Stimitizing Schizophrenics essays

Stimitizing Schizophrenics essays Stigmatizing opinions about mental illness are frequent in the community. People with schizophrenia are stigmatized by opinions that they will be dangerous, unpredictable and hard to talk to. The community gains most of their stigmatizing beliefs about mental illnesses from the media (i.e. movies, news, and newspapers). Few really know what its like to be in the footsteps of a person suffering from schizophrenia. Jane Doe* is a 34 year-old woman who has lived in Chino, California since she was born. For the first 15 years of her life, Jane was as normal as the girl next door. But Janes 16th birthday brought the news that would change her life, forever. Jane was diagnosed with schizophrenia. My parents just wouldnt accept it. They sent me to 100 doctors it seemed. All said the same thing. I had schizophrenia. I didnt fully understand what it was that I had until about a month after I had been diagnosed. Instead of denying the problem like her parents were doing, Jane began to research schizophrenia. She figured that it was a part of her that she needed to get to know, because it was going to be there for the rest of her life, or until a cure was found. Jane found out that symptoms of schizophrenia may appear suddenly, or they may progress gradually. Symptoms are divided into two groups, positive and negative symptoms. Negative symptoms usually occur first and are as follows: Problems with speech or disorganized speech, such as abruptly responding to questions or not being able to respond with enough information (for example, always giving a one-word reply to questions) Inability to experience pleasure, which is very common in schizophrenia. The person can no longer enjoy activities that once brought them pleasure, such as playing golf or visiting with friends. This symptom can be very depressing. Lack of emotion, which can lead to few friends or social contacts. The...