What 's in a name ? SCHIZOPHRENIA
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 strongly emotive and clichéd language in its reporting of these crimes : words such as crazed , madman, loony and psycho raise fears in the readers.The writers of these reports show no understanding of the perpetrators of these acts who are themselves victims of a very severe and chronic health condition.
If we establish that only 5% of those diagnosed with schizophrenia commit a very serious crime as a result of their medical condition then what of the other 95% ?
To answer this question we have to ask another one.
WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?
It is a severe illness which affects the brain of sufferers. The symptoms can be positive, that is producing a result, in that the brain's thought processes can be impacted and the sufferer finds it hard to distinguish between reality and the alternative world which is growing in their thoughts. Many experience voices in their head.These voices speak to them in cruel and destructive ways which may include encouraging self harm or prompting despair. Others will hear a commentary on what they are doing in a series of voices possibly of people they know. When hearing these voices the sufferer finds it hard to concentrate on tasks or on real conversations.
Here is an exercise for you :
Try whispering in the ear of a person you know and have someone else to talk to them at the same time. See how well the person being whispered to can cope with this dual conversation.
Paranoia
When sufferers develop paranoia their life becomes fraught with perils as they see dangers everywhere and in everyone. They start to believe fantasies about those with whom they come into contact. They become convinced , for example , that the next door neighbour is a drug dealer . Sounds funny doesn't it ? But problems start if they then go around to his house and tackle this person about it.
It's when an irrational dislike turns into hatred and violence follows that the sufferer comes into contact with the police and then the courts. If he or she is deemed to be out of control he will be sectioned and admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a specified or open ended duration.
Diagnosis
The best outcome will be that while he is in hospital the exact nature of his illness is decided as a result of examination and observation by psychiatrists. He can be given a diagnosis such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and prescribed appropriate anti psychotic and mood stabilising medication. These modern day medicines are extremely effective in stabilising the condition. So, contrary to popular perception , the majority of sufferers from severe mental illness live stable and quiet lives.
Groundhog Day
But there is a big downside to this. Most male sufferers develop the illness in their early twenties and it stays with them for life.it is a cruel chronic illness which robs people of their life chances andcan result in their staying mentally at the age they were when they developed the illness. The negative symptoms, those that cause inaction, of the disease are a lack of motivation and empathy with others. There is difficulty in seeing through any ideas or plans. Somehow their lives do not move on and it is a perpetual groundhog day.
Stigma
There is still a stigma associated with mental illness and sufferers are reluctant to admit their condition to others. They tend to form friendships with those of their peer group who are also unwell. The sympathy accorded to those struck down by a serious physical illness is not accorded to those who contract a mental one.
How do I know all this ? Well my own son has schizophrenia. He was 23 when he was diagnosed and he is now 40. So it has been a long learning curve for him, for me, for his faand for his brother. Ironically I was working in a psychiatric hospital when he was diagnosed. My experiences there helped me to understand that each person labelled a murderer was someone whose life had been ruined by their untreated psychiatric illness. Redemption was possible for each of them . Everyone deserves understanding and consideration in their suffering.
So my plea is when you hear the word schizophrenia don’t prejudge. After all there but for the grace of God go us all.
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 strongly emotive and clichéd language in its reporting of these crimes : words such as crazed , madman, loony and psycho raise fears in the readers.The writers of these reports show no understanding of the perpetrators of these acts who are themselves victims of a very severe and chronic health condition.
If we establish that only 5% of those diagnosed with schizophrenia commit a very serious crime as a result of their medical condition then what of the other 95% ?
To answer this question we have to ask another one.
WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?
It is a severe illness which affects the brain of sufferers. The symptoms can be positive, that is producing a result, in that the brain's thought processes can be impacted and the sufferer finds it hard to distinguish between reality and the alternative world which is growing in their thoughts. Many experience voices in their head.These voices speak to them in cruel and destructive ways which may include encouraging self harm or prompting despair. Others will hear a commentary on what they are doing in a series of voices possibly of people they know. When hearing these voices the sufferer finds it hard to concentrate on tasks or on real conversations.
Here is an exercise for you :
Try whispering in the ear of a person you know and have someone else to talk to them at the same time. See how well the person being whispered to can cope with this dual conversation.
Paranoia
When sufferers develop paranoia their life becomes fraught with perils as they see dangers everywhere and in everyone. They start to believe fantasies about those with whom they come into contact. They become convinced , for example , that the next door neighbour is a drug dealer . Sounds funny doesn't it ? But problems start if they then go around to his house and tackle this person about it.
It's when an irrational dislike turns into hatred and violence follows that the sufferer comes into contact with the police and then the courts. If he or she is deemed to be out of control he will be sectioned and admitted to a psychiatric hospital for a specified or open ended duration.
Diagnosis
The best outcome will be that while he is in hospital the exact nature of his illness is decided as a result of examination and observation by psychiatrists. He can be given a diagnosis such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and prescribed appropriate anti psychotic and mood stabilising medication. These modern day medicines are extremely effective in stabilising the condition. So, contrary to popular perception , the majority of sufferers from severe mental illness live stable and quiet lives.
Groundhog Day
But there is a big downside to this. Most male sufferers develop the illness in their early twenties and it stays with them for life.it is a cruel chronic illness which robs people of their life chances andcan result in their staying mentally at the age they were when they developed the illness. The negative symptoms, those that cause inaction, of the disease are a lack of motivation and empathy with others. There is difficulty in seeing through any ideas or plans. Somehow their lives do not move on and it is a perpetual groundhog day.
Stigma
There is still a stigma associated with mental illness and sufferers are reluctant to admit their condition to others. They tend to form friendships with those of their peer group who are also unwell. The sympathy accorded to those struck down by a serious physical illness is not accorded to those who contract a mental one.
How do I know all this ? Well my own son has schizophrenia. He was 23 when he was diagnosed and he is now 40. So it has been a long learning curve for him, for me, for his faand for his brother. Ironically I was working in a psychiatric hospital when he was diagnosed. My experiences there helped me to understand that each person labelled a murderer was someone whose life had been ruined by their untreated psychiatric illness. Redemption was possible for each of them . Everyone deserves understanding and consideration in their suffering.
So my plea is when you hear the word schizophrenia don’t prejudge. After all there but for the grace of God go us all.
Congratulation for your courage and ideas! Thank you because I understood better my experiences throughout your experiences and your words: „helped me to understand that each person labelled a murderer was someone whose life had been ruined by their untreated psychiatric illness. Redemption was possible for each of them .”
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