Paper Example on Schizophrenia: Positive & Negative Symptoms

Introduction

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia he exhibits were; He led his football and basketball teams to victory, so he had seemed fine, he wanted to teach in Africa and work for a non-profitable agency on water purification, which motivated him to join engineering graduate degree. He was not homicidal or suicidal; he cooperates in taking medication when mandated by the court

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Negative symptoms of schizophrenia he exhibits were, he communicates very little and sometimes makes little sense, difficulty in concentration, for example, he eventually dropped out of school due to difficulty in coping up with the complexity of work. Decreased participation in daily activities hence could sit for hours, watching television, eating and not doing or saying anything, become diabetic, develop heart disease, and began using drugs, he developed auditory hallucination.

How did his illness affect his social and occupational functioning?

The illness affects his social and occupational functioning through the following ways; because the disease is a mental disorder that drives someone to interpret what is a reality to be abnormal. For instance, he wanted to teach in Africa and work for a non-profitable agency, which was something unrealistic. Socially, delusion being one of the symptoms of the disease, he had thought that others come to control him, pursuing him and felt that he had supernatural powers, for instance, when he was asked why he stopped shaving and his room was filthy. He answered that some people were spying on him so he sends them messages to stop.

Problems of Cognitive Functions That He Exhibit

He exhibits several problems in cognitive functioning such as; first, confused speech which was not easily understood by others, for example, he communicated very little at times made little sense. Second, concentration difficulty, for instance, could not concentrate in graduate school because he was not able to cope up with the complexity of the work and eventually dropped out.

Impacts of His Illness to His Family

Generally, this type of illness has negative impacts on the family. Due to social and occupational difficulty, the family may suffer financial stress, because he was not able to maintain his job, for instance, he was working with a landscaping company but did not like the work again. Family members could feel embarrassed and frustrated because of his odd speech and behaviours, for instance, he communicated very little and at times made little sense.

Behavioural Strategies That Would Help the Patient and His Family

Several behavioural strategies would help this patient and his family. The patient's family should positively change their behaviour to cope up with the illness. Through learning about schizophrenia and how to treat the disease, this will enlighten the family about how best they can cope with symptoms, which would help towards recovery and reduction of stress. Having a positive attitude towards the patient is very crucial. Family and friends support plays a significant role in schizophrenia treatment. When the schizophrenia patient can be accomodated, although there may be a feeling of helplessness, worried, confused, or embarrassed by the patient's strange behaviours, but it is very important to notice that a diagnosis of schizophrenia is not like a life sentence. Through family behaviours, recovery is possible. For the patient to be helped, the following behaviours need to be taken into consideration positively; first, understand and accept the illness including its difficulties. Second, remain hopeful. Third, doing the best to help the patient feel better and enjoy life

Make a plan for each treatment phase of the Stuart stress adaptation model

Treatment phases of the Stuart stress adaptation model, which is a psychiatric nursing model that helps to integrate biological, environmental, socio-cultural, and psychological features of how to care for a patient into a more simplified framework that can be easily used. The models have several phases that a nurse should follow to successfully treat a patient. It includes; primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention stages.