For further information on European and US diagnosis guidelines for schizophrenia, check out Internet mental health. Although a few people completely recover after a single schizophrenic episode, schizophrenia is usually a lifelong disease, like diabetes. Schizophrenia is not curable. Some of the symptoms can be managed, however, with a combination of drug and psychological therapies. Research shows that if schizophrenia is detected and treated early, patients have a better chance of responding to medication and the chance of suffering a relapse is decreased.
Suicide is less common in people treated in the early years of their illness.
People diagnosed with schizophrenia are nearly always treated with a course of drugs, or antipsychotics, and many people continue on this therapy for the rest of their lives. They may also prepare the person to go or return to work. Individual psychotherapy may help persons with schizophrenia learn to sort out the real from the unreal. Group therapy may help them learn to get along with others. Family work can ensure that family members, who often care for their relatives, understand the disease and its treatment.