Few illnesses are as steeped in fear and misunderstanding in today’s culture as schizophrenia. A severe and disabling brain disorder affecting 1% of the U.S. population, it typically occurs in the late teens to early 20s for men and mid 20s to early 30s for women. As a child growing up with a schizophrenic mother, I learned firsthand about the terrifying personality changes the disease can bring about in a loved one, and the sacrifices that must be made by not only the ill person but their entire family in coping with something that can, at best, be controlled, not cured. I also witnessed the enormous gap between the reality of the disease and how it’s perceived by others.
Here are some of the biggest misconceptions people have about schizophrenia:
Fiction: Schizophrenics have Multiple Personalities
Fact: While the behavior of a schizophrenic in the grip of a psychotic episode—expounding on bizarre beliefs, talking in a strange way, and responding to auditory and visual hallucinations—can seem like the manifestation of a new personality, the root consciousness of the individual never actually goes away. During the course of one episode preceding a forced hospitalization, my mother dressed in all black clothing, muttered incantations in what seemed like a foreign language, and refused to answer to any name but Dorothy (which is not her real name). However, in stark contrast to a person with multiple personality disorder, this was at heart an act performed by my mother, a desperate response to a set of very real beliefs and warped sensory input. It’s an important distinction: no matter how extreme the situation, there’s always a chance to reach the person underneath.
Fiction: Schizophrenics Have Identical Symptoms
Fact: Schizophrenics are generally classified into one of several subtypes, such as Paranoid Schizophrenia (the most common subtype), Catatonic Schizophrenia, and Residual Schizophrenia, which is diagnosed when a patient no longer displays prominent symptoms. Due to the mercurial nature of the disorder, it is not uncommon for patients to be re-classified into different subtypes throughout the course of their lives. Furthermore, there is growing controversy within the psychiatric community and general public about whether the wide range of symptoms that fall under the purview of schizophrenia can even be classified as a single disorder. What’s not in doubt is that every individual suffering from the illness requires a specialized treatment plan tailored to his/her symptoms and life situation.
Fiction: All Schizophrenics Know That They Have An Illness
Fact: While the outward symptoms of schizophrenia often leave little doubt as to the severity of the illness, one of the major hallmarks of the disease is the fact that those affected can sometimes go months, and even years before realizing they’re ill. For over a decade following the onset of my mother’s schizophrenia, a period during which she was repeatedly hospitalized for psychotic episodes and received extensive medical treatment, delusional thinking kept her convinced that she was perfectly healthy and everything else was an elaborate conspiracy. Lasting improvements in her state of mind only occurred after a doctor found an effective combination of medications that, together with regular therapy sessions, finally allowed her to come to terms with the reality of her illness.
Fiction: Schizophrenics Are Usually Violent
Fact: People with schizophrenia are no more predisposed to violence than any other group. However, particular symptoms of the disorder, such as delusions of persecution, can trigger violent acts if left untreated. Lost in the headlines that these acts generate is the fact that the vast majority of cases involving violence with a schizophrenic are self-directed. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), approximately 10% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia will die by suicide.
Fiction: Isolation is the Only Way to Handle Schizophrenia
Fact: According to a recent World Health Organization study, schizophrenics in developing nations like India, which tend to have a much stronger sense of community and shared responsibility when it comes to caring for the mentally ill, showed significantly higher rates of recovery than in the United States and England. Some of the key differences include access to low-stress jobs and close involvement by families during doctor-patient discussions, whereas in the West the mentally ill are typically excluded from the workplace and doctor-patient conversations are kept strictly confidential. It points to the enormous role social factors play in the recovery of schizophrenics, as well as the potential to improve their lives through adopting a new, community-based approach.
Anish Majumdar (anishmajumdar.com) is an author, journalist and speaker interested in breaking down the wall of silence that surrounds mental illness. His first novel The Isolation Door, which is based on his experiences growing up with a schizophrenic parent and creating a life beyond its shadow, is now available.
My brother was convinced most of the time that he was not mentally ill. That his problems stemmed from having been scalped (his brains escaped along with the blood) or that he’d been shot in the head.
His schizophrenia was treatment resistant; medication subdued the symptoms a bit, but most of the time he was pretty confused and delusional Caring for him was difficult. In my book, Shot in the Head, A Sister’s Memoir a Brother’s Struggle, I take the reader through what it is like to be the caretaker of someone like Paul. Such a confusing mix of caring and wishing I could just get away. But ultimately, Paul was a person, deserving of better care than our medical establishment delivers.
Thank you for the great article. It is helpful to hear it from someone who has dealt with it first hand.
First off, thank you for your article. I wish you would of not used the word schizophrenic. Instead replace it with a person with schizophrenia. My son developed schizophrenia coming out of the armed forces, after 5 years at war. It has been a long journey, thank you Veterans Hospital. He tells me please address it…. as him with a disease , not as him being labeled a schizophrenic. This term has so many misconceptions, I agree..thank you so much.
Overall, very helpful article! The WHO study now has been debunked as being conducted improperly. There is no proven statistical difference of recovery in developing versus developed world in regards to schizophrenia.
I found the article very informative, my boyfriend suffers from this terrible illness and although each day is different and a challenge, I love this man with all my heart and soul. Schizophrenia cannot be understood, without understanding despair x
Hi, I was diagnosed bipolar then schizophrenic. As a Chrisitan, I can see why a psychiatrist would label a person who is ardent and passionate about their convictions especially if what we have to say is foreign to them. I don’t expect for them to know the Christian lingo, but perhaps they need more education on the different philosophical lifestyles besides a non-mental healthy psyche. I had paranormal experiences and on one of those occasions got admitted to the hospital worst thing that could have happened to a human soul who is spiritual and religious. I’m no phony I did have visions, I did have a divine connection with another person that might have influenced my psychosis. Anway, we are gifted souls in matter displayed in the psyche and revealed to humanity even if they label us. The important thing is not to let a label destroy or crush our true spirit and essence. Namaste.
I would hope that you could quit calling ‘them’ schizophrenics.. They are not their diagnosis. They are people, persons, etc with schizophrenia. Do you call people with a MI ‘the heart attack’? Please humanize folks with mental health issues by identifying them first as people, and then the condition they have.