Are schizophrenics more vulnerable than most or more dangerous than most?

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1

Just wondering?..

2

I think vulnerable probably, dangerous it depends on the person.

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3

We can be Vulnerable and sometimes can be a danger towards others during Psychosis.

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4

Usually more vulnerable, sometimes more dangerous.

5

The inherent vulnerability makes us more dangerous. A buildup of all the stigma affects our brains and we lash out, also because psychosis.

6

The best predictor of violence is whether someone has been violent in the past, regardless of MI status. Of course, there’s always a first time and that’s harder to predict.

7

I think that it all depends on the person.
If you take schizophrenics as a class they tend to be more vulnerable because many
are unable to work and even look after themselves(I am such a person).
I don’t think that schizophrenics as a class are more dangerous though.

8

I would say more vulnerable. I think I’m pretty sensitive and fragile at times.

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I used to be very sensitive before I found the meds work for me, now my confidence has slowly been built up overtime. Grateful for it.

10

As a whole studies and statistics show that schizophrenics are no more violent than the average general population. But in fact, we are more likely to be victims of violence than the average citizen.

But there are three main factors that might predict violence in a schizophrenic.

One) Substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)
Two) If the person had a history of violence before he got sick
Three) Being un-medicated

So the average person with schizophrenia is just s peaceful as most everybody else.
When you hear those horror stories in the media about schizophrenics committing gruesome murders or bizarre violent acts it is usually because of those three factors or because they aren’t being treated at all. And it is a very small fraction of schizophrenics who commit those especially gruesome acts of violence.like mass murders.

The problem with those weird violent acts is that the media takes those stories and sensationalizes them and they spread. Those stories are actually rare but that unfortunately is about the only time the general public hears about schizophrenia so that’s what sticks in their minds when they hear the word schizophrenia and than they make a generalization that all schizophrenics are like that.
The fact that I have had schizophrenia for 37 years and that I’ve worked almost that entire time does not make headline news. My story is not on Fox news or the internet(except for here). But if one un-medicated schizophrenic shoots 7 people in a Walmart it spreads across the whole United States.

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11

To speak for myself: I’ve always been more vulnerable than average, and in my psychosis I’m even more vulnerable than normally. I f.e. ran away to another country and asked a stranger on the streets in the middle of the night if I could sleep in his house, because I thought he was sent from God. I even took his invitation to sleep in his bed. Obviously he expected something of me, but fortunately he was a decent guy and didn’t force me when he noticed I didn’t want anything and was confused… but he could have… I was totally incapable of protecting myself. I still wonder what this poor guy must have thought of me… I was completely crazy at the time.

I don’t have aggressive thoughts or feelings during psychosis, only fear. But I do sometimes fear that I would hurt somebody, especially my son, during psychosis. Not out of a wish to harm, but out of a wish to protect him from my delusional world. For example I run away or stop eating and drinking to protect myself… I wouldn’t want my son to even see me like that, let alone take him along in this. That would be dangerous and my worst nightmare.