Schizophrenia Awareness

Schizophrenia Awareness
Erica Reynolds
Salt Lake Community College

Schizophrenia Awareness

Everyone will encounter a schizophrenic at some point in their lives, be it a coworker,

customer/patient/patron etc, relative, or a stranger on the street. No matter where it is encountered
people need to understand what schizophrenia is, and how to help a person that is relapsing. It is
important that people understand what it is for the safety of themselves and everyone else in a situation
where a person is having an episode, so schizophrenic people don't feel bad about themselves because
of the stigma around the disorder, and so those not affected aren't needlessly scared or distasteful
toward anyone who is affected.
Before we can discuss the aforementioned reasons awareness is so important we must know
what schizophrenia is and common warning signs of relapse. Schizophrenia: a disorder characterized
by the profound disruption of basic psychological processes; a distorted perception of reality; altered or
blunted emotion; and disturbances in thought, motivation, and behavior. Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T.
Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner, and Matthew K. Nock (2014). The common warning signs of relapse are
insomnia, social withdrawal, deterioration of personal hygiene, increasing paranoia, hostility,
confusing or nonsensical speech, strange disappearances, and hallucinations Melinda Smith, and
Jeanne Segal (2015)
It is important for people to know how to handle a schizophrenic relapse so that if they are ever
in that situation they can help as best as possible and lower the chance that the person will become
violent. there are a few things you should remember when it comes to that situation so that no one gets
hurt and they can get the help they need remember that you cannot reason with acute psychosis,
remember that the person may be terrified by his/her own feelings of loss of control, do not express
irritation or anger, do not shout, do not use sarcasm as a weapon, decrease distractions (turn off the TV,
radio, fluorescent lights that hum, etc.), ask people to leavethe fewer people the better, avoid direct
continuous eye contact, avoid touching the person and, sit down and ask the person to sit down also.
Melinda Smithz, and Jeanne Segal, (2015). Doing these things helps make the situation less frightening
and upsetting for the person which help keep everyone involved safe.

Schizophrenia Awareness

It is well documented that individuals with a severe mental illness such as schizophrenia are
viewed negatively by the general public. These negative reactions have implications for the acceptance
of schizophrenia patients into the community, the behavior of others toward individuals with
schizophrenia, and the behavior and symptoms of individuals with schizophrenia themselves. Thus,
stigmatization may pose significant barriers to both recovery from schizophrenia and full integration
into the community David L. Penn, Samatha Kommana, Maureen Mansfield, and Bruce Q. Link
(1999). Negative stigmatization hurts not just patients with schizophrenia but their families as well.
Such negative perceptions have a number of implications. Specifically, family members of individuals
with a chronic mental illness report that stigmatization lowers the identified patient's self-esteem,
contributes to disrupted family relationships, and adversely affects employability as well as
opportunities for Federal and other financial support. David L. Penn, Kim Guynan, Tamara Dally,
William D. Spauldlng, Calvin P. Garbln, and Mary Sullivan (1994).
When healing from a disease or coping with chronic illness optimism and positive outlook help
greatly. So when a person is trying to cope with schizophrenia and the public fears and dislikes them
because the stigma is that they are to be feared. So while they are trying to manage it but the nurses and
CNAs are scared or discriminatory against them and they are in a negative environment they could
loose hope and give up trying to manage the schizophrenia. If we can change the stigma we can help
patients cope better, get help when they need it and people will not be scared to help them get the help
they need or judge a person based on the fact that they have schizophrenia.
.There are many places we could start raising awareness: school, home, work etc. People need
to know its OK to talk about mental illness, there is no shame in seeking help, there is hope after
diagnosis thats the first step in changing the stigma. To raise awareness at work talk to your superiors
about it if or you are a position to use meetings and such to educate yourself and your team The more
you know the less powerful stigma becomes. By educating yourself and your team about what mental
illness is (and isn't), you can reduce stigma, discrimination, negative stereotypes, and fear in the

Schizophrenia Awareness

workplace. Awareness can help to create a culture of empathy and understanding.

Speak up When you hear someone saying hurtful and/or stigmatizing comments about mental illness
or a person with a mental health condition, share some of the information you've learned that may
counter those negative perceptions. Remember it is important to use respectful language.
Raise awareness If your organization does not have a comprehensive health and wellness program,
you can help raise awareness by starting one. Create workplace policies and programs that promote
physical and mental health, and share helpful resources articles, blogs, local events, support groups
with your co-workers via email, bulletin boards or a company-wide initiative.
Be a leader Start with a commitment to removing stigma. Through open and honest communication
with your co-workers about the importance of your commitment, you'll play an important role in the
battle to end stigma.
Due to stigma, or negative attitudes about a group, and lack of understanding of what mental
illness is, both students and educators are being left in the dark. This lack of clarity can lead students to
feel isolated, misunderstood and even destructive. In order to say its OK to talk about mental illness
we must first remind ourselves that mental illness can affect anyone, is not the result of character,
personal defects, or poor upbringing and are treatable. When we can accurately point out, name and
define mental illness we can have a common vocabulary to talk about it Hakeem Rahi (2015). In Jr
high and high school have an awareness week for mental health and illness so that students know what
different illnesses are and how to take care of their own mental health. At home parents can start by
educating themselves and then talking openly to the rest of their family.
By doing all these things we can start changing the stigma around not just schizophrenia but all
mental illnesses that its scary, getting help is bad and that it is a taboo topic that should never be talked
about.

Schizophrenia Awareness

Bibliography
Dispelling the Stigma of Schizophrenia: What Sort of Information Is Best? by David L. Penn, Kim
Guynan, Tamara Dally, William D. Spauldlng, Calvin P. Garbln, and Mary Sullivan
http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/20/3/567.full.pdf

Dispelling the Stigma of Schizophrenia: II. The Impact of Information on Dangerousness by David L.
Penn, Samatha Kommana, Maureen Mansfield, and Bruce Q. Link
http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/25/3/437.full.pdf

Helping a Person with Schizophrenia by Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D.
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/schizophrenia/helping-a-person-with-schizophrenia.htm

Mental Illness in The Workplace By Shepellfg

http://www.shepellfgi.com/mentalillnessintheworkplace/Removingstigma/EN/89

Three Powerful Messages for Promoting Mental Health Awareness in Every School
By Hakeem Rahim
https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/April-2015/Three-Powerful-Messages-for-PromotingMental-Healt#sthash.6hLvuXwu.dpuf

Psychology by Daniel L. Schacter, Daniel T. Gilbert, Daniel M. Wegner, and Matthew K. Nock