Schizophrenia can cause a wide variety of symptoms and unfortunately is chronic. Some of the most prevalent symptoms that many schizophrenia patients have include feelings of paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, problems expressing emotion, and even having breaks from reality. When it comes to schizophrenia, the traditional types of treatment include various antipsychotic medications to reduce the symptoms of the brain disorder.
In addition to traditional medication, there are alternative treatments for schizophrenia, such as CBD e juice, that are also known as complementary. The difference between the 2 terms is that complementary treatments are simply alternative treatments that are used in conjunction with the prescribed medication. It is important to remember that the use of alternative treatments does not negate the need for doctors and they should only be used while under the care of a medical professional. In some cases, these alternative treatments may not be the best option for some patients and in some cases, they may not even be safe.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Many schizophrenia patients benefit greatly by pairing medication with therapy. In some cases, there are group options along with individualized therapy sessions. This is one of the most common types of complementary alternative treatments used for schizophrenia today.
Diet Changes
Many patients with schizophrenia have been found to have leaky gut syndrome and other digestive problems. In schizophrenic patients, it has been found that diets with little to no gluten can reduce some of the symptoms present in the brain disorder for some patients. Unfortunately, this treatment does not work for all patients and was only found to be effective in a certain subgroup of people that were studied. Because of these results, a lot of research has taken place on the benefits of ketogenic diets and the results appear to be rather promising. While there appear to be some results that may indicate the benefits of certain diet changes, it is not yet known if there is actually any real connection between schizophrenia and the patient’s diet.
Glycine
While it isn’t known if glycine has any benefits to treat schizophrenia on its own, there has been research completed that may indicate that it can boost the effects of certain antipsychotic medications. There do appear to be exceptions to this in which the glycine actually appeared to lower the efficacy of the other medications being taken. Most notably this took place with the medication clozapine.
Vitamins
During research performed by a nonprofit group, it was shown that many schizophrenics have nutritional deficiencies such as low B9 and folic acid. In patients with these imbalances, many saw improvement in their symptoms after taking the correct supplements. Along with the supplements taken to treat these deficiencies, some patients may experience some benefits in taking other vitamins like D, C, and E. Some researchers even believe that low vitamin D during early years may have contributed to the development of schizophrenia later in life. More research still needs to be completed in order to make any conclusive determinations about the disorder.
