I’m forever in the closet. i told someone once and they never talked to me again
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I like you, man,
And I agree with most of your posts.
I feel we cannabis fans need to stick together.
But I cannot back up this coming out of the schizophrenia closet.
To me, it is personal. People don’t understand schizophrenia, and I just don’t have the time or energy to educate them.
Also, I feel like anytime anyone finds out they’re like “oh yeah, that makes sense”,
And it makes me homicidal with rage.
My experience may be different from others, but telling someone about my diagnosis is almost exclusively a bad experience.
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Most of my friends and family know I’m bipolar but I won’t cop to my sza.
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Additionally,
Your new clean shaven look is super hot.
Congratulations on being really, really good looking.
I told my family about my illness and they treated me different. I’m not telling anybody else ever again.
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I tell everyone. I think it’s important to educate the masses on what schizophrenia truly looks like. The only thing that will defeat stigma is education. I like to be an example of the friendly, nonthreatening face of schizophrenia. The one exception is that I haven’t told my school, yet. I’m waiting until I get accepted into the graduate program.
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I’ve thought about it like that, that I could change people’s opinions about sz, but I guess I just don’t have the courage to put myself out there yet.
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You have a lot more to lose than I do, too. I don’t rely on my paycheck to survive, so if I get discriminated against, it’s just an unpleasant experience.
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I’m sorry; that’s awful.
I used to tell everyone and I never really thought about it but then I moved to this weird community where the illness remains damnable and I found out the hard way by talking. I’ve just stopped talking in general. I have no reason to tell if my conversation ends before five words are said.
But I do think we will be moving back to where the humans are this fall. I will speak again.
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Sometimes I feel like I associate it with my identity a little took much lol
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I feel it, that totally makes sense. Sometimes coming out about it just isn’t helpful for the person with the Illness
something Ii am not sure I will ever do - even if I really want to.
I wish I could just tell people - I have an illness so sometimes I do weird things like talk to myself =)
Two close friends of mine know - the rest I guess, maybe they wonder? who knows?
I don’t trust myself to be a good representative. I don’t lose a big amount of control but the tiredness makes me behave very coldly. My paranoia is also preventing me.
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I’m ‘out’ as an SZ to my employer and to people who I consider ‘thought leaders’ in my community. Not to everyone, no. My experience is that at least half of the population is stupid enough that I’m simply casting pearls before swine. No point.
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It’s my business and no one else needs to know. I’m not hurting anyone or causing trouble, I’m not doing anything illegal, I pay my taxes, I give to charities. So because of all these things, I rationalize that I will keep this piece of business to myself. i don’t owe anybody the knowledge of my medical problems. My motto is: Why should I tell someone something that they will use against me?
That said, I admire people who are open about their disease. I think they’re brave. I really do.
But at this time, I am going to keep my diagnosis private.
It’s helps fight stigma and helps people understand. I feel like I educate a lot of people about schizophrenia
I admire that, but at this point it’s my business and not my co-workers, or my schoolmates, or the taxi-cab driver, or the people at the laundromat.
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i don’t think just coming clean about it can fight the stigma… some people that come out further the stigma and sadly they seem to reach the most people… you should tell your support group either way… but i would think about it deeply before telling the world…
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Another way to raise awareness in regards to schizophrenia (and I’m stealing this idea from the LGBTQ community–again) is to create a “schizophrenia quilt.”
Friends and family members of people with schizophrenia who have committed suicide can create a montage to their loved ones. This will personalize schizophrenia, which will transcend the illness from a clinical definition suffered by unknown figures concealed in the shadows of the psychiatric ward, to human beings whose hopes, dreams, aspirations and life were stolen by a disease no different than any other disease.
Sadly, it’s going to be a huge quilt, but the level of awareness raised will be equally as huge. 
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What’s wrong with putting a face ,that someone knows ,to associate with sz. As long as your not an undesirable person , I think all of us are a step up from what people have in their mind prior to meeting someone with sz. Unfortunately we become a lesser person to some people, that’s the price people will pay until the day we don’t hide anymore.
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What kind of work do you do?