National Schizophrenia Awareness Day on 25 July shines a light on the everyday challenges faced by hundreds of thousands of people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in the UK and millions more worldwide. It also looks at how we can tackle some of the stigma and discrimination surrounding this much-misunderstood illness.
in 100 people will experience schizophrenia. In fact, it was a diagnosis of schizophrenia that led to the launch of our charity, which was founded 50 years ago. Much has improved since then, but while attitudes to mental health have changed, the stigma surrounding schizophrenia remains stubbornly high. Some of this is rooted in a lack of understanding of the condition, so we want to tackle this by setting out the signs, symptoms, and outlook for people affected. And the good news is that while people with lived experience tell us about some of the struggles they face, there is also much to celebrate and feel positive about.
What is schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a very complex condition that can affect how a person thinks, feels, and experiences the world around them. Schizophrenia doesn’t mean split personality – the term actually means schizo (to split) and phrene (the mind). While schizophrenia is an official diagnosis, people can often experience very different symptoms. The most common symptoms can include:
- Audio hallucinations (hearing voices)
- Delusions
- Disorganised thinking
- Changes in body language or emotions
- Audio hallucinations (hearing voices)
- Delusions
- Disorganised thinking
- Changes in body language or emotions
If you think you or someone you love has the symptoms of Schizophrenia, see a Psycotrist right away. There are several mental illnesses that mimic certain symptoms of Schizophrenia so your doctor can help decern what the condition may be. Do not go to the general practitioner, they do not have the skills to handle mental illness. I can’t stress this enough. Dealing with a GP can set you back years on getting the right treatment and may cause your illness to get worse. See the right doctor for the illness.
You can read my book review of Hope and Learning Our Journey with Schizophrenia by Linda Snow-Griffin. This book was an eye-opener for me, I thought I knew about Schizophrenia but boy was I wrong.
Melinda
References:
https://www.rethink.org/get-involved/awareness-days-and-events/national-schizophrenia-awareness-day/
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