Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that involves a breakdown between the mind and reality. The discrepancies between thoughts, emotions, and behavior cause a withdrawal from reality and leads to the person having delusions and mental fragmentation. As with other mental illnesses, there are many misconceptions about this disorder where others think that it can create split personalities, but that is a different disorder entirely. There are three categories of symptoms that include cognitive, negative, and positive symptoms.

Cognitive symptoms lead to the inability to understand information and use it to make decisions, trouble focusing, and issues with working memory. Negative symptoms include reduced expression of emotion or tone of voice tone, reduced feelings of pleasure, and difficulty beginning and sustaining daily activities. Positive symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, dysfunctional ways of thinking, and movement disorders.

The following are some natural treatments for schizophrenia:

1. Therapy

Therapy is an intervention designed to help people who have schizophrenia to learn to recognize and respond to different stimuli appropriately. It can help the person to build a proverbial umbrella to protect them from personal stress and reduce social stress. Through cognitive behavior therapy it is possible to teach a person suffering from symptoms to be able to function more typically, to give them the ability to gain survival and social skills. Therapy is also available for families to help them function as a unit to help their loved one. Reality therapy can be used to help the person to recognize reality and give them coping mechanisms to handle the different delusions that they may face.

2. Antioxidant-rich diet

Diet plays a vital role in mental health as well as in body functions. For those who suffer from negative symptoms it is possible to decrease the severity of symptoms by eating more antioxidant-rich foods. Another option is to get tested for a vitamin deficiency. It is also common for schizophrenia patients to have a vitamin D deficiency which is more common in higher latitudes and colder climates. Research has shown patients with schizophrenia also have vitamin deficiencies and by taking care of the deficiency symptoms are also lessened.

3. Schizophrenia diet

Good eating habits can benefit anyone, however those suffering from the symptoms of schizophrenia can benefit from following a particular diet. Limiting sugar is the first crucial step of this diet because sugar can increase inflammation in the brain. Reducing sugar consumption can increase clarity and focus in the brain. Gluten should also be eliminated or decreased. Not only will the digestion process improve, but it can lead to enhanced mental clarity. Upping omega-3s and other essential fatty acids can aid the body in producing new cellular membranes. Neurons are cells and can be increased by eating fatty acids. This can lessen symptoms and increase the brain functions of people with this disorder. Increasing B vitamins will also up brain function, capabilities, stabilize moods, and aid in psychological issues. Anyone can benefit from this type of diet, but those with schizophrenia can reduce their symptoms and maintain positive gains in treatment. It should not be used alone, but when combined with therapy it can lead to better prognosis for the individual.