Randburg-based psychiatrist Dr Gwen Tonyane dispelled the misconceptions around schizophrenia during an interview with the Chronicle ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Tonyane, who was based at the Rivonia Medical Centre until 1 September, has moved to the Akeso Crescent Clinic in Randburg. She explained that the initial phases of schizophrenia were characterised by depression and anxiety before the acute symptoms including delusions, and visual, auditory and tactile hallucinations arose.
According to Tonyane, the best plan for patients is to be on medication to assist with the symptoms of the illness and involve psychologists, family and social workers in creating a team effort to assist the patient. Lifestyle changes can also assist to control the illness.
Tonyane said many people believed that schizophrenics were dangerous, aggressive and unable to cope in society. “This is not true. When patients are well-controlled, they can still work and be productive members of society. I know people who suffer from schizophrenia who are engineers and chemists. “People need to be mindful that everyone has different challenges – both physical and mental – but this doesn’t change who they are. They can be productive members of society and need not be alienated in nursing homes. Don’t persist in creating stigma around mental illness. Be kind and mindful.”
Tonyane added that the stigma concerning mental illness often prevented people from seeking help. “Seeing a psychologist should become as fashionable as going to the gym.”
She said the lockdown created an anxiety-provoking time for everyone, even those not suffering from mental illness. “It was also a time that heightened anxiety amongst people suffering from schizophrenia. Conspiracy theories that circulated on social media can trigger existing symptoms and reinforce existing delusions.” Tonyane added that those who managed to stay on their medication and sought help during the hard lockdown, generally coped better.
She encourages family of people with schizophrenia to treat sufferers as normally as they would anybody else. “When patients are made to feel like children and can’t make independent decisions, it makes them want to come off their medication.” She said schizophrenia symptoms could be tough to handle if the caregiver was not familiar with the disorder.
“It can be strenuous to care for someone with a mental illness. Caregivers need support and are encouraged to come along to appointments and keep patients involved in household chores and activities.”
To seek help, visit www.schizophrenia24x7.co.za or www.aeropshych.co.za
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