I spoke with someone today who said they honestly worried I was going to murder them in their sleep when I told them my dx.
Not a hint of a lie or exaggeration. They said they spoke to their friends and both of them were freaking out about me being around.
This really upset me. For this reason I think I am not going to be open anymore
Hey mate. Yeah it’s the way to go.
I’m pretty open at the cricket club. I don’t work and I’m pretty visible around the club etc. Still. I have people who make jokes at my expense. So what does your other personality say? Like I try to educate but it’s just still too much of a drama to say anything but the minimum.
Sad you had that bad experience. Sad we live with misguided views about our conditions.
People can be so ignorant. I’m sorry that happened to you @anon94176359.
I agree, in most cases I don’t share that I have schizophrenia. Not unless I’ve known people for a longer amount of time. That way they don’t judge me before knowing who I am.
I don’t tell. I believe that’s why I have friends. I just tell people about my PTSD so that if I’m afraid to do something or go somewhere or talk to someone or whatever, I can blame it on that. I don’t talk about the men who follow me or anything I’ve been told others don’t think is real. I just avoid it completely. Otherwise, I’d only have 1 friend.
On a taxi ride to see my mum I once shared that I had a mental illness. As soon as I’d done that I thought ‘Oh crap’ . I was expecting a shitstorm of negativity. The taxi driver told me his daughter had recently been admitted to a psych unit . .
Its hard to be open about it sometimes…but its a good way to weed out the ■■■■■■■■
I learned this the hard way. After disclosing to my colleagues I learned to only disclose to select few I feel I can trust (risky though) it’s enabled me to stay in work 18 months this time not under 6 months
I don’t tell anyone anymore. I tried telling my friends when I got diagnosed, but they don’t speak to me now.
Some people are so ■■■■■■■ ignorant about mental health. It makes me so angry to hear stories like this.
My mom told me that I am a shame because I have schizophrenia. And told me to shut up and never tell anyone, or I am out from the household.
I looked at my diary from 2012 and it said the same thing at that time: “My mom hates me because I am mentally ill.”
i havent had much discrimination from people that i remember even when i was really ill people were kind towards me, my dad did a lot of research about my illness when i was diagnosed and he never encouraged delusions, he seemed to know what to say if i was up late and couldnt sleep,
my dad shared my diagnosis with his friends though and i was upset bc of this bc i use to go meet with them with my dad and our dog sometimes, they called us pinky and the brain (my dad was the smart one) lol
Ive had mixed opinions about coming out Sz. They were more or less accepting in the bar i used to drink at, but after falling out with them - it was the first thing that was chucked in my face by some members.
Its the 20-30 somethings that are most likely to take the piss round here - they think your thick - so they will try and tax me for money. The older generation seemed to be more understanding.
Now i keep my gob shut - cos it only feeds my paranoia these days that its gonna be used againest me.
I’ve not had much nastiness directed at me . Part of the reason for that could be that I’ve not had much interaction with other people outside of family and stepfamily .
The worst was when I lived on Canvey Island and was seen as not being a proper man because I wasn’t macho , and didn’t tinker with cars like a lot of the other men did .
Ever since I was diagnosed, my brother thinks I’m going to harm someone. He also called me Patricia from the movie Split. 
And, only two friends and my family know what I have.
I’m terribly sorry to hear you experienced the stigma that comes with our illness. The stigma of the diagnosis we are given has even caused people who were once considered close friends to distance themselves from us. Because of ignorance and the media’s portrayal of schizophrenia, when a person hears the word schizophrenia, they do not realize that by far the wide majority of us are not prone to unprovoked acts of violence. Sadly, people hear the word schizophrenia and are suddenly afraid that at any given moment we can explode. It is caused by ignorance about what schizophrenia actually is and what people with schizophrenia are actually like.
Sure many of us prefer to be in our own comfort zone often our residence. Many of us isolate. Quite a few of us have poor social skills. Some of us have a flat effect and though we do not realize it, some of us do not express emotions the way others do. Quite a few of us are quiet and have trouble conversing with others at any given time. Heck, sometimes we laugh at things others do not find funny. Most of us prefer to stay away from crowded places. In public we prefer not to be noticed. Sometimes we are afraid people are looking at us. And quite honestly, our minds sort of work differently than the average person.
But all that does not mean that we are all violent. Nor does it mean we don’t like to socialize. As a schizophrenic, having a friends means something important to us. Even if sometimes we have trouble finding things to say in a conversation, that does not always mean we don’t want to talk with people, it just means sometimes we prefer to listen… matter of fact find a subject we are passionate about and sometimes we don’t shut up about it once we open up.
It is even better when the topic has a common interest with those talking to us.
In the end, we’re really just people. So I’m sorry you had to go through that, but keep your chin up my friend.
Why would you be open about it? If it doesn´t benefit you in any way. If you just want to talk you can rely on family, close friends, the forum, etc.
I don´t see any benefit to be open about it. Just to get some sort of assistance.
Only a select few people i think solidly know of my illness. My uncle and maybe my grandfather know i was diagnosed with it after i was having trouble getting my current job which in case they know but i think they dismissed it after a couple of weeks. Im still trying to figure out if its the reason my supervisor is nice to me or not. Either way the company found out when i did my physical and a whole lotta bs insued because they were afraid I’d hurt someone or myself. Im halfway with them on it because altruistic or not, i dont want anyone getting hurt either. But of course more research on their (and the places i had to go to deal with that’s) end would’ve been greatly appreciated. Most times i keep to myself and when certain things come up i generally have a cover for it…
what do you do for work?
I mainly grade and pull wood at a plywood mill. I do other tasks like clean up and unclog certain parts of the machines when they get wood build up.
I have told pretty much everyone I know. Tbh no one has cared or really thought about it too much. However, I am very young and live in a very progressive area.