Schizophrenia

What is the current thought on people who suffer from schizophrenia? I have had the illness for 4 years now, and I don't know what the pop-thought on it is... Before I attained the illness, I didn't hear much about it. Even with the movies like The Soloist coming out, I still feel like a stigma still exists.

Just throwing this topic out there, I think I can live with a stigma, but want to know if its ever going to go away.

Thanks

 

In this pop-time there is a spread of thought.

We are at a period of history in which of and prejudice against "Mental Illness", followed by politically correct relabeling and the subsequent backlash against relabeling, vies with the question: "To what extent is it Chemically based or behaviourally based", which influences stigmatization according to the value judgments held by the individual potential stigmatizer, and which historical period of ideas they feel most comfortable with.

I'd say you can say a stigma exists, but not necessarily where, how, or how often you might expect it to. Pop-thoughts are many and contradictory.

If you think you "can live with a stigma", please realize it is your choice whether or not to carry that cross/burden, your choice whether you become a stigmatizer of yourself.

A negative consequence of stigmatizing yourself is that you are less likely to notice or to take seriously people who do not stigmatize you, and if my first paragraph is a true reflection of current reality, pop-thinking, you will be faced with a wide palette, a gamut of responses for which yuo need your own clarity to be sensitive to their differences.



All the above is an attempt to justify this conclusion I wish to throw out to you, Daniel, for you want to know if it's ever going to go away: I say you do not have to carry it in the first place - let others carry the unpleasant burden of their prejudice or the sweet burden of their willingness to appreciate the individuality of others, whilst you carry on living your life.

If you are carrying it, release it now, so that it will only exist at those times when someone ELSE invokes it at you and remember, I said there are less who will do that than you might yet know.

As you consider releasing it now, or after further deliberation, ask yourself whether you have been displaying any invisible "Caution - Low Flying Schizophrenic" roadsigns and other T-shirts and placards that you need to leave at home to decide how much to throw out with the garbage or paint over with something different.

I mean, look at your User Profile here, or on Facebook or other forums etc ... you can choose your Status. If you put 'Schizophrenic!!!', or 'Suffering from Schizophrenia', you'll elicit a different quality of responses than if you put "Facing up, whether I want to or not, to the challenge of managing and improving my thinking, feeling and being with people in this world". Try them also as notes on your refrigerator, bathroom mirror, and backs of your eyelids, as you know you can come to choose what you really want.

Please test, adjust and critisize my response ... correct it and me however is best to align with your needs.

Best wishes, respect, and all strength to you.

 

Personally, I feel like many people just don't know that much about the disease. I never really gave it much thought before my brother developed it and frankly, I probably don't know as much as I should about it. I think there is general stigma against mental illness, especially by people who aren't or haven't been personally affected by it.

"let others carry the unpleasant burden of their prejudice or the sweet burden of their willingness to appreciate the individuality of others, whilst you carry on living your life" as said by Zen, is QFT.

 

I've been diagnosed with a minor form of Schizophrenia for about 8 years, it affects me visually more than anything but in all honesty people don't know that I have it but there is a huge negative stigma around it, but thats because I work in the trades, which some people are less educated about such an affliction, not to say there isn't smart tradesmen but when you only need a grade 10 to get in.... some people are not as adept at certain things... anyways, I digress.... but if you educate a person on it, I've never had any problems with personal relationships or friendships at all...