:speech_balloon: SCHIZOPHRENIA :speech_balloon:

You may be wondering why I am writing this. Well, my name is Rac or Raccoon and I am schizophrenic. I Live in the U.S. and about 2.4 million Americans suffer from Schizophrenia. No doctors really understand why people get Schizophrenia. It could be a certain imbalance of chemicals in the brain or trauma but there is no single reason that people develop this mental disorder

Personally, I know my Schizophrenia weighs heavily on me and my family and I'm sure for many others out there it does too. If you are unsure what this mental illness is, the medical definition is:

a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation.

I know it seems like a lot, but the general idea is the inability to tell fantasy from reality. A lot of schizophrenics can't manage their emotions as well as people that aren't.

Hallucinations:

What exactly are Hallucinations? Seeing, hearing, or sensing things that don't really exist or aren't really there are hallucinations.

Delusions:

A harsh word but believing something is true and real that is obviously not to others is common.

Paranoia:

An unusual state of suspicious essence or worry. Imagine feeling like someone is always watching you or there are people following you. Paranoia isn't fun and having to live with it throughout your daily life, a state that your mind can't escape from, you don't od much.

Myths about Schizophrenia pop up day in and day out. Maybe it's because little is known about this mental illness. Some of the most common ones are very much false.

Misconception 1: Split Personalities

As many of you know, having split personalities is known as DID or MPD. I won't go much into detailed but having split personalities is considered a chemical or personality disorder. Your body can't store your different sides and emotions all in one so it creates different people for one body. But I'll create another post about that.

"Schizophrenia is a thought disorder," says Dr.Rego. PSYCOM is the article I used. Dr.Rego continues on in this article: about how this myth most likely stems from the fact that there is a split between behavior, thoughts, and even emotions. However this does not include personalities. I very much reccomend this article to learn more.

Misconception 2: Violence

"It's actually rare for someone with Schizophrenia to be violent." states Dr.Rego. More likely, a schizophrenic is a victim of violence rather than the violent one. They try as much as possible but struggle to get the same social benefits as "Regular" people. I use quotes because there is no such this as a regular person.

Scott Ira Krakower, DO assistant unit chief of psychiatry at Zuckerberg Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, NY (yes I did state that word for word) goes on to tell the author that some individuals with Schizophrenia do become aggressive. However, he also states "A person can be aggressive and have anger problems and not be schizophrenic."

Misconception 3: Bad Parenting is a cause

Why is this such a common myth? Many years ago, it was believed that both parents or only the mother were at fault if their child developed this mental disorder. While genetics does play a small part –often runs in families – there is no evidence that bad parenting can cause Schizophrenia.

"Plus, even if your parent has schizophrenia, your chances of getting it are less than 25%." Explains Dr.Ferrando

I very much recommend reading this article fully. Although I did not include all misconceptions, there are many out there and these three are just as important as any other. Again here is the link: PSYCOM

Treat them like a human being. At the end of the day, nobody is perfect. We aren't all treated fairly, we aren't all talked to the same, we aren't all perfect in our mind.

You may be asking, "What if they stop listening and start showing signs?" This answer will be my personal opinion. Not everyone wants to be treated the same way. But me, I want to be snapped back to reality. If I start looking behind me or fidgeting, this may work with others too, calm the person down. Snap in front of their face (although some may consider it rude), bring them back to the conversation.

"What do I do if they get offended or vent to me about their disorder?" Well, venting can be in two forms. Venting about actions or venting about emotions. Many schizophrenic will vent about emotions, or at least the ones I've encountered. Now, if they get offended, listen to them. What they say is valid and they must have a reason to be upset. If it's something you did, try to fix it. Maybe don't snap in front of their face like I mentioned. Maybe don't tell them "Nobody is there," or "Stop pretending." Instead of defending yourself, fix it.

Thank you all for reading. I hope you all have a pleasantful day. I mostly Google what I said in this post but for the section, "Misconceptions and Why They're Wrong." I used ARISTADA.COM hope this blog was educational and you were able to learning something. Maybe you'll be able to recognize when someone has schizophrenia and how to treat them properly. Have a great day

RACCOON OUT

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