Is Happiness An Attainable Goal For Schizophrenia Patients?

Patients with schizophrenia reported felling happy all or most of the time, according to a recent study.

“People tend to think that happiness in schizophrenia is an oxymoron,” said Dilip V. Jeste, MD, senior author of the study and professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at the University of California San Diego.

“Without discounting the suffering this disease inflicts on people, our study shows that happiness is an attainable goal for at least some schizophrenia patients,” he said.
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For the study, researchers surveyed 72 schizophrenia outpatients in the greater San Diego area of California and compared them to a group of 64 healthy adults. Of the schizophrenia participants, 59% were in an assisted-living residence and all but 9 adults were using anti-psychotic medication.

The control group displayed no neurological problems nor were they using any substances such as alcohol. The mean age for both groups was 50 years.

The survey featured statements based on participants' experiences during the previous week, such as “I was happy” and “I enjoyed life”. The participants were asked to respond on a scale from “never or rarely” to “ all or most of the time”.

The results showed that 83% of the comparison group and 37% of the group with schizophrenia reported being happy all or most of the time. In contrast, about 15% of the schizophrenia participants claimed they were never or rarely happy.

Investigators noted that though patients with schizophrenia are less happy than the general public, it is hopeful that nearly 40% if the patients reported happiness due to positive psychological attributes.

The complete study is published in the August issue of Schizophrenia Research.

-Michelle Canales

References:

Palmer BW, Martin AS, Depp CA, et al. Wellness within illness: happiness in Schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2014 August [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2014.07.027.

University of California San Diego. Happiness in Schizophrenia. August 18, 2014. http://health.ucsd.edu/news/releases/Pages/2014-08-18-happiness-and-schizophrenia.aspx. Accessed August 25, 2014.