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Despite the serious effects of schizophrenia over a person’s lifetime, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future. Early recognition and treatment of schizophrenia can have a significant impact on the medium and long-term outcomes for someone experiencing their first psychotic episode and also for their family. Early intervention can result in less frequent admission to hospital, shorter periods of in-patient care, more rapid and complete recovery, a decreased risk of relapse over the following two years and fewer problems in treating the psychosis.
Generally, it has been estimated that for people with schizophrenia, 25% will experience a full recovery, 40% will experience recurrent episodes with some degree of social disability and periods of unemployment; and 35% will experience long-term schizophrenia, with a high rate of both hospital admission and social disability.
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