Inside Schizophrenia - Early Indicators of Schizophrenia

Early Indicators of Schizophrenia

08/16/23 • 41 min

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Up to 80% of people with schizophrenia aren't aware they're experiencing early schizophrenia symptoms. Most people with schizophrenia go through a prodromal stage, where there's subtle changes in mood, thinking, and behavior. It's an evolution of the symptoms to come.

Early indicators vary based on the age they start. An adult who develops schizophrenia will experience different signs than a child who develops the condition.

Host Rachel Star Withers and cohost Gabe Howard explore the early signs of schizophrenia in children, teens, and adults.

Joining to discuss the future of identifying biomarkers for schizophrenia is Carlos Larrauri, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who also lives with schizophrenia. Mr. Larrauri co-chairs the steering committee for the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ), which is working to identify early indicators of schizophrenia.

To learn more about the research AMP SCZ is undertaking, please visit www.ampscz.org.

To learn more -- or read the transcript -- please visit the official episode page.

Our guest, Carlos A. Larrauri, MSN, is co-chair of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ) and has formerly served on the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and NAMI Miami-Dade County Board of Directors. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at 23 years old, access to quality mental health care, community-based treatment, and early intervention afforded him the best opportunity for recovery.

Mr. Larrauri is pursuing a law degree at the University of Michigan Law School and a concurrent master in public administration at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership. He’s board certified as a family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and formerly lectured at the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.

Mr. Larrauri aspires to interface advocacy and research to reduce health inequities for people living with mental illness. To learn more about Carlos and his work, visit his website or his LinkedIn.

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® (AMP®) program—Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a public-private partnership between the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency, and multiple public and private organizations.

Launched in 2020 and managed by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, the AMP SCZ program addresses the critical need for more effective treatments for people with schizophrenia and related mental health conditions.

The overarching aim is to improve our understanding of disease pathways and identify new and better targets for treatment.

Our host, Rachel Star Withers, creates videos documenting her schizophrenia, ways to manage and let others like her know they are not alone and can still live an amazing life. She has written Lil Broken Star: Understanding Schizophrenia for Kids and a tool for schizophrenics, To See in the Dark: Hallucination and Delusion Journal. Fun Fact: She has wrestled alligators.

To learn more about Rachel, please visit her website, RachelStarLive.com.

Our cohost, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author.

Gabe makes his home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. He lives with his supportive wife, Kendall, and a Miniature Schnauzer dog that he never wanted, but now can’t imagine life without. To learn more about Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

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Early indicators vary based on the age they start. An adult who develops schizophrenia will experience different signs than a child who develops the condition.

Host Rachel Star Withers and cohost Gabe Howard explore the early signs of schizophrenia in children, teens, and adults.

To learn more about the research AMP SCZ is undertaking, please visit www.ampscz.org.

To learn more -- or read the transcript -- please visit the official episode page.

Mr. Larrauri aspires to interface advocacy and research to reduce health inequities for people living with mental illness. To learn more about Carlos and his work, visit his website or his LinkedIn.

The overarching aim is to improve our understanding of disease pathways and identify new and better targets for treatment.

To learn more about Rachel, please visit her website, RachelStarLive.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Serial Killers and Schizophrenia: Facts vs. Fiction

True crime TV shows, podcasts, and books love to explore the minds of serial killers. To perform such heinous acts a person must be “insane,” “crazy,” and “mentally unstable.” Over time, the “schizophrenic serial killer” became the monster behind many of these crimes. But is it true?

Where did the stereotype of serial killers having schizophrenia come from? When was schizophrenia first considered to be a violent mental illness? What's the truth to the myth of the schizophrenic serial killer?

In this episode of Inside Schizophrenia, host Rachel Star Withers, a diagnosed schizophrenic, and co-host Gabe Howard track down when schizophrenia first became associated with violence and how the myth grew.

They are joined by guest Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess, a pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse who helped shape the FBI's behavioral analysis methods in her prolific study of the criminal mind.

Warning: this episode of Inside Schizophrenia contains graphic content and offensive language about people with schizophrenia that some may find upsetting.

To learn more -- or read the transcript -- please visit the official episode page.

Guest, Ann Wolbert Burgess, D.N.Sc., APRN, FAAN, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse, and author of A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind. She has received numerous honors including the Sigma Theta Tau International Audrey Hepburn Award, the American Nurses’ Association Hildegard Peplau Award, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Episteme Laureate Award. Her courtroom testimony has been described as “groundbreaking,” and she has been called a “nursing pathfinder.”

Her research with victims began when she co-founded, with Boston College sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital. She then worked with FBI Academy special agents to study serial offenders, and the links between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and subsequent perpetration. Her work with Boston College nursing colleague Carol Hartman led to the study of very young victims and the impact of trauma on their growth and development, their families and communities. Her work continues in the study of elder abuse in nursing homes, cyberstalking, and internet sex crimes. She teaches courses in Victimology, Forensic Science, Forensic Mental Health, Case Studies in Forensics and Forensic Science Lab.

Host, Rachel Star Withers creates videos documenting her schizophrenia, ways to manage and let others like her know they are not alone and can still live an amazing life. She has written Lil Broken Star: Understanding Schizophrenia for Kids and a tool for schizophrenics, To See in the Dark: Hallucination and Delusion Journal. Fun Fact: She has wrestled alligators.

To learn more about Rachel, please visit her website, RachelStarLive.comm.

Co-Host, Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

Stigma in the Medical Community Against Schizophrenia

When managing schizophrenia, many of us have come to accept that there is a stigma around the disorder. But what happens when the stigma is from the medical professionals who are supposed to be treating, diagnosing, and helping you? Mental health professionals can even turn away people with a schizophrenia diagnosis. When we've been turned away by a therapist, psychologist, what happens next? Where do we end up?

Studies have found that mental health professionals have a tendency to view people with serious mental illnesses more negatively than positively, characterizing them as manipulative, lacking in willpower, disturbing, ineffective, and difficult to communicate with.

In this episode of Inside Schizophrenia, host Rachel Star Withers and co-host Gabe Howard look at schizophrenia stigma in the medical community.

Joining is guest Desire’ Brown, a mental health counselor who has worked with various social work organizations. She currently works with Monarch, which provides hope, promotes wellness, and empowers individuals and families impacted by mental illness, substance abuse, intellectual and developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury.

To learn more -- or read the transcript -- visit the official episode page.

Our guest, Desire’ Lillian Brown, MBA, BA, is currently working on her second master’s degree. She has been counseling adults in mental health for 8 years and working with SPMI diagnostics for 4 years. She works with clients from all walks of life.

“I love helping others, it is a calling from GOD.” — Desire’

Monarch is nationally accredited by The Joint Commission. We employ approximately 1,400 staff members, many who work with individuals and their families to identify and overcome many of the barriers they often face by providing varying levels of support. To join our team, visit Monarch Careers to learn more and view available positions. Join us today in making our mission, vision and values a reality.

Monarch provides hope, promotes wellness, and empowers individuals and families impacted by mental illness, substance use disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injury.

Our host, Rachel Star Withers, creates videos documenting her schizophrenia, ways to manage and let others like her know they are not alone and can still live an amazing life. She has written Lil Broken Star: Understanding Schizophrenia for Kids and a tool for schizophrenics, To See in the Dark: Hallucination and Delusion Journal. Fun Fact: She has wrestled alligators.

To learn more about Rachel, please visit her website, RachelStarLive.comm.

Our co-host, Gabe Howard, is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar disorder. He is the author of the popular book, "Mental Illness is an Asshole and other Observations," available from Amazon; signed copies are also available directly from the author.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices