OASIS

Schizophrenia is a severe and disabling illness that is downward-spiraling; people who have it will always be sick and will get sicker and sicker until they die.

Most individuals who develop a schizophrenic psychotic disorder will have a chronic illness. The severity of positive, negative, cognitive, and mood symptoms is highly variable, as is the severity of social and vocational disability. Long-term outcome varies from sustained recovery, to recurrent episodes with recovery between episodes, to varying severity of chronic, disabling, residual symptoms." (Source: Textbook of Schizophrenia, p. 290)

In our experience, a small group of people recovers almost fully with ongoing treatment, achieving satisfying work and social lives. A small proportion of people on the other end of the spectrum are severely disabled, unable to live independently or to care for themselves. The majority of people with schizophrenia fall somewhere in between. They live with some functional impairments and periodic crises, but also with skills, meaningful relationships, and engagement with their communities during significant periods of stability.

Most people whose psychosis is untreated have a period of up to five years when they experience a series of psychotic episodes, with decreased functioning after each episode. After that initial period, functioning tends to plateau, and remain at a similar level, despite crises. This new baseline may be very different from their level of functioning before they got sick (called "premorbid"). It is our belief that with earlier treatment to prevent or delay some of those early episodes, a person's long-term level of functioning may be higher.