Plenty of my old friends think I am poor and don’t want anything to do with me. I am a high functioning schizophrenia, but get no pity from the world or don’t really get any second chances, even though I am acing all my chances for someone with my illness? How does stigma affect you, hopefully it doesn’t affect you that much.
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I get the odd stigma from the pub i freqent by some alcoholics. Ive been spoken to before like im thick but the landlady normally sorts them out for me. But for one little sod that would not let it go one day - I happily picked up my pint of guiness (after finishing it) and glassed him in the face. The person is question avoids me now (and for his health he wants to as well). I dont suffer fools gladly. I justify physical violence when you start impeding on my mental health wellbeing.
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i feel like people dont understand. i kinda feel different than other people to be honest. Especially on meds…when i first got out of hospital i was pretty sedated, and people are just like “woah…”
@Ranjeeth
I’m so sorry you’ve lost your friends. I’m sorry that you struggle, but I am glad you are high-functioning.
I feel a lot of support, so I’m not too worried about stigma. Though the hardest hits are when people think I can not care for my kids.
I don’t tell about my SZ to friends anymore. They don’t understand, they think I am joking. They tell me I need to get drunk or high or have sex. Pretty annoying
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@VanGogh
This is annoying.
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It doesn’t because it’s none of there business.
I live in an assisted living center, so I am surrounded by schizophrenics. It’s a pretty forgiving environment. One way I feel a stigma, though, is when someone messes up in public, and people here can mess up creatively, it reflects on us all. If someone shoplifts, for example, the “normals” look at us like we’re all thieves. When our people mess up like that it can get our whole group banned from nice places.
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I can’t even tell most of my family members or they won’t talk to me again. I also have other illnesses and drs are openly mean to me because of my mental illness. It affects me a lot
im not stigmatised by the illness…in fact I think it is something interesting for my former friends/ associates to hear that I have it…its a lot better than having a boring story like saying I worked in a bank for the past 20 yrs
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Mental illness stigma used to affect me terribly when I was ostracized by the whole gay community in my home town because of my mental illness. Now, I don’t hang out in that community anymore and I have a whole different crowd that I hang out with. A church crowd. And none of them know anything about my mental illness and never will. My only friend, my wife, knows about it but she has my same mental illness, sza.
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Not having anyone understand how I feel and what I deal with on a daily basis is real frustrating. It just makes me an outsider even more.
My mom thankfully is a really good listner and helps me as much as she can. I don’t even bother trying to get friends and family to understand.
I have joined multiple support groups, they are super super helpful. They make me feel like I am not so alone in the world. One group I go to we make crafts/projects. I go to a cooking class at a disability center. Then I have three regular support groups. These groups are a big part of my life.
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I’ve never once felt stigma from this affliction.
I developed schizophrenia later in life (age 38)…I had already established my lifelong friendships and got married and had kids.
I feel sorry for a young person having Sz, just starting out their life. That’s why I’ve always sworn I’ll donate a large sum of money to a Youth Psychosis Program if I ever strike it rich.
Aren’t you young and just finished college? I would expect you to be poor. Just starting out.
Honestly, the stigma is what kept me from seeking help for a very long time. I’d see the population of individuals who happen to be homeless and suffering from some type of mental barrier and I got scared, I thought that I’d end up like them or worse and I’d hear what people had to say about them and I didn’t want to be grouped in with them. I’m still afraid that I’ll end up penniless and having no home, no sense of reality that will help me survive in that situation.
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Stigma affects all sz folk. You’ve never wanted to say, “I’m feeling or acting this way because I have schizophrenia”? You don’t say it because of the stigma. I personally dumb it down by saying I have anxiety or that I’m not feeling well. If you’re not stigmatized you must not be doing sz right!
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I’m not sure who is aware of my illness that I’m dealing with on a regular basis. They kinda treat me like I’m mentally fragile and dumb. I only feel stupid when I’m around other people trying to be social or normal. There’s more stigma among my circle about not working.
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My boss who knows that I’m SZ and med-compliant just told me I’m one of the best employees she’s ever had and gave me a raise yesterday. I eat stigma for breakfast.
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I told my daughter’s friend’s mom that I didn’t feel comfortable having her kids over due to my sza. She made me feel good by telling me she thought I was an amazing person and she trusted me with her kids 100%.
I think that says more about her than me in a good way.
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