family members. Make note of body language, the dog's behavior before the event, and eye expression. This will help the trainer or veterinarian have a better understanding of what could be affecting your pet's personality.

Monitor your dog's behavior in various environments and activities in the home, such as when the house is calm and peaceful and when it is not. If you have small children running around, you may want to place the dog behind a closed door to protect them. Anyone who has children knows the noise and chaos they can generate. Your dog may feel threatened and confused, which can cause a change to a negative mood.

Animals who are schizophrenic may react differently to different situations. Some do fine in chaos, while others may need peace and quiet. This is important information that needs to be passed on to the vet or trainer.

It is possible to help your pet regain trust when you spent more quality time together. Consistently showing love and affection can help your dog feel safe and comfortable to overcome the feelings that produced the negative mood.

Schizophrenia - Do You Think You Have It?

There are several reasons and excuses for why Schizophrenia goes undiagnosed or mistreated.

Sometimes it is the result of denial by the person affected with the illness, or by the people around them. Other times it is the result of lack of education about the illness and an inability to understand what the symptoms are. It is also possible that a Learning disability can be the direct effect of a bigger underlying mental illness issue that a medical professional has over looked.

These are just some of the reasons why Schizophrenia can go undiagnosed for years until something that is hard to explain occurs, such as a pyschoatic episode.

In the early stages of the illness, it is easy to say there is nothing wrong and choose to ignore the signs of the illness. It is very unsettling at the thought of having Schizophrenia and being diagnosed or labeled with it.

But if left untreated or undiagnosed, Schizophrenia doesn't get better and will intensify with age.

Fortunately, there have been medical advancements to help treat and manage Schizophrenia.

It is an illness that you can count on it getting worse and depending on the severity, death could be the end result. Living with Schizophrenia that is untreated is a terrible way to live your life!

Denial of the Illness & Why it is not Diagnosed.

I have a daughter that has Schizophrenia and in the early parts of her life, I knew as a mother that something was not right.

There were many signs and things I noticed that were different, I would question them in my mind, touch on them with our family doctor, and then dismiss them saying, With time she would out grow these things.

I would fight with my husband all the time about her and his response would always be that she was just trying to get attention.

When it did become evident that there was definitely something wrong, he still would not acknowledge that he had a daughter with any problems let alone an illness as debilitating as Schizophrenia.

Even now my ex-husband still denies the fact he has a daughter with mental illness.

Denial is the number one reason why Schizophrenia is not diagnosed and why people do not seek help. Either denial by the person suffering or by the family around the person suffering, who denies it and says there is nothing wrong.

We all look for other possible non-severe reasons for a behavior. We tell ourselves lies, we think that it is our fault that things are this way, but they will get better over time. We say that time heals all wounds, but in this case, it will only get worse if not treated.

The second reason it is not diagnosed, is for the lack of information that is available about mental illness. For several decades, mental illness was never mentioned.

For a long time it was not even taught in medical schools, let alone, mentioned in public information.

We all thought of Schizophrenia as something that a psychopath had, because we would only hear about it when it was connected to a violent crime.

In my mind, when I thought of mental illness, I thought of a person who was put away in an asylum and forgotten about, because you couldn't deal with them.

The fact is, in severe cases of mental illness, the person suffering can gravitate to the darker side of the mind. But as time passes and if they are not diagnosed, it is possible for these dark thoughts to become a reality for them and they may do something violent.

But if the illness is diagnosed early enough, then it is possible to treat and manage.

The obvious and not so obvious symptoms of Schizophrenia

The symptoms of Schizophrenia may and can include:

Hallucinations (hearing voices, seeing people, seeing things that are not there)

People with Schizophrenia can have varying degrees of this illness. Sometimes they will hear just voices and never seen anyone attached to the voice. Other times it is more severe and they will actually see people, creatures and things that are not there in reality, but to them they are very real.

Doctors call these hallucinations, but to a person with Schizophrenia, the voices and people that they hear and see are as real to them as you and I.

People who are seeing or hearing these imaginary voices have a high tendency of talking out loud, becoming very vocal, and carrying on conversations with things that are not there.

They will even turn music on really loud in their room so no one can hear them talking to these imaginary forces. They will lock themselves into their own room, to have these conversations where no one can hear them, and they can be left alone.

When you hear the mentally ill talking to someone or something that is not there, you get the sense that the conversation is happening with a real person, but there is no one in the room with them.

Most of the time, if you ask them if they know the people they are talking to, they will typically say that they do not know they are.

But, depending on what is going in their life, they may start to believe that they are seeing people who have passed away, or an actor that they saw on TV in a movie. Sometimes the people they choose to talk to in their mind, are strangers on the street that they walked by days or weeks earlier.

The problem with these hallucinations is that these interactions will often turn to a Dark Theme. They will start to talk or think about death, loss, evil, anger and fear.

To some with Schizophrenia, the voices would verbally attack them about the person they are, and what they have done. They will say things like you are dumb, worthless, should never have been born and these dark comments and thoughts can continue to escalate to thoughts of harming themselves.

The voices typically never stop and they are very distracting, judgmental, critical, and over bearing.

Delusions (false beliefs)

It is very hard to say to someone with Schizophrenia that the voices and people they see are not real. They can draw pictures of what they are seeing and can give you an exact recount of what is being said to them. But the reality is all these things that are being told to them, they will start to believe as absolute truth.

One such example of this belief of the voices involves my daughter. The voices in her head told her that the food in front of her at meal times was poisonous and to eat it because they wanted her dead. If she did eat it, they would tell her that they are succeeding in killing her, and she would instantly throw it up.

As a result of this constant mental pestering, my daughter started to lose weight and became anorexic, and would not eat or keep food down. Because she believed what the voices told her about the food being poisonous, so she stopped eating.

When the mentally ill start to believe the voices and people they see and hear, that is when the person you know, no longer acts and thinks the same way as they once did.

Even if you tell them over and over again that these voices are not real, they will not believe you. In their mind it is a perpetual dream or nightmare that never ends. But when you confront them about these voices that they consider to be absolute reality, they will start to become more secretive and will withdraw into their own world. Thus, shutting you out of their life as much as they can and it is almost impossible to reach them at that point.

Lack of emotions or inappropriate display of emotions

As the illness progresses, people with Schizophrenia become more and more withdrawn into this world of imaginary visions.

They hear and talk freely with the voices and they stop relating to reality. This disconnection from reality can and will result in loss of emotions, and inability to interact in the world.

Once they have accepted this loss of reality, sometimes they start to believe that they have special powers that is given to them. Some of them believe they are receiving prophecies of what is to come, or they believe they are talking directly to god, angels, or the devil.

Sometimes they believe that they have an important mission to do and no one else understands, so they need to keep it a secret.

Because they feel no one understands them, the typical day to day interactions with normal people will result by acting out with anger and frustration.

As I explained earlier, the illness does not get better if left untreated or undiagnosed. It will not improve as time goes on and they slip into their own self-made imaginary world.

Lack of motivation

They lose the desire to go to school, work, take care of themselves or do anything in life. Interactions with people can feel strained and stressful for them and they will choose to avoid people all together.

They just want to be left alone to do what they feel they need to do. If they believe they have received a mission from the voices, then they just want to focus on that mission and forget about everything else.

Lack of motivation can be the direct result of a person with mental illness that is focusing entirely on the voices in their head. They will spend hours and days trying to decipher the supposed information they are being told.

In several cases, what they are being told makes absolutely no sense to them, but they feel they need to do something to make the voices go away.

Trouble functioning at school or in social situations

The constant nagging and pressure from these imaginary voices and people that pester the mentally ill is over whelming for them. As a result, they can become disorganized, easily distracted, an inability to focus or maintain consistent thinking.

They will act out inappropriately, say things in conversations that don't make sense, and laugh at things that are not funny. A complete social awkwardness. This makes functioning in school or social situations almost impossible for them.

For young adults and children, this type of social awkwardness can result in teasing and tormenting from people around them, making the illness even worse.

When this happens, they only want to disconnect from the world even more which will make it harder for them to function or fit in at school, work, or in social interactions.

Self-inflicting pain with the intent of a distraction from the voices and people they see.

Sometimes the constant voices in their head can be so overwhelming, that they just want it to stop and go away. In an attempt to get rid of voices, they will purposely injure themselves or cut their body to inflict pain. They will focus on the pain to push away the voices that they hear or the thoughts they have no control over. They will take extremely hot showers and try to focus on the hot sensation to draw their mind away from the voices.

They will drink or do drugs in attempt to shut out the voices to have some peace in their life.

This is just a short list of the several ways a mentally ill person will deal with the imaginary world in their head.

If any of these symptoms sound familiar to you or someone you know. Please take the necessary steps to get help.

Talk to someone you think will listen. Maybe your parents, friends, family member, or a Doctor.

Explain to the best of your abilities what is happening to you and the specific things that are going on in your mind.

People with mental illness can act very secretively and will keep a lot of things to themselves. They are very good at saying just enough to get by and not draw any attention to themselves. But with no treatment, after awhile it will become very obvious that something is not right.

They are afraid of what people may think about them, even worse they think that no one will believe them. In many cases, the voices in their head tell them that something bad will happen if they say anything. So they live in fear and will be scared of the possible repercussions of saying something.

But the truth is, if the illness is not treated or diagnosed, the symptoms will only intensify. It will become harder and harder for the person suffering from the illness to function in the world. Eventually, the many secrets that they have been hiding from loved ones and friends will come out.

But depending on the amount of time that has passed with no treatment it can result in several personal losses. Such as friends, family, work, school, and other loved ones in their life who do not want to be around them.

For Schizophrenia, the earlier it is diagnosed in life, the better chance a person has of living a normal and happy life.

There is hope of living a normal life with Schizophrenia. But it is only possible through treatment and management of the symptoms with medicine and diagnosing it as early as possible. In my opinion, having a great caretaker is essential.

Quantum Brain Healing Uses Scalp Acupuncture and Herbs to Treat Auditory Hallucinations

Patients with schizophrenia, bipolar, post traumatic stress disorder, and depression may experience auditory hallucinations. The University of Manchester England researched a connection between childhood abuse and auditory hallucinations in bipolar patients and found there to be a significant connection. Seventy percent of people with auditory hallucinations experience these after physical or sexual abuse, an accident, or the death of loved one. The voices in auditory hallucinations seldom respond to medication. PTSD and depression patients should read the suggested treatments for those diseases.

Trauma and sleep deprivation of extended and serious nature may trigger auditory or visual hallucinations. Quantum Brain Healing uses meditation, yoga, melatonin, 5-HTP, valerian, hops, lemon balm, and St. John's wort to help induce sleep safely. After sleep cycle is regulated, the auditory hallucination should quickly fade. There are many other ways to treat these auditory hallucinations and orthomolecular amino acid therapy is a very good option.

These hallucinations can also be associated with high doses of cocaine, amphetamine, or other stimulant. People with bipolar, depression, and schizophrenia often abuse recreational drugs and the genesis of their auditory hallucinations may be drug related. High caffeine intake is somewhat correlated with auditory hallucinations. Discontinuation of caffeine may reduce intensity or frequency of auditory hallucinations.

Underlying diseases must be treated and all substance abuse must stop in order for hallucinations can be treated successfully.

Brain locations involved in auditory hallucination are Wernicke's area, a part of the left temporal lobe which involved in perceiving, spoken speech, and a similar area of the right temporal lobe. In addition to the temporal lobe differences, there are also altered neural pathways. These different neural pathways may be minor changes for adults with late onset of hallucinations versus those people with early onset of schizophrenia or bipolar diseases. Minor changes may have some success with pursuit of changing brain plasticity through cognitive enhancement techniques. The use of scalp acupuncture may enable brain plasticity to increase with enough nutritional support under a long-term treatment plan. It takes a long term treatment of acupuncture for hallucinations to resolve themselves.

Researchers haven't found the specific neural mechanisms at work. Brain scans indicate areas of the brain processing sound and storing memories activate at a higher level during auditory hallucinations. This may indicate that the excitatory neurotransmitters are out of balance and the inhibitory neurotransmitters need to be stimulated or supported in some biochemical fashion. Amino acid therapy could be utilized for this purpose. Yoga and meditation are additional ways to alter neurotransmitter levels in a slow manner. There are many diseases associated with auditory hallucinations: sleep deprivation, schizophrenia, bipolar, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol withdrawal, cocaine abuse, stimulant abuse, delirium, dementia, temporal lobe epilepsy, familial temporal lobe # 4 epilepsy, Gelineau's syndrome, and familial type 1 hemiplegic migraine.

©Dr R Stone, MD in Alternative Medicine-India

Delayed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - Research Confirmation

To test the validity of my cumulative observations of 300 schizophrenic patients, I surveyed patients with schizophrenia and major depression who experienced the one early trauma of birth of a sibling prior to age 36 months, and we compared the patients for sibling births between 12 to 24 months versus 24 to 36 months. Because of the importance of early trauma, and the birth-of-a-sibling trauma in particular, a high level of significance, substantially beyond the .001 level, was achieved with the first 50 subjects who had siblings less than 36 months younger.

In April 1995, Sarnoff Mednick was kind enough to test my findings on the 6,000 schizophrenic patients in the Finnish database, and he found a very high level of significance, confirming a substantially higher rate of schizophrenia among those with siblings less than two years younger. I estimate that the birth of a sibling accounts for approximately 30% of schizophrenia, and I anticipate that other infant traumas-when similarly identified and tested-will account for the other 70%.

Original Trauma

In nearly all 300 cases of schizophrenia studied, the infant trauma had one common denominator-a relative degree of physical or emotional separation from the mother as experienced by the infant. This separation is thought to produce intense pain and fear which overwhelm the infant and leave an indelible impression etched on the developing mind and brain.

Subsequent Trauma

A second important finding, gleaned from 25 years of cumulative observation, is that a trauma in the present-which is sufficiently intense and similar to the trauma in the past-causes the person, through a complex mental/physiological flashback mechanism, to return partially to the feelings/reality/behavior of the earlier rime. This I called the two trauma mechanism, and it is responsible for the commonly described "flashback" in posttraumatic stress disorders.

The trauma that precipitates the initial psychosis or major depression is similar to the original trauma in that it represents a separation, loss, or rejection by a "most important person" or group, whether the separation is real, imagined, anticipated, or implied. All acute stressors listed on Axis IV in the former DSM III-R were of this type.

People with drug and alcohol dependence had a positive correlation with a prolonged stress during infancy, and onset frequently coincided with, or was precipitated by, stress in the present.

In my view, the two trauma mechanism operates the same in all posttraumatic stress disorders of the delayed type. After the initial trauma is awakened, very little is required to reawaken or perpetuate it. With schizophrenia or depression, contact with original, nuclear family members was found to keep the earlier mind and brain active and to work against recovery. The same mechanism operates when the alcoholic takes a drink. In alcohol and drug-dependent individuals, recovery often depends on separation from original family members as well as from the abused substance.

Prevention

My findings and theoretical constructs allow for prevention at three levels: prevention of the original trauma, prevention of a first psychotic episode in the vulnerable individual, and prevention of a relapse in persons who have an illness.

The first level of prevention is the most effective and can be accomplished through public education designed to eliminate or modify infant traumas.

The second level of prevention is prevention of an initial psychotic episode. Vulnerable individuals, i.e., those who experienced early trauma or who exhibit precursors of schizophrenia, are treated during emotional crises or at critical stages of development, to modify the impact of the second trauma in the two trauma mechanism. When this eliminates the initial flashback, the mental disorder does not occur.

The third level of prevention is prevention of a recurrence in persons who already suffer from mental illness. This is the beginning of our treatment approach.

Occupational Therapy and Schizophrenia

Occupational therapy can be one of the most rewarding ways in which to help those suffering from mental disorders such as schizophrenia or dementia. By guiding a patient through activities, they can learn new skills and practice positive ways in which to focus on their improvement. The use of occupational therapy programs is widespread throughout mental health and senior living centers. These programs are quite popular with the residents and patients, and OT is often the most loved portion of the treatment programs. It's not surprising, of the many types of therapies used to help mental health, and occupational is frequently the most helpful from the patient's perspective.

Providing a creative outlet can be a way to open the door to a greater recovery, and increased confidence. The results of the clients' efforts can be a great source of pride, as well as a way to learn new skills. By taking the time to carefully work through all the steps of a project, the patient will learn to focus on the task at hand. The process can let them practice life skills such as frustration tolerance and gain patience while taking part in an enjoyable pursuit. Helping someone feel better about themselves and their abilities through OT is like helping them put together a clear picture of who they are. Through the training offered at occupational therapist schools, one can learn how to help others feel productive and take pride in their efforts.

Occupational therapy has a profound impact on the client's life and their self image. For those with an interest in helping others live a fulfilling and positive life, occupational therapy assistant schools are a great choice. As an OTA, it is possible to show a struggling person that they can work through their problems step-by-step and find wonderful results. Whether it's working within a psychiatric care facility or as part of a day program for seniors with dementia, the work of an occupation therapist can bring help to the families of the participants as well.

By helping a person take part in a worthwhile pursuit such as a craft project, their mind will be more active, and in a more focused and positive way. This focus has been found quite important in slowing the progress of dementia. Using the mental faculties in a concentrated way reinforces the neural pathways on a deep level, and can be vital to maintaining or achieving good mental health.

The Effects of Schizophrenia on Relationships

A person with schizophrenic symptoms do not just face the serious disorder and its circumstances, he also deals with the giant barriers caused by the illness which separate him from other people. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges for schizophrenics is to overcome these barriers.

During the first months or years, the person may be in denial and not accept the idea of having the symptoms. This can be the most challenging part for him. First, he finds out that he is facing a serious mental disorder with which he has no experience and may ruin his file. It is very important for him to learn about the nature of the illness, its treatments, and the strengths and weaknesses of the mental health care system. Also, handling the psychological stresses caused by the appearance of the disease and its implications is very important.

Next is finding the appropriate treatment plans. It often takes time to decide on effective therapies that can help the person in controlling the schizophrenic symptoms. Usually, anti-psychotic drugs may need to be tried and doses may be adjusted depends on how the patients response to their side effects which also need to be treated. In addition, finding a psychiatrist or mental health care professionals may take time. It is important to find someone whom you are comfortable working with.

During the earlier years, a diagnosis of this mental disorder promised a good chance of serious mental impairment for life. The good news is, that has changed because most schizophrenics nowadays respond well to medical regimen and are able to behave nearly as well as they did before the mental illness started to wreak havoc on their lives.

Schizophrenics can experience hallucinations, delusions, and bizarre behavior which result in social withdrawal. They may hear voices that give comments on every action they do, causing them to have difficulties in focusing on routine tasks and social interactions. They may believe that there are special messages about them which are being broadcast on the news or hidden in street signs.

A lot of people know little about the causes, symptoms, and nature of mental illness. What they do know is often made of imprecise depictions they have seen in movies or read about in the media. People normally do not make an effort to establish or even cultivate a casual or intimate relationship with someone suffering with severe mental disorder. As a result, schizophrenics often lose established relationships with the society, and more than half never marry. People usually begin to socialize in adolescence and early childhood. This is when the symptoms of schizophrenia are most likely to develop. Consequently, some social skills are never learned, developed and others are lost.

While old friends fall away, meeting people and participating in social interaction may be difficult. This may cause social withdrawal and result in a loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities as well as lack of initiative. Until schizophrenics learn about the nature of the illness, it is possible for them to control the symptoms, learn to adapt, and regain relationships with others.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia in Children

Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder that affects men, women, boys and girls. Nevertheless, it can be a bit difficult to be diagnosed in children. However, when it is diagnosed, medication can be used to help the patient in controlling it, instead of it controlling him/her.

Sometimes, you may not be able to tell who is dealing with this illness, from who is not, by simple looking at them. However, after having a conversation with that person, you may have some question.

Presently, there is no known cure for this illness and whenever medication is prescribed for someone, it is intended to help to control the symptoms.

Children who are faced with this illness may display some or all these symptoms that are to follow, however they can also be another reason for these symptoms.

Very moody

They can be very moody, one moment they are okay and the next moment, without any warning, they can become very grumpy, just to put it mildly.

Behave Younger that Own Age

Many times, you will find people acting in a manner that is younger than their age, however, with children who have this illness, it is not an act. That is, they do believe they are at the age they are displaying.

Very Anxious and Fearful

They are unusually anxious and are fearful about many things. In

Problems Making and Keeping Friends

As a result of their unusual behavior, it is often very difficult for them to make and keep friendships with others. They may say and do things that are not appropriate.