It is in fact a cluster of illnesses, which have overlapping signs and symptoms. It is therefore important to acknowledge the unique experience of each person living with schizophrenia. While schizophrenia can be a devastating illness for the people who experience it as well as for their families, it is important to recognise that there is hope. Treatments, both medical and psychosocial, are becoming more effective. Recently introduced early intervention programs are demonstrating encouraging outcomes for people with early psychosis and the concerns of consumers and their carers, such as those relating to empowerment and quality of life, are being increasingly recognised.
Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with few generalisations holding true for all people diagnosed.
In practice, there appears to be as many forms of schizophrenia as there are individuals experiencing the illness. For me, schizophrenia severely ruptured the relationship I had enjoyed with myself prior to the illness. My sense of being in the world, my thought processes and indeed the very way my senses perceived the world go through involuntary changes. Prior to developing schizophrenia the workings of my mind had been unquestioned. Suddenly I was being told by a psychiatrist that I could not always trust my own thoughts and senses.