Plain-language, educational articles on schizophrenia, psychosis, antipsychotic medications, and lived experience — by ColdAI.
N-acetylcysteine has the strongest evidence base of any over-the-counter supplement studied in schizophrenia, particularly for negative symptoms. The effect is modest but real.
SleepNaps are not all the same. Done well, a short nap can support recovery and reduce daytime symptoms. Done badly, naps can wreck nighttime sleep and worsen the cycle.
RecoveryIllness Management and Recovery is a structured curriculum — typically 9 modules — that teaches the practical skills of managing schizophrenia. SAMHSA endorses it as evidence-based.
HospitalACT teams bring psychiatric care, case management, and crisis response to people in their own homes — the most studied and effective community alternative to repeated hospitalisation.
TherapyTreating substance use and schizophrenia in separate clinics fails most people. Integrated Dual Disorder Treatment combines both into one team and one plan.
MedicationDroperidol almost vanished from American medicine after a 2001 FDA black box warning. Two decades later, it is quietly returning to emergency departments. Here is the story.
MedicationAsenapine is the only commonly used sublingual antipsychotic — and now also available as a once-daily patch. The unusual delivery brings unusual side effects.
ProfilePink Floyd founder Syd Barrett spent his last 35 years in quiet retreat, often described as having schizophrenia. The reality is more nuanced — and worth understanding without the rock-star myth.
NeuroscienceP50 sensory gating measures how the brain filters repeated sounds. People with schizophrenia gate poorly — and that finding has shaped decades of research.
PreventionRAISE was the largest US trial ever of first-episode psychosis care. Its findings reshaped how the country pays for and delivers early intervention.
Practical lifeMoving is among the most stressful events any nervous system handles. A schizophrenia-aware checklist makes the day survivable — and protects against the post-move slump.
Therapy modalitiesIMR is one of the few comprehensive recovery curricula designated an evidence-based practice by SAMHSA. The nine modules cover everything from psychoeducation to relapse prevention to substance use — taught in groups or one-to-one over six to twelve months.
Medication managementMost antipsychotics today are taken as generics. Are they really the same as the brand? The honest answer is more nuanced than either side of the debate usually allows.
FAQAdult schizophrenia symptoms fall into three groups: positive (hallucinations, delusions), negative (reduced motivation and emotion), and cognitive (attention and memory difficulties). Most people experience some from each group.
Rating scalesTrials use elaborate clinician-administered scales because precision is the whole point. Clinics need brevity and feasibility. The mismatch is solvable, but it has to be acknowledged.
Levels of careA certified peer specialist is a member of the treatment team who has lived through serious mental illness themselves. Their role is one of the most distinctive innovations in modern mental health care.
Thought disorderNeologisms are newly invented words or familiar words used in idiosyncratic ways. They are a less common but distinctive feature of formal thought disorder.
HallucinationsTouch hallucinations — feeling pressure, crawling, heat, or being touched without a real source — are uncommon but distressing, with several possible causes worth distinguishing.
MindfulnessMindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is the original 8-week mindfulness programme. Adapted versions are used in schizophrenia care — with promising but modest results.
DelusionsErotomania, also called de Clérambault syndrome, is a delusion that another person — frequently a stranger or public figure — is secretly in love with the patient. It is rare but can drive serious behaviour.
Crisis modelsA Living Room is a calm, peer-staffed walk-in space where someone in mental-health distress can sit, talk, and stabilize — usually for a few hours, not days. It is one of the simplest and most replicable crisis innovations of the last decade.
Culture and faithCatholic teaching is unambiguous that mental illness is illness, that medical care is part of God's healing, and that the dignity of every person — including the seriously mentally ill — is inviolable.
VocationalCognitive remediation therapy is one of the few interventions with consistent evidence for improving the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia — and the gains translate into real-world function when paired with vocational support.
TransitionsMost clozapine prescribing is done by psychiatrists in specialty clinics. For some long-stable patients, a primary care physician can take over — but only with clear protocols, REMS enrolment, and a backup psychiatrist.
MedicationZuclopenthixol is a thioxanthene antipsychotic with three formulations — oral, the short-acting Clopixol Acuphase, and a long-acting decanoate depot — used widely in Europe, the UK, and Australia, but not approved in the US.
Rare presentationsSimple schizophrenia described slow, insidious negative symptoms without dramatic psychosis. DSM dropped it; ICD-10 kept it; ICD-11 has now retired it too. The clinical picture remains.
SeasonsAntipsychotics impair the body's ability to cool itself. In a heat wave, that's a medical risk. Here's how to recognise heat illness early and stay safe through summer.
Early onsetMany parents notice the first signs of trouble months before anyone gets a diagnosis. What you do in those months matters.
MythsGenetics matter in schizophrenia, but they are not destiny. Environmental, developmental, and lifestyle factors all play measurable roles.
Legal & FinancialFMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health conditions — including psychiatric hospitalization. Here's how to use it well.