I remember experiencing extreme shame when I was diagnosed with sz. And then all the messages I got was that you won’t be able to do much with your life due to the fact that you have sz. That was a terrible feeling. I also remember starting to internalize this stigma and isolated and withdrew a lot. Have you felt anything like this?
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Yeah, I just woke up from a dream where I was remembering the past. A younger me, early secondary school. Ages 11 to 15, and I was a different boy. He was quite chirpy and had a personality. Not the current me - low self esteem and fat
That was the worst part of my life, the self stigma…
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Moved to DX’d - Sz/SzA where it is on topic. Reminder: Creativity is for posting creative works such as stories, poems, paintings, photographs, and musical compositions. It’s not for recovery discussions unless they are tangential to the original post. (E.g. creating art helps manage symptoms.)
Thanks for understanding.
v.
I’ve faced very little stigma or self stigma. It does hurt my feelings and also makes me mad when the roommates girlfriend laughs at my illness. She ain’t exactly a poster child for good mental health.
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If I did face any stigma, I didn’t know about it. Then again I wasn’t ever very social to begin with. I’ve mostly hid under a rock my whole life.
Other than that my parents have always been supportive. I’ve had my doubts on whether they believed I was really ill or not other than that nothing.
I’ve also hid I was mentally ill from people outside my family, although it’s shown a lot from time to time.
I’d say I’d probably face this if I ever attempted to get a social life going.
It’s probably better not to care so much what others think, life’s short after all, you know?
I’d also like to add it seems to help a lot if you hide your illness from people, it’s none of their dam business anyways. And if it so happens to get out there, so be it. If they dislike you for that then there’s definitely better quality people to make friends with
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Yeah, I have a lot of self stigma. It was never talked about back when I was diagnosed and I hid it from my first husband, which did not end well. My current husband doesn’t want me to tell anyone at church or in his family about it, but it is noticeable to everyone who knows me well that something is just “off” about me.
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I came into diagnosis knowing that everyone else is F#$%ed up in one way or another, even if it isn’t immediately obvious to the rest of us.
So schizophrenia is just another day of SNAFU.
Maybe it helps that I was always an outsider and not an extrovert.
Shame is something to value of itself and limit to the ends of refinement. It is a positive development for growth.
Guilt on the other hand is only negative, and is often used to tear people down. There are people out there who want others to feel guilty so they can easily be controlled, and they are sadistic, horrible people.
By being ‘guilty’ you give them a crack in the armor to exploit.
Instead of feeling guilty, opt into being honest with yourself, then acknowledge what has happened and accept it without making it personal.
Yes! I feel that people are like animals when it comes to this illness. They say there’s that psychotic guy when they see me out in public. Then they laugh at me. They call me all kinds of names. It sucks!
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That can change!
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Lot of ignorance out there too when it comes to schizophrenia!
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i feel badly that you experience so much stigma such as name calling etc.
at work some literally spit at me.
judy
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All my friends and family know that I have schizophrenia. They are all mature about it.
I don’t tell when I meet new people. I do struggle sometimes with telling what I do.
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