Mental health and illness are wrongly understood at most times. People think of mental illness as madness which decreases chances of the affected person to recovery. Schizophrenia is a very prominent mental illness that can occur to anyone. Majority of the public has wrong misunderstanding of this term and they try to stay away from people with schizophrenia because they think, they are violent in nature. Likewise, there are many other misconceptions that needs to be understood and interpreted in the correct way in order to help people with schizophrenia. We would also tell you about stereotypes and true facts about this mental illness.
Myths and Facts About Schizophrenia
Fact- Gene can increase risk of schizophrenia
It is true that gene component can increase the risk of schizophrenia. There is a term called ponygenic risk that helps to determine what a person's risk is further different conditions, especially mental illness. Even though there is no particular evidence that confirms this statement, there have been reports that show that clinical treatment of schizophrenia can be dependent on genetic factors.
Myth- People with Schizophrenia have Multiple Personalities
This is certainly one of the biggest lies about schizophrenia. Many people have this misconception that have multiple personalities. People tend to grow wrong conclusion and think someone with schizophrenia has two or more personalities. The disorder of two or multiple personalities is called dissociative identity disorder and not schizophrenia. Both the conditions are very different and has different risk factors as well. Multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder is caused because of trauma.
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Myth- People with schizophrenia are prone to violence
It is not actually true that people with schizophrenia are prone to violence. There is difference in pattern of which they behave that might look more violent than other people. They may seem to have disproportionate number of behavioral issues and could be called out as violent. However, it is only because they are troubled in their mind which increases their irritation levels and makes them more disoriented in general.
Fact- People with schizophrenia have a high risk of suicide
It is a fact that people with schizophrenia have a high risk of suicide. It is estimated that about 10% of people with this condition can die because of suicide. In fact, attempts made for suicide in this mental illness are quite high. There have been incidents where people have heard voices inside them telling them to kill themselves. This can be very risky and person needs to recover it as soon as possible. For this they need external support of their family and friends around them.
Fact- It is common for them to have Delusions
Delusion is also a symptom of schizophrenia. People have false belief and they can put themselves at risk because of this issue. There are persecutory delusion where a person feels watched or followed. In some cases, people also feel the government is after them and they have special information that somebody else might need to obtain. Delusion in schizophrenia leaves a person in great worry and fuss.
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Myth- There is no Effective way to Treat Schizophrenia
So there is no particular treatment that would treat Schizophrenia as such. But there are a number of ways that can be effective ways to cure the condition of schizophrenia and return that person to normal. Treatment and therapies that help a person address the issue and help them in making decisions in their life aid in treating schizophrenia. There are some medicines available that can address psychotic symptoms of somebody with schizophrenia. There is also psychotherapy available for a better evaluation of this mental illness.
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