Social Stigma Associated With Mental Illnesses

The documentary series True Life aired their fourteenth episode on season … “I have schizophrenia.” In this episode three young adults, Joshua, Ben, and Amber, are followed through their daily routines recording how this illness affect their lives and how they manage to handle their mental illness. Each one of them experiences this illness different and that influences their decisions on medical care and the way they interactions others and the outside world. Society often sees people that suffer from schizophrenia as weird and crazy. It is common for society to want to separate them out from the rest of society by putting them in mental hospitals.

Often times in society, mental illness takes on a negative stigma. Society does not fully understand mental illness therefore they do not understand those that are affected by mental illness. Schizophrenia is often called a psychotic disorder, which means that people with schizophrenia have periods when they lose touch with reality and exhibit various kinds of psychotic symptoms.

It is not hard to find depictions of people living with poorly treated schizophrenia. The first treatment for schizophrenia was discovered 50 years ago by accident and treatment has remained largely unchanged since then (Moghaddam & Javitt, 2012). The documentary film from 1996, “Back from Madness: A struggle for sanity” in part depicts a woman named Naomi, who in many ways exhibits the traditional onset of symptoms and subsequent treatment. She was a college aged woman at the time, who seemingly randomly began “hearing voices from the sky”. She chose to seek help and was prescribed clozapine, which is considered to be the most effective antipsychotic currently on the market (Moghaddam & Javitt, 2012). When this treatment was shown to be uneffective, Naomi

There is a considerable amount of different concepts that can be used when thinking about schizophrenia; unfortunately, since it continues to be a misunderstood disorder, there also exist numerous misconceptions about the schizophrenia. The most common misconceptions deal with the treatment options for schizophrenia, the potential recovery rate, and the ability of people who are diagnosed with the disorder or symptoms to live productive and meaningful lives. Though there are no permanent cures to treat the disease, there are certain medications that help manage the symptoms in order to help people lead healthy and satisfied lives. The recovery rate for the disease is also

Schizophrenia is a disease of the mind. It effects all races and ages. There are many dugs that can help treat Schizophrenia, but there is no cure for it. People that suffer from Schizophrenia can be helped by receiving psychological treatments along with a strong support group.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, lifetime mental disorder that cannot be cured, but can be effectively treated and managed. Research conducted in developed countries revealed that about 20 to 35 percent of patients undergo a rapid improvement when treated. Approximately, 70 percent of the patients suffer a relapse of acute symptoms within the next 2 to 5 years after being discharged from hospital. The risk of relapse usually decreases 10 years after the initial onset.

Schizophrenia is a disease process that is characterized by periods of irrational behavior, emotional changes, and distorted views of reality. According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, this illness affects about one percent of the population. In the past, the general belief about schizophrenia was that it was untreatable and that all patients with this disease needed to be institutionalized. Although that could still be a viable option in isolated cases of extreme psychosis, most patients nowadays use a combination of individual or group therapy and pharmacological therapy to reduce and control their symptoms. As a result, these patients are able to adapt and learn to live with this illness.

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Since schizophrenia may not be a single condition and its caused are still unknown, current treatment methods are based on both clinical research and experience. These approaches are chosen on the basis of their ability to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia and to lessen the chances that symptoms will return. Antipsychotic medications reduce the risk of future psychotic episode in-patients who have recovered from an acute episode. Even with continued drug treatment, some people who have recovered will suffer relapses. Far higher rates are seen when medication in discontinued. In most cases; it would not be accurate to say that continued drug treatment "prevents" relapses; rather it reduces their intensity and frequency. The treatment of severe psychotic symptom reappear on a lower dosage, a temporary increase in dosage may prevent a full-blown relapse. (http://nimh.nih.gov/publicat/schizoph.htm), National Institute of Mental Health

Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder that can be crippiling, and is one of top 10 disabilites in the world (Bhargav, Nagendra, Gangadhar, and Nagarathna, 2014). Schizophrenia usually effects males in the early 20 's and women in their late 20 's. Symptoms include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), and abnormal motor behavior (mayo clinic). Even with proper treatment patients still experience symptoms related to their disorder. Proper medication can help with symptoms, but sometimes this comes with cost of side effects that make a patient not even want to take the medicine. There is also the cost of paying for a doctor, which can be quite expensive. The initial consultation can cost up to three hundred dollars with each subsequent visit costing 100 dollars. There is also the stigma that goes along with Schizophrenia. I 'm sure everyone has seen the man or woman walking down the street talking to someone that isn 't there, this person could appear quite normal with help. Schizophrenics are ordinary people that have a disorder, and with proper treatment can function in society. As mentioned earlier even with proper treatment individuals with Schizophrenia still experience negative symptoms; as a result a lot of individuals with Schizophrenia are seeking add on treatments, including myself being diagnosed with Schizophrenia at the age of 21. Add on treatments are treatments, such as yoga, that go hand in hand with everyday

People who suffered from schizophrenia were once mistaken to be “dangerous” and untreatable. For this reason, they were often institutionalized and removed from society (DiRocco). The causes of this mental psychotic disorder has been much more understood over the past decade resulting in the possibility for people with schizophrenia to live more average lives. Development of treatments, such as medication and various forms of psychotherapies, have been effective in treating symptoms and common comorbid psychological disorders like depression and anxiety.

In the past treatment for schizophrenia included being placed in asylums, being within cell walls and other extreme treatments. Patients would be shunned, hospitalized, outcasted from society and been given trial and error treatment with gruesome side effects. If a patient was out of control they would be tie them to there bed with a straight jacket and many would become paralyzed from that experience. They would also try random treatments such as opium or camphor mixed with vinegar. Even more extreme they would sometimes put a flaming pitch on their head. They would also publicly display this on Sundays for entertainment. During the 18th and 19th centuries treatment progressed to being more humane but not any more effective. During the middle ages Schizophrenics were thought to even be witches or possessed by demons (“Schizophrenia: 100 Years of Bad

This is not a disorder that is talked about widely. It is one that is swept under the rug by most families because of the stigma that is placed on the person with the disorder and/or members of the family. Some people look at this disorder as someone who is crazy. It is these thoughts and comments why people who have the disorder don’t talk about it. The stigma linked to this disorder can have a negative effect, whereas patients who have the disorder do not want anyone to know they have the disorder and shy away from going to the doctor and/or taking their medication. As a society, do we really know what Schizophrenia is and how it affects our daily lives?

Medication plays a large part in the treatment of schizophrenia. Medication appears to improve the long-term prognosis for many people with schizophrenia. Studies show that after 10 years of treatment, one--forth of those with schizophrenia have recovered completely, one--fourth have improved considerably and one-forth have improved modestly. (www.nami.org/helpline/schizo) About 80 percent of those who stop taking their medications after an acute episode will have a relapse within one year.

Societal reaction which produces social stigma can generate discriminatory experiences, especially towards individuals suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia symptoms are seen as deviating from what we attribute as ‘normal’ behavior. Some of their symptoms include; their inability to recognize what is real, unable to manage their emotions or think clearly, incapability to communicate effectively and so forth.