What are healthy lifestyle changes that I can make to manage schizophrenia?
One of the most important things for schizophrenia patients is stress management. In this video, HealthMaker Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, director, New York State Psychiatric Institute, discusses this and other lifestyle changes to help manage schizophreni
Transcript
In the aftermath, it's not that you have to shy away from life and not take chances, and not try and fulfill your sort of hopes and expectations.
But you need to be mindful. [MUSIC PLAYING]
There are certain adaptations that are very desirable and beneficial. For example, one thing that seems
to be very difficult for individuals who have schizophrenia to sort of manage in terms of their resilience and their ability to tolerate,
is stress. Another is-- is disruption in sleep cycle. Another is-- is substantial change.
So the lesson to be learned from that is that, just like if you had diabetes, just like if you had asthma, just like if you had any illness, that your illness has
certain things which can be provocative of symptoms or can be detrimental. And you need to understand to avoid that.
So a big source of stress is the family environment. You know, if you're not in a family that
deals with conflict, deals with problems in an effective and non-emotion-generating way, that can be very stressful.
And there's been a lot of studies on so-called emotional expression and critical-- critical communication within families.
So family therapy, psychoeducation, would be helpful in helping to sort of adjust that. And the individual should know that whatever
their inclinations toward recreational drugs, they have a special sensitivity. Everybody needs to be aware that if you're going to use drugs, there's risks involved.
But if you have schizophrenia, there's even greater risks. So what I tell patients is I don't want you to be necessarily a teetotaller.
You don't have to be abstinent for anything, although that's probably the best thing. The things you absolutely have to stay away from
are the stimulants, the hallucinogens. If you want to have a drink, alcohol, that's not so bad. Other things that are non-stimulant, non-hallucinogen
type things are less dangerous. So it's basically understanding what the nature of the illness
is, that it's going to be probably a lifelong concern you'll have to be aware of, and that there are things that can mitigate the likelihood
of recurrences and relapses. [AUDIO LOGO]
mental health behavior
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