50% of people with schizophrenia recover or improve to the point they can work and live on their own. 25% are better but need help from a strong support network to get by. 15% are not better. Most of these are in the hospital.
The king of leafy greens, spinach is high in folate. (It's called folic acid when it's used in supplements or to fortify foods.) Folate can help ease symptoms of schizophrenia. Along with spinach, you can find it in black-eyed peas, asparagus, and beef liver.
Natural Medicines for Schizophrenia
Some natural herbs, like ginseng and ashwagandha, have been found to be beneficial in controlling the symptoms and improving the overall well-being of schizophrenia patients.
Medications are the cornerstone of schizophrenia treatment, and antipsychotic medications are the most commonly prescribed drugs. They're thought to control symptoms by affecting the brain neurotransmitter dopamine.
Drug and alcohol use
If you already have schizophrenia, research shows that using recreational drugs may worsen your symptoms. Some studies suggest that people who use high-potency cannabis ('skunk') when in recovery are more likely to have a relapse too.
Some studies suggest that glycine, sarcosine, NAC, several Chinese and ayurvedic herbs, ginkgo biloba, estradiol, and vitamin B6 may be effective for psychotic symptoms when added to antipsychotics (glycine not when added to clozapine).
The exact causes of schizophrenia are unknown. Research suggests a combination of physical, genetic, psychological and environmental factors can make a person more likely to develop the condition. Some people may be prone to schizophrenia, and a stressful or emotional life event might trigger a psychotic episode.
Treatment of schizophrenia without medication is primarily with psychotherapy. Psychotherapy takes place in sessions with a clinical therapist who works with clients to help them manage and navigate reality and distortions in their thoughts.
Without treatment it can lead to isolation, an inability to work or go to school, depression, suicide, and other complications. A multi-faceted treatment approach that changes with each patient's needs is essential to helping people diagnosed with schizophrenia live normal lives.
A large review of over 800 patients found that people who took high-dose B-vitamins like B6, B8, and B12 in addition to their medications significantly reduced symptoms of schizophrenia, compared with those who took medicines alone. These supplements seem most helpful when people start them early in their illness.
The conventional treatment for schizophrenia is usually long-term treatment with antipsychotic medication. A nutritional approach works alongside conventional treatment and may improve both positive and negative symptoms, and also reduce the side-effects of medication.
Another recent systematic review found slight evidence that CBD might reduce schizophrenia symptoms at high doses. The review notes that a 4-week trial of 800 milligrams (mg) of CBD led to similar results to amisulpride, an antipsychotic medication, in relieving psychosis and improving cognition.
Lonchocarpus cyanescens is reputed for its used in traditional medicine for the treatment of Psychosis.
A growing body of evidence has found that CBD can reduce the symptoms of psychosis. Instead of impacting the dopamine system like existing antipsychotics, CBD works partly by modulating the endocannabinoid system – a complex system which plays a role in the modulation of neurotransmitters, metabolism and inflammation.
Other research suggests that schizophrenia might be caused by a lack of dopamine activity in other parts of the brain. For example, scientists have discovered that the hippocampus is overactive in schizophrenia.
If left untreated, schizophrenia can worsen at any age, especially if you continue to experience episodes and symptoms. Typically, early onset schizophrenia in the late teens tends to be associated more with severe symptoms than later-life onset. But aging can change the trajectory of how symptoms show up.
A research group led by professor Jesper Ekelund showed that by giving a very large dose of famotidine (200 mg daily), sufficient amounts of the drug are able to penetrate the so-called blood-brain barrier to affect the histamine system in the brain.
It is also possible that patients with schizophrenia use caffeine to offset antipsychotic induced side effects such as sedation [20,21], with some physicians recommending using caffeine to help reduce sedation in patients with schizophrenia [22].
Schizophrenia does not typically get better as you get older. The symptoms of schizophrenia may become worse over time, or they may remain the same for some people. Schizophrenia is a chronic illness that can be managed with medication and therapy, but it does not typically go away as you get older.