Schizophrenia Stigma

BY: Ashna Das

What is Schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects how someone interacts with the world and people around them. They often experience strong delusions and hallucinations, which make them feel that other people are out to “get them”. Due to these delusions, they live in periods of agitation and fear, making it difficult for them to participate in every day activities without treatment. There are many symptoms of schizophrenia, such as auditory and visual hallucinations or being unable to make decisions, but it varies person to person. People with schizophrenia have to take antipsychotic medications and have psychosocial treatments, but with proper care and treatment, schizophrenics are able to live happy, normal lives. However due to the media, misinformation, and the vast amount of effects that schizophrenia causes; there is much stigma surrounding this disease. Many people house many opinions about people battling schizophrenia. Their opinions lead to a lot of stigma surrounding schizophrenia, as uneducated people spread their beliefs about this disease, which spreads and leads to people becoming misinformed about this disease. 

All schizophrenics are violent. 

Many people believe that all schizophrenics are violent. Schizophrenics can become violent if they are not properly treated or dealing with substance abuse. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, people with schizophrenia are more likely to be harmed compared to those who do not have schizophrenia. 

The symptoms of schizophrenia are the same for everyone. 

Although many people believe it, the symptoms of schizophrenia are not the same for everyone else. Some schizophrenics are unable to speak at all, some can only speak in garbled tone, and some can speak perfectly fine. Like I explained before, symptoms of schizophrenia vary person to person as everyone is different and everyone reacts to things differently. Some hear voices, some don’t. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, hallucinations caused by schizophrenia may come and go and differ based on the type, severity, and advancement of the disease.

People who have schizophrenia cannot have jobs.

This is another common misconception about schizophrenia. Nevertheless, schizophrenics can have jobs, as long as they have the proper treatment. The treatment for schizophrenia (antipsychotic medications and have psychosocial treatments) allow schizophrenics to hold jobs. The treatments make the psychotic symptoms less intense and frequent as well as help schizophrenics to find solutions to challenges they may face in everyday life. 

How does the stigma surrounding schizophrenia affect the world?

Like I explained before, stigma is spread through people’s misunderstandings and fears about a topic, which facilitates the spread of misinformation. Due to stigma, many individuals are discriminated against, with no exception to schizophrenia. Many schizophrenics are discriminated against, both in the workplace and socially, due to stigma. Schizophrenics may be shunned by friends and family due to the misinformation being spread about their behavior and capabilities. In the workplace, employers may assume that schizophrenia will hinder the abilities of the individual with schizophrenia, and may choose to disregard them as job applicants. Additionally, movies and news often portray schizophrenics in a negative light, representing individuals with schizophrenia as unpredictable, dangerous, and strange; which further spreads misinformation and fear. This facilitates the spread of public fear and misinformation even more, as people see the way schizophrenics are represented in the movies and believe that that is how they actually are in real life. This exacerbates people’s fear and may lead to even more exclusion and hostility towards those with schizophrenia. Furthermore, due to all the stigma and misinformation, schizophrenics themselves may believe and internalize these negative stereotypes, leading to a low self-esteem and a reluctance to seek help. 

So how do we stop the stigma surrounding schizophrenia?

The only way to fix stigma is to eradicate the misinformation surrounding it. Instead of spreading misinformation, we should learn about the things that scare us and spread actual, relevant information about this disease. By educating yourself about the actual facts about schizophrenia, it would reduce fear in the public, as well as improve the mental health of the schizophrenic. Stigma is created through the fear, lack of understanding, and ignorance that surrounds a topic. Once people choose to remain neutral, with an open mind, and stop spreading misinformation, maybe the uncertainty will come to an end.

Citations

Nurmi, Deborah L., and Kight Pruszynski. "Schizophrenia." Gale Health and Wellness Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale Health and Wellness, link.gale.com/apps/doc/AQVFFH951241493/HWRC?u=j043910&sid=bookmark-HWRC&xid=08ede6ae. Accessed 12 June 2024.

National Institute of Mental Health. “Schizophrenia.” National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, April 2024, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia. Accessed 12 June 2024.