If you have schizophrenia, there is much reason for hope. New antipsychotic drugs are being studied, and brain research is revealing more about the roots of this mental illness. Improvement is possible, especially with continued treatment.
Is There a Cure?
While there's no known cure, it is possible to live a meaningful and happy life with schizophrenia. There are many effective treatments, best provided by a team. These include medication, psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and social services, as well as tools to help you stay in school or keep working. Psychiatrists, primary care doctors, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals will help you and your family find the treatments that are best for you.
The earlier you get help, the better your outcome. With treatment, many people with schizophrenia recover to the point of living functional, rewarding lives in their communities.
How Does Schizophrenia Progress?
The first signs of schizophrenia usually appear between your late teens and mid-30s. According to one large analysis, the median age of the start of schizophrenia around the world was 25, meaning that half of the cases appeared before that age and half appeared later.
It may take a year or two before the vaguely strange early symptoms of schizophrenia – during what's called a "prodromal phase" – turn serious enough to prompt a visit to a psychiatrist. In some people, the illness never goes beyond this point. But in most cases, it does.
The active phase of your schizophrenia may last several years or up to a decade. This can be an alarming period for you and your loved ones. It's often followed by a less stormy phase where some of your more intense symptoms, like hallucinations, stabilize. But such symptoms as loss of interest, trouble thinking, and relationship problems are more likely to linger.
Schizophrenia Recovery
Most people with schizophrenia will see improvement to some extent, though symptoms may return from time to time. Early and consistent treatment improves your chances of remissions (periods when you have few major symptoms).
One study that looked at people who took antipsychotic drugs after their first episode of schizophrenia found that:
- 91.5% had a remission at least once in the year after the first episode
- 58% of those who stayed with the study remained in remission for six months in a row.
Antipsychotic medications work for many people. One study found that about 65% of those who took them showed improvement within a year. While the lifetime risk of suicide for people with schizophrenia is about 5%, treatment and social support seem to lower that risk.
Women seem to be better than men at staying in recovery long-term. Medications, cognitive therapy, and a strong support network can help you find ways to lead a fulfilling life with your mental illness.
What Affects the Outcome?
If you or a loved one has schizophrenia, here are a couple of things that may affect success long-term:
- How well you did in society and at work before your schizophrenia began
- The amount of time from the start of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment. The sooner you’re treated for schizophrenia once symptoms begin, the more likely you are to improve and recover. But prodrome – the time between when symptoms begin and full psychosis starts – can be days, weeks, or even years. The average length of time between the start of psychosis and first treatment is six to seven years.
