my sister says there is much less stigma now against the mentally ill than there use to be,
i was talking to her the other night there,
what do you think?
Well they are not locking us up in crummy institutions now that we have antipsychotics. But I think the stigma is still there. The media and special interest groups portray us as mass murderers. I think the problem is education. Most people think psychosis mean psychopathic. It has been repeated many times on this forum that violence is not a symptom of schizophrenia, and most people with schizophrenia (myself included) are more likely to be victims of violence than to be violent themselves. But the problem is getting that to the general public.
Another part of the problem is mental illness is a disability you cannot see. For example I have a disabled veteran tag on my jeep. I have been told more than once that since I have both my arms and legs, I must be crazy. I hate that word crazy.
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my sister was saying that most of the general public kind of know that it can be treated and things now, maybe not the older ones but definately most people at least under 30 or 40,
the people in my church know i have problems and take meds and they dont treat me any different apart from one person who drops these kind of hints when he is talking to me in company but he is a lot older and doesnt understand.
I live in a small old fashioned town, and the stigma is thick. So I don’t interact with a whole lot of people. But I know that a lot of friends I used to have have turned their backs on me. I am sort of an outcast. The other night I went out to get some smokes and coffee, and was called a crazy mother ■■■■■■.
â– â– â– â– riddled sorry, mybe bc you live in a closenit community,
Some people can be very immature about it and Dont realize how much it hurts to hear that,
Most people have got problems these days, everyone has a story to tell, like noone has the perfect life lol that is a pipe dream 
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Lately I don’t think there is so much stigma, it has to do with our personality, how we “promote” ourselves outwards. If we seem healthy and nice, people won’t be so judgemental.
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Yeah definetly , the field has being opened up medically which has helped a lot.
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I would say thanks to government attacks on the disabled which feeds public attitudes stigma is maybe even worse now .
A lot of people don’t see a mentally ill person with a genuine problem that deserves and needs support but a feckless scrounger who’s making them pay more taxes than they want.
For a real reduction in stigma we need to progress to more civilised governments not pushing a “dog eat dog” mentality .
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Stigma certainly exists, but it seems that it has gotten a bit better with certain illnesses like depression and bipolar.
Schizophrenia is still stigmatized thanks to TV shows like Criminal Minds and the Media.
Many mental health professionals stigmatize, believe it or not.
The facts about schizophrenia are not reaching the masses as they should - The public is left with misinformation and stereotypes.
For many people, schizophrenia is shrouded in mystery - so what they dont understand gets stigmatized - its a real shame
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I felt much less stigmatizes when I discovered that there are degrees of severity of this disorder especially because of folks like John Forbes Nash Jr… who are able to harness their madness by turning it’s energies into discovering new ways of thinking. It’s like the brain amplifies other areas of the brain when it can no longer utilize that part of it that has been damaged or undeveloped, like if we loose our hearing our sense of sight or other senses become more enhanced that otherwise would not be as active.
well all i know is that i told my class in college about me having delusions and paranoia and that i take meds and get side effects and no-one even batted an eye lid, i think people were asking if i was ok more but thats just bc they knew i have a problem now, tbh i dont give a â– â– â– â– if people know anymore
but i guess it could affect getting a gf if you know what i mean, people want to feel like they can rely on you and if you have a mi how can they rely on you, for all they know you could fall apart any minute
and that is a huge turn off for them thats for sure,
the people in my church all know i have had problems and i tell them i take medication for it and all of that and they show concern, i like to try and be positive about it though and say i am doing college, going to the gym, walking and stuff and its better bc you are showing that you are recovering and doing your best i guess.
I really haven’t faced any stigma regarding the illness.
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if people dont know about it and you dont show it, they have no reason to believe anything is wrong
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Not sure if there is less or not, but I know there is a lot of movement going on about it…
I’d say there’s a bit less stigma now. But I’d say sz is at the pinnacle of mental illness stigma, so we don’t feel it as much.
The way I measure this is how they started running ads for depression medications on TV. Then they started running ads for bipolar medications, but many of these started out as off-label sz medications. Hell, I take Ability and I don’t feel funny picking things up at the pharmacy any more, because they are also running ads for it as an augmented treatment for depression.
Now when they run an ad for a new SZ medication, and they come out and say the word schizophrenia in a matter of fact way on TV, then I’d say there’s really been some real progress on stigma of sz.
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Yeah a year of that might do some good. Unfortunately though there are very few of us in relation to the population. It wouldn’t be as cost effective. They probably think it’s better to educate the psychs through pharma reps.
Has been more campaigns for education since the 90’s. Bipolar seems the main one that’s got the most publicity. With many celebrities disclosing leading to a backlash of teens/people wanting even faking symptoms to get the diagnosis as it’s the “in” thing. Not releasing what a crippling disorder it is. So it’s a two edge sword on if there is less stigma in a way. As they say here flood does not break a drought.
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In spite of the progress made, I’ve learned to sometimes keep the fact that I am mentally ill to myself. Some people are okay, but others can be total jerks.
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