Five Myth of Schizophrenia as a Progressive Brain Disease

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes the distinction between what is real and what is not difficult, which can lead to abnormal social behavior. Among these symptoms are delusions, thought disorders, listening to voices But movies and television series distorted our vision of what schizophrenia really is and made us believe certain myths about it, which are not at all true.

In movies, people with schizophrenia are often portrayed as dangerous, or even as serial killers, which is the most common stereotype. Sophia, a woman who suffers from this disorder, testifies and tells us what we should believe or not.

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Five Myth of Schizophrenia

1. Voices heard are not multiple personalities "The 'voices' I listen to are not very different from the self-critical voices anyone can have in their head, except that I listen to them more clearly, as if it came from someone right next to months. Ah, and they are malevolent. One tells me that I should be ashamed of myself and the other insults me, "says Sophia. Many movies have made us believe that people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities, which causes a lot of confusion on the subject. In some works of fiction the murderer does not even know what he is because he does not know that he has another murderous personality. To know what schizophrenia really is, you must know that voices can not control the patient and that they do not turn into a separate person. The person who suffers from schizophrenia is aware of his inner voices and keeps control of himself.

2. Voices do not push to be violent "When it all started, one of the voices told me that I had to kill one of my teachers who was particularly naughty. It alerted me, to say the least. It was before I knew everyone would see me as a potential serial murderer, so I went to the school counselor to tell her about it, and indeed she went crazy. This is an understandable reaction, but the fear of reactions such as this is what prevents many schizophrenics from asking for help. " To explain what schizophrenia really is, it is important to explain that the murder rate among schizophrenics is not higher than in the rest of the population. The majority of schizophrenics do not like the voices they listen to, so it's only natural that they avoid paying attention. Sophia assures that the closest she was to a violent reaction was caused by a drug that causes changes in moods.

3. It is difficult to recognize if someone is suffering from schizophrenia "Many of the symptoms can actually be mistaken for bizarre behavior or social awkwardness. Even my own family doctor was surprised to learn that I was schizophrenic, he told me 'you look so normal'. " What Sophia says is true, you could be sitting next to a schizophrenic right now without even realizing it.

4. Schizophrenics take powerful drugs to control themselves "At one point, I had to take 23 different medications. All antipsychotics have horrible side effects, which in turn must be treated with other drugs, which also have side effects, and so goes the vicious circle. " Although this disease can not be cured, it can be treated. In many cases the reactions of those who suffer from this disorder are due to the side effects of their heavy medication, not the disease itself. In some cases it may seem that someone needs help, but in fact he is already receiving too much.

5. The disease is created by others "All the horrible things people think about schizophrenics can be harder to bear than the disease itself. I became pregnant and worried about the effects of my treatment on my baby, so I asked about an online forum for pregnant women if anyone had a similar experience. The reactions were divided in two. On the one hand those who wanted to pick me up with torches and forks and on the other hand the women who told me that I was selfish to have a baby who would probably be exposed to my disease and heredity ".

Those who seem mentally ill suffers already enough, and do not deserve that someone who does not know them make their life even more difficult by denigrating them for their schizophrenia but without knowing much about it. Despite the belief that others had with her, Sophia managed to graduate, work from home, get married and have children, which is a normal life. A happy ending to a story that has nothing to do with Hollywood productions.

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Citation
Schizophrenia → nimh.nih.gov
Symptoms of Schizophrenia → mentalhealthamerica.net
Schizophrenia → wikipedia.org
Schizophrenia and Intellectual Decline → psychiatryonline.org
Schizophrenia Random Facts → factslegend.org

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