Our mental health affects how we feel and how we live our lives. We don't have to apologize for mental illness.
People diagnosed with schizophrenia often have trouble functioning in society. Hallucinations and delusions make it difficult to understand reality, thought disorders can disrupt logical reasoning, and memory impairment can make completing everyday tasks impossible.
Psychotic symptoms can be treated effectively with medication, but drugs successfully treating cognitive impairments have been elusive.
People with schizophrenia often can’t remember where they parked the car or where they put their keys. Those type of impairments make holding a job and living alone difficult, and providing for the care of these individuals has proved costly to society.
This is why I find that apps that were developed to improve the memory of people afflicted with schizophrenia so exciting!
A team of psychologists, neuroscientists, people with schizophrenia, and a game developer worked for nine months to develop Wizard, a brain-training game in 2015. A study suggests the game was effective in improving memory and daily functioning for the test subjects.
The game lets players choose a character and progress through memory challenges, earning rewards along the way. Study participants found the game enjoyable, and their scores on memory and daily functioning tests improved after four weeks of regular play.
Professor Peter Jones, one of the study’s lead authors, says: “These are promising results and suggest that there may be the potential to use game apps to not only improve a patient’s episodic memory, but also their functioning in activities of daily living. We will need to carry out further studies with larger sample sizes to confirm the current findings, but we hope that, used in conjunction with medication and current psychological therapies, this could help people with schizophrenia minimize the impact of their illness on everyday life.”
I've been so interested to see how we are able to use technology in ways to help people with schizophrenia! If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, consider downloading the Peak app for iPhone or Android, where you can play Wizard for yourself.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Our mental health affects how we feel and how we live our lives. We don't have to apologize for mental illness.
The oft-heard adage is true: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. With time and help, everyone can feel better.
It’s true that there have always been countless distractions around us, but smart phones have taken that to a new level. A 2016 study showed the effects of continuous interruption on infants.
According to some research, strong religious beliefs coupled with a positive relationship with a higher power are connected to lower levels of disordered eating and body image concern. 
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, isn't about brain wiring--it's how the brain fires. Here's some new info we're learning!
Depression tends to worsen with age. Now, during isolation and COVID-19, it is even more important to help our elderly maintain their mental health.