I have been. Not by other people because nobody knows, but from my family. When i came out of the hospital, i didn´ t want to take meds. Or at least i didnt like taking them. So i was trying to explain to my family member what i went trough and what my symptoms were when i was psychotic and that i dont like it that i take meds and i maybe could manage without meds. He didn´t agree with this ( i can understand this) but he said after i told him this that it now looks like he is the one who is stupid. Like stupid as having mental illness. I felt so disapointed. Coming this from a close family member really hurt. I felt disappointed, sad, put down, humiliated. I still get sad just writting about this.
And i know that he meant it this way because schizophrenia runs in our family and our close relative has schizophrenia also. And he called him stupid many times as i remember. And he is not stupid, he is very smart and educated. He just has this illness. Having mental illness is being stupid aparently.
In my experience since not even knowing what it (SZ) was myself after 10 years of becoming and being symptomatic , others will use this and anything else against you if they’ve already formed a negative opinion of you. and they wont hardly even notice anything good about you. It’s cruel but it comes with the territory of just being human. This goes for all people.
I’ve had Doc’s give me a very doom and gloom prognosis. (that I unfortunately believed) That people with my condition… people with my illness can’t handle the stress of school… can’t live on their own… don’t do well in relationships… (lately who does?)
I’ve also given in to my own stigma… saying to myself… there’s no way I can do (a / b/ or c) … I’m a schizophrenic.
I do have one brother who keeps throwing my illness in my face… and I have an Aunt with her own problems who talks a lot before she thinks…
But the rest of my family is very supportive. So when my brother pops off with his mouth of misinformation… it reflects badly on him… not me.
It’s hurtful anyway… but I do get comfort from the fact that he’s the odd man out.
After I became confident enough to tell people close to me that I have schizophrenia, two of those people said something like “Don’t worry, I can take you.” It confused me until I learned that a lot of people think schizophrenics are dangerous. I do believe that more people are becoming educated though and every day there is less stigma.
I have never taken notice of encountering stigma, fortunately. Ignorance a lot, but not prejudice. Ignorance is not that bad, for you can set the terms in which the issue is going to be discussed in that case - it is a home-game. I do enjoy joking about my condition with those in the know. I recall two friends who, shortly upon disclosing to them, asked me how I planned to kill people. This to me was only a confirmation that everything is okay, I really enjoy joking about me being crazy, and if friends join the fun its all the better.
Nothing much apart from some family of my husband’s calling me a malletjie (mad person) behind my back. Because I was in a mental hospital. Found out from my husband. He thinks it may have been a light remark or a joke, not meant to hurt, but it does sting a bit. Made me lose trust in that family member. Feel a little paranoid around them.
Some Sz stigmatism as an adult. Found growing up to be an autistic, D&D playing nerd who hated sports much worse. Other kids make life hell if you’re not part of their tribe.
I believe being stigmatized by family is common for persons with severe mental illnesses, and this has been true for a long time.
I will tell you the truth: being diagnosed with a psychiatric condition does not mean that you are stupid - not by any means. But it is your responsibility to yourself to educate yourself about many things. Don’t believe everything you read, hear or see. Be very skeptical with a scientific outlook and you’ll do fine. Develop your intelligence because you can - do it in defiance of those who may wrongly believe you are stupid. Show them how wrong they are.
As to the medication, always talk to the doctor about any adverse reactions you are having from them. But please, don’t be ashamed of needing to take medications: they can help you, if you’re like me. By all means, let your family love you, and work with them, but never be overcome by them. Schizophrenia is difficult enough without adding further family problems into the mix. Always remember:
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
Yes. I have people ask if I’m “violent” or “have multiple personalities” and other junk like that.
I was going through a program through disability in my province to find a job, and the workers would talk to potential employers for the clients (me, and others on disability) and my worker said “I’m not saying schizoaffective, that’s too scary. I’ll tell them you have bad anxiety”. Ya, um, thanks. You work with the disabled and say THAT?
I had dropped a lot of weight and was underweight… about 20lbs for my height. At a job interview, the interviewer kept asking if I did drugs to stay skinny… Over and over. “You sure you don’t do drugs? You’re awful skinny…”
When I was 18 I applied for SSI for my mental illness. I told one of my friends that was what I was doing and he asked me why. He is racist and when I told him I heard voices telling me to do things he said “you’re just like a n***er to me.” It really hurt because I thought we were friends. People don’t understand mental illness because it’s your brain that is broken not your body. Recently I got really upset because my uncle confronted me about not doing as much house work as I should. I tried to explain that I had problems with motivation and it’s a struggle for me. He didn’t get it and continued to talk about how I don’t help out enough. It makes me mad because if I were in a wheelchair people wouldn’t question my disability, but because you don’t see my illness I must be normal.
@mikee ive got nothing to prove to them. Im not gonna waste my energy for this. He called me and my close relative (we both have sz) stupid. To him if you have sz you are stupid. He probably thinks you are always psychotic and that you talk nonsense even if you are stable. I was psychotic for 2 days and i Im not stupid because of this. So isnt my relative, he is very edacuted.
@sungirl i had lack of motivation on higher doses. I understand what is it like. Its not your fault. Some people cant understand things they didnt experience. Thats why he cant understand. Not all people are like this.
I have been stigmatized as well. Once I was at a friends house and he found out I was schizophrenic, he told me not to get all schizophrenic in his house and told me to leave. I was acting normal at the time.
As I’ve shared here previously, I drive a school bus on a part-time basis. You are required to disclose any health conditions that may impede your ability to operate a vehicle safely. So they know about my heart, my diabetes, and my SZ. They also have a form signed by two different doctors saying that none of the above prevent me from doing that job properly. I pass an annual physical where I have disclosed everything, plus I gave them a second opinion from a psychiatrist.
I’m considered to be one of the most reliable drivers on this end of the division because I’m very careful as a driver and have an excellent record of catching stuff during pre-trips, which I am faithful about doing.
Disclosing this condition doesn’t always cause people to think you’re stupid or unreliable.
I’ve also had people try to use this condition against me once in this same school division, and it backfired horribly on them. Caused a demotion for one person. They asked me if I would like to see her fired. She is damned lucky I am a nicer person than she is as I figured the demotion was enough.
