It is great that lots of people speak out about it now and there are charities, events, TV shows etc trying to break the stigma.
But the truth is, it can only be understood if you experience it personally .
That is what I think anyway.
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I agree. Ive experienced it personally in a bad way in the past and had to move town. You cant fully appreciate the damaging effects it has on a persons mind - unless youve been through it yourself. Fortunatlely for me, my new town i now live in is very friendly and i have a lot of understanding mates now down my local bar. They always wondered why i frequented the place during opening hours and just told them i didnt work because i was schizophrenic. They all just laughed it off .Apart from a couple saying wary “He’s violent!!!” - thats the only stigma ive got here so far.
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I think the greatest obstacle is that we are not like depressed people, our illness doesn’t get better and therefore we’ll never be able to do the necessary public manifestations and fights.
Not many people know what sz is where I live, so stigma is a problem in my town, I don’t go out or have any friends anyway.
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Where I live I am surrounded by other schizophrenics, so I don’t feel the stigma as much as someone who has schizophrenia and is living alone might. I don’t worry about what other, so called, “sane” people might think about me, though I probably should.
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It’d be nice not to care what others think of me.
You have to care about stuff like that. I probably need to pay more attention to it.
Uh no, that’s what has me having problems with people. Lol
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I agree, if I cared about what others think I would have become crazy. (well I got there anyway…) 
I used to suffer very, very bad stigma at this one bar I used to frequent in the late 90’s and the early millennium. It was so bad that it was pure torture for me. I don’t know why I insisted on frequenting the place. Probably because I wanted to fit in so badly. Anyway, I had a spiritual transformation in the mid millennium and quit going to the place. That’s when my life turned around. I went from being sad and depressed and paranoid to being happy and content but still paranoid. Over time, and with proper medication and lifestyle adjustments, like daily yoga, meditation, and piano practice, the paranoia eventually disappeared too.
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It really is sad MI or any illnesses have stigmas attached. Keeps some from getting the help they need and can add to isolation and ignorance.
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