Home Remedies for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling brain disorder that changes the way the brain processes outside stimuli. It is described as a psychological condition and is characterized by profound disruption in the cognitive and emotional abilities. People with schizophrenia have unusual behaviour prompted by delusional beliefs and often experience a significant loss of contact with reality. Schizophrenia occurs at similar rates in all ethnic groups around the world. The experiences are terrifying and can cause withdrawal or extreme agitation. Some of the possible effects of schizophrenia are relationship problems, alcohol and drug abuse, disruption in performing normal daily activities, and increased suicidal risk.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

A. Positive Symptoms: This reflects distortion of normal functions.

• Delusion: Illogical and false beliefs are strongly held despite obvious evidence that they aren’t true. These may include delusions of persecution, reference, grandeur, and control.

• Hallucination: Sensations experienced as real which exist only in the person’s mind. They may be auditory, visual, tactical, olfactory, and gustatory hallucinations.

• Disorganized Speech: Schizophrenia is characterized by fragmented thinking. The common signs of disorganized speech include loose associations (shifting rapidly from one topic to another unrelated one), neologisms (made-up phrases), perseveration (repetition of words) and clang (meaningless rhyming words in statements).

• Disorganized Behavior: Disorganized behavior includes avoiding routine activities, impaired communication skills, inappropriate emotional responses, difficulty in setting goals, and unpredictable agitation.

B. Negative Symptoms: These reflect a diminution of normal functions or the lack of important abilities .The negative symptoms of schizophrenia include:

• Flattened Affect: Emotional indifference, lack of eye contact, less lively facial movements and flat voice.

• A Volition: Loss of usual interests and lack of enthusiasm.

• Catatonia: A decrease in motor activity, bizarre postures, and lack of self-care.

• Alogia: Difficulty or inability to speak.

• Social Inhibition: Inability to make friends or not caring to have friends and withdrawal from society.

C. Cognitive Symptoms :These cause emotional distress and include poor executive functioning, trouble in focusing or concentrating, and poor working memory.

Causes of Schizophrenia

• Heredity or gene abnormality at birth.

• High levels of stress induced during pregnancy, prenatal exposure to a viral infection, early parental loss, and physical abuse in childhood.

• Chemical imbalances in neurotransmitters for example an excess of dopamine in the brain.

• Abnormal brain structure such as enlarged brain ventricles or abnormalities in the frontal and temporal lobes.

• High copper levels in body tissues due to which levels of vitamin C and zinc in the body drop.

Home remedies for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is an illness that you cannot treat on your own but you can do small things at home that help in reinforcing your treatment plan:

• You must never skip your medicines even if you are feeling well. If you stop taking the prescribed drugs, the symptoms of schizophrenia are most likely to come back.

• Drink tea prepared by adding one spoon of powdered dried roots of Asian ginseng (known to contain antioxidants that have a neuro-protective action) to water. Boil, strain, cool, and drink this tea twice a day for about six months.

• Drink tea prepared by adding the seeds of green cardamom and sugar to a cup of boiling water twice a day.

• Drink tea prepared with Basil and sage as it contributes towards treating schizophrenia.

Diet for Schizophrenia

• You must eat a high fiber diet that includes a lot of raw vegetables and protein.

• You must start taking frequent small meals rather than three larger meals as this maintains your blood sugar levels and thus stabilizes your behavior.

• You must eat foods rich in niacin such as carrots, corn, fish, potatoes, and whole wheat.

• You must eat two to three Indian gooseberries, a rich source of niacin amide and vitamin C, daily for at least a month.

• You must include omega-3 and 6 fatty acids in your diet to stay mentally healthy.

• You must completely avoid alcohol and drugs as they worsen the symptoms and interfere with the treatment.