(Oct 22) HE WAS irritable, moody and increasingly suspicious of his family. They put it down to his having a 'bad personality'.
Then they read a package of stories in The Straits Times on schizophrenia and realised he might be ill - rather than ill-behaved.
The man's family called the Institute for Mental Health hotline - 9017-8212 - and he is now getting treatment.
It was one of 18 calls IMH received in the week following the stories on schizophrenia on Sept 15. The Saturday Special highlighted the plight of sufferers with the greatly-stigmatised mental illness.
Dr Swapna Verma, head of the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme at IMH, said it usually receives two to three calls a week. More than a month later, it is still hearing from ST readers.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness in which sufferers are divorced from reality. It usually hits people in their teens and early 20s, and is often a lifelong problem.
Symptoms include hearing voices, delusions of power and believing one is being spied on by others. Some become aggressive; others withdraw into their own world.
The disease affects about one in 100 people. Proper treatment is crucial if one is to lead an almost normal life.
Left untreated, schizophrenics become alienated from society and find it impossible to hold down a job or have a family.
At least two calls received in the first week were about people in such circumstances. Both will need 'intensive in-patient care', Dr Swapna said. Both are men in their 30s.
While treatment is more effective given soon after the first symptoms appear, they could both be helped, she said.
One call was from a tertiary student who knew something was wrong, but could not bear to tell anyone for fear they would think he was mad.
Now, he knows it is an illness others suffer from too, Dr Swapna said. In his case, it was caught early.
Several callers were former patients, who realised, when they read about the experiences of others, they needed to continue with medication to prevent symptoms from recurring. They are now back on the patient roll.
The Early Psychosis Intervention Programme recruited one more counsellor this month to deal with the increased number of patients. Two more will be added next year to bring the total to 11.
In the past month, it has accepted 25 new patients, eight to 10 more than usual. Others, whose illness may not be so severe, have been referred to general practitioners or polyclinics for treatment.
