What's in a name ? Schizophrenia.

 The epidemic on everyone's minds today is  the one we are living through, the novel Coronavirus or Covid 19. This is different in an important aspect in that it is a pandemic being experienced worldwide.But did  you know that we experienced an epidemic here in the U.K over 50 years ago ? The facts are these.  In early 1962 South Wales experienced an outbreak  of smallpox. At the time smallpox  was killing millions worldwide every year. This was before the vaccination programme reached all parts of the globe. 19 people died in the outbreak in South Wales. Of these 6 were in the Rhondda valley and 13 in Bridgend. A small number,  yes , but that's  thanks to the vaccination programme which protected the population. 900,000 people were vaccinated in South Wales. I remember queueing to be vaccinated in school. Many people experienced severe side effects from the vaccine  but the population were thereby protected from the illness . Of course the crucial difference with the

HELLO WORLD. This is my first blog. For my first post I am writing about a subject very close to my heart - SCHIZOPHRENIA  and how it is understood by the general population. I'm trying to set aside some myths and give you some truths. Hope you read on and tell others about this blog. How do you react to the word schizophrenia? Does your face immediately take on a wary,  apprehensive   expression ? Do you brace yourself mentally for what is  to  come next ? Do associations rush into your consciousness ? Words like violence,  paranoia  and murder hover in your  thoughts. How have you arrived at this state of mind? Media coverage  It can only be that you have  read and  heard stories in the media about individuals  suffering  from schizophrenia  who have committed serious crimes resulting to bodily harm to another. In fact,  if you stop to think about it , such reported crimes are rare. There may be only a couple a year. The sensationalist section of the press uses stro