Could you please write an item on schizophrenia and its consequences? One of the members of my family is marrying someone who has it.
Schizophrenia is a condition that can have widely varying effects. Many people may have only minimal symptoms and no effect upon their daily life, while at the other extreme, a minority may be permanently hospitalised with severe problems.
The symptoms of schizophrenia may be very subtle at the beginning, with minor changes in personality, and friends commenting that the patient is just not the same person they used to know. This is followed by a deterioration in work, conflicts in relationships and a deterioration in self-care and hygiene.
Patients become perplexed about the way they are feeling, tend to isolate themselves from others and, as the condition worsens, become very anxious and frightened. This may progress to the final stage with the patient being in constant terror caused by a world that is perceived to be out of control.
Other symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, incoherence in speech, inappropriate emotional reactions, bizarre behaviour, the inability to control bodily functions, hearing imaginary voices, odd beliefs and a lack of energy. There are no specific blood or other tests that will diagnose schizophrenia. Only the clinical skill of the treating doctor can make the final diagnosis.
There is an hereditary tendency, but it is certainly not the case that people with parents who have schizophrenia will inevitably develop the condition. The majority of victims can be adequately treated and lead a normal life provided that they use regular medication in the form of daily tablets or injections that are given every few weeks.
Schizophrenia is a disease in the same way that asthma or diabetes are diseases. All can be controlled by medication, but none can be cured. It is unfortunate that because schizophrenia affects the mind rather than the lungs or blood sugar it is put in a different category by many members of the public.

When should someone see a doctor about anxiety?
Doctors become concerned when you become anxious about routine matters that the majority of people take for granted. Anxiety about catching a bus, meeting new people, going shopping or using household appliances is not normal, and if allowed to continue, may cause you to become steadily more anxious about more and more things.
Doctors call this an anxiety neurosis, and it can become so severe that the patient is unable to lead a normal life.
Unfortunately, some of these people are also anxious about seeing doctors, and may not seek help until the situation has reached a crisis. It is important for close friends and relatives to intervene in this situation, to ensure that medical assistance is obtained at an early stage.
Treatment may only involve regular counselling sessions with your general practitioner or a psychiatrist, but sometimes medication is required to give the patient an initial boost back to the normal world. The earlier treatment is started, the shorter the course required, and the more successful the eventual outcome.

My wife is in her thirties and suffers from extreme swings of mood which last for about a week. One day she can be extremely happy, then the next she is throwing pots at me. I try talking to her about it, but this only makes things worse. She seems unable to control these mood swings.
You are describing a quite classic case of manic-depressive psychosis.
Normally we all have our good days and our bad days. Days when the world seems to be with us, and days when the opposite appears to be true. Everyone accepts these minor mood swings and copes with them, but in some people these changes are dramatically exaggerated into the scenario that you have described. These swings are caused by alterations in the balance between the different chemicals in your brain that control mood.
The problem is not a psychological one, but a biochemical imbalance, in the same way that diabetes is an imbalance of sugar, manic-depressive psychosis is an imbalance of these mood chemicals, and is beyond the control of the individual.
There are successful forms of treatment available. The first step is to discuss the problem with your general practitioner, who can often prescribe medication that will assist your wife, but as with diabetes, there is no cure, only control, so the medication must be taken long term. Spontaneous recovery can sometimes occur.
If the condition is difficult to control, your general practitioner will refer your wife to a specialist psychiatrist who has the knowledge and training to better analyse and treat the problem.