I opened my newspaper and saw the following headline sceaming at me – Schizophrenia in two state solution. Until then, I’d always thought that the place for an article on schizophrenia was in the Health section of a newspaper and not when reporting a political debate.
I’LL TELL YOU WHAT SCHIZOPHRENIA IS. i WILL ALSO TELL YOU WHAT SCHIZOPHRENIA IS NOT.
Is schizophrenia a split personality? No, it is not. It’s a split from reality.
Is schizophrenia a rare condition? No, it is not rare. The lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia is widely accepted as occurring in around 1 in 4 families.
Are people who have schizophrenia dangerous? Although the delusional thoughts and hallucinations of people with schizophrenia can lead to violent behavior, most people with this illness are neither violent nor a danger to others. Of course, if untreated, the person can get out of control.
Can people with schizophrenia be helped? Yes, they can. While long term treatment might be required, the outlook for schizophrenia is not hopeless. In fact, when properly treated, many people with this illness are able to enoy life and function within their families and communities.
And how does she know all this, you might ask? Well, I did not get it from textbooks nor from the internet. I did not get it from attending lectures nor from psychiatrists. I know this because our son suffered for many years from schizophrenia as well as from the stigma attached to it. To top all that, he proved to be medication resistant as well.
Eventually, after fighting his demons for approximately 16 years, he gave up, and I would like to think that he has gone to a better place where he has found the peace of mind he was unable to find on this earth.
