Schizophrenia - Statistics on Recovery

Dr. Sukhi Shergill explains that while the majority people who have had a schizophrenic episode can lead normal lives, many will need a lot of support.

About one third of people who suffer from schizophrenia will not have another episode so they are fully recovered. You may need to take medication in the short term for about 6 to 9 months but after that, most people won’t have another episode. About a third of people will have another episode of the schizophrenic illness, and usually that’s in response to stress or if they stop taking the medication. A rather unfortunate group is a third of patients who will continue, they will improve a little bit, but they won’t get back to the way they were functioning before. After each period of illness, they may always lose a little bit more of their function and those are the kind of people who need a lot more support, used to be looked after in the hospital, and now can be looked after in the community provided they have got an environment that can actually support their needs.