Schizophrenia

The course of schizophrenia (whether the person gets better or worse) varies tremendously between different people. Two individuals with the same symptoms at the onset of the illness may have completely different outcomes. Some people—about 25 percent of those with schizophrenia—respond very well to treatment and can return to the lives they led before. Most people with schizophrenia, however, continue to experience symptoms throughout their lifetime.

For many people with schizophrenia, the severity of their symptoms tends to fluctuate. Most people will experience times when the symptoms become worse as well as times when the symptoms are less intense. More information about treatments for schizophrenia, as well as about responses to treatment, is in chapters five and six.