14 DAY TRIAL // According to the conclusions of a new study by experts at the Innlandet Hospital Trust in Norway, it would appear that people in the early stages of developing schizophrenia are more likely to kill themselves due to an altered perception of self. Experts call this condition the “self-disorder.”
Statistics indicate a high incidence of suicide among schizophrenics, but researchers were not sure as to why these individuals were at such high risk of death. The new data indicates that “subtle disturbances of the person’s spontaneous experience of [themselves]” may be the case, the team says.
“Our main finding is that of a clear association between current suicidality and (self-disorders), which appears to be mediated by depression. [The data] strongly support(s) the role of self-disorders in the development of suicidal ideation and behavior in this patient group,” the group explains.
At this point, the root causes of schizophrenia, and the disorder's mode of operation, are not fully understood. Experts are pursuing several avenues of research simultaneously, but thus far with limited success, PsychCentral reports.