There wouldn’t be this d*mn stigma for this illness if there were just better treatments for it. Treatments that actually tackle the cognitive symptoms and the negative symptoms. I have a feeling that in a max of 20 years there will be treatments that actually treat the cognition of this illness. I guess in my opinion the only way to get rid of the stigma is to actually cure the illness. (or better treat it).
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Yep I think so too.
Yeah. Better treatments would really help.
There is always some sort of stigma. You’d just be able to better notice the other types if you weren’t bogged down with SZ.
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I think Elyn Sacs helps the stigma a little bit.
Idk, when I first started showing symptoms in my prodome, but was still very functional, people still treated me fairly. It was because my social cognition was still intact, so I was able to hide my other symptoms pretty well. Now whenever I go out into public I look like a mess because I can’t read social cues, and I’m just out of it.
I couldn’t most of my life and got tired of the problems it caused. I made a point of learning how to read other people. This is still possible for you.
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I guess I’ll try to learn again. It just seems I’m cognitively slower than I used to be, and feel like it’s a dead give away. But you might be right.
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I think there needs to be a high functioning sz person, and the public eye can get to know them, and what there are like on a personal level…and that will help the stigma. Some famous person with sz.
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It just takes practice. We have a bad habit of beating ourselves up so much that it becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s still lots of awesome left in you.
I feel the same. You just gotta keep plugging away at it. You may never be how you once were but it doesn’t mean you won’t do great things 
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There’s already that ted talk lady (forget her name) that has a good reputation for being a high functioning schizophrenic. Unfortunately she represents a minority of us. It’s all fun to see a high functioning sz represent for us, but I think the general public knows she is an anomaly. I think she does help the stigma a fair bit though for people who are less ignorant. The stigma I’m talking about though is the stigma where people don’t know you have sz, but know something is wrong with you because of cognitive symptoms/ negative symptoms.
ok I’ll give it a try. Any advice on how to practice though?
I think CBD would work for me. Probably be about 100 years till there’s a reasonable cure.
Dang, 100 years? At least that’s probably more realistic than most of our expectations when there will be better meds. I kinda like the idea of just giving up hope.
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I think one of the biggest contributors to stigma is the common issue of a patient refusing meds because they refuse to believe they are ill.
If everyone who had this condition agreed to medication and took it regularly, it would drastically cut down on the amount of schizophrenics people view as “dangerous.” Unfortunately though it’s just another symptom of the illness.
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that could be part of it
I even see stigma between schizophrenics here on the forum. I have severe negative symptoms and ppl even here hate that, I often get called lazy and get blamed for my symptoms.
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Well that’s just stupid. I mean I stigmatize myself, but that’s because I see myself how society see us schizophrenics, which tends not to be so positive. But I’ve mostly overcome that stigma by just not giving a ****.
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Anti-media rant (again) there would be far less stigma if the media would cease it’s horrific depictions of people with MI, and sz/sza in particular. Apparently we’re raving mad killers with multiple personalities and/or total wallowing basket cases that there will never be help for. Or (insert your media fantasy here). Another reason I eschew media.
Also: there wouldn’t be Stigma if Agnostic Front broke up (in-joke, Vinnie Stigma is their guitar player )