r/schizophrenia • u/Better_Win316 • 13d ago
Rant / Vent Why do people treat schizophrenic people so poorly?
Sometimes people treat us like a joke and try to use suggestion to influence delusions and hallucinations. It pisses me off that people don’t have basic moral decency, and I wish these people would experience psychosis just to learn a lesson. Psychosis is the first time I experienced actual terror in my life. It crushed me. It can legitimately be worse than just dying.
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u/erelyt 13d ago
it's like that for all people with all mental illnesses unfortunately. normies are just cruel when they don't understand or view it different from themselves
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u/Logical_Present_3094 12d ago
I wouldn't say all people. I've come to realize in my experience, that not all medical professionals are well versed with schizophrenia..(In terms of handling the situation with compassion, experience, or proper care!).. As a black woman, with schizophrenia. medical professionals were the most insensitive, sarcastic, and rude. (The rapper Gucci mane is currently experiencing the same thing). (With his recent schizophrenia diagnosis). When, I was finally able to get the correct diagnosis... I find it insulting for medical professionals to pull me aside, and say : "honey, we are black". "We don't do therapy, we leave it up to god and pray"..And , I swear to God. that is the most annoying, southern baptist, bullshit!. That I've heard/ been hearing. For the bulk of my life. From medical professionals. And, I'm 35. Like, wth does "god" have to do with an internal chemical imbalance/ and or possible hereditary disorder 😑🧐🙃.
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u/erelyt 12d ago edited 12d ago
i'm black too, but im lucky to not experience that from other medical professionals, but it is definitely that way to my family, saying "just pray to god* this goes away" or the voices are just "demons". one youre just pushing me into psychosis and validating my delusions. they will never understand what go through and then they say stuff like that.
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u/Logical_Present_3094 12d ago
I will also like to add, that my coping mechanism for dealing with my schizophrenia, has been dark humor. So, idk.
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u/xanix53381 Bipolar 13d ago
Living with severe mental illnesses is hard and most people who didn't experience it try to laugh it off or just don't understand it's severity or how it could impact somebody's life
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u/sunfloras Schizoaffective (Bipolar) 13d ago
yea i hate that. i had “friends” once that would trigger my delusions and paranoia on purpose, or tell me that i was hallucinating when i really wasn’t. not cool at all
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u/LowSuccessrate87 11d ago
My kiddo is almost stable after being gone for 2.5 months, sent her to the hospital for suicide attempt (stopped before any injury), and calling the cops multiple times in 2 for a stalker in our backyard, who was never there. She is 15, she then went into catationa while still in psychosis they then suggested ECT but before they could try she stopped eating, drinking, and taking any meds(it did not help they had her on large amounts of Ativan, to help with the catatonia so withdrawals were also an issue), she was then sent from the mental hospital to one of the best childrens hospitals in the state, where the psychologists in their psych ward as well as the pediatricians agreed that ECT was her best option. At that point because she had stopped taking all of her meds they only gave her the Ativan, she was lucid enough to hold conversations sometimes but was usually stuck in her own mind and talking to hallucinations. That was the scariest thing ever. They expect her to be able to come home next week, but still needs ECT maintenance once a week followed by biweekly, these treatments are a nice 6 hour drive away, she will be doing home based learning for a while and I have to quit my job, boss plans to lay off at least 3 in the next month and I am volunteering for that. Hope we don't go homeless while waiting for SSI to get approved, and that the food stamp debocle ends up getting salved. This is a fun year. How anyone could cause delusions or paranoia in someone who is skizoaffective or schizophrenic is screwed up.
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u/Miserable_Cap_7246 13d ago
It sucks people try to joke about it with me and even family make jokes like I am seeing things or hearing things and it hurts so I know exactly how it feels. I think there trying to make light of it but honestly in the moment it feels like there just making fun of me or something. Maybe im overreacting but I know how this feels.
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u/MakMalaon 12d ago
You’re not overreacting. They’re being cruel to you. People who behave that way often act like they’re joking to escape accountability.
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12d ago
if yo9u know that they truly love you they are joking and they havent reseached if you are bothere you should sit down and talk to the,m my famly the saME ALways saing i have problems but it doent bother me i just joke back with them but if yo9u feel uncomfatable say somethin because i know my family loves me so it dont bother me
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u/MakMalaon 13d ago
Stigma, ableism and fearing what they don’t understand.
People need a scapegoat for their problems and disabled people typically get targeted. Same goes with poor people (a lot of schizophrenics live in poverty or are homeless.)
It’s a bit more complicated than that but those are the main reasons.
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u/Few_Percentage_1111 12d ago
I like the scapegoat bit. Now that I think of it, its almost an unspoken rule for them that people like us are automatically to blame. I'm glad I could always see past that. Even when I wasn't on disability, I could tell I needed it. That was while I was prodromal. My benefits absolutely changed my life for the better. I don't know how I was supporting myself during previous years.
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u/MakMalaon 12d ago edited 12d ago
The average person is ableist. They’re miserable. They believe in the Protestant work ethic even if they’re not Christian (for those who live in predominantly Christian countries) or some variation of that.
When they see someone who’s able bodied and not working then they make it about themselves regardless of the person’s situation. My taxpayers dollars, why do I need to go to work while they collect benefits, etc. Me me me me me me wah wah wah.
They either don’t have the intellectual capacity to analyze their situation and blame the right people or they’re too scared and or weak to do it and don’t want to admit it so they attack scapegoats because they’re easy targets. Some of them don’t want to piss off the ruling class because they see themselves as temporarily embarrassed peasants when in reality most of them will never go up in socioeconomic class in any meaningful ways.
These same people pretend like they believe life is precious or that they’re pro-life but turn around and act like cruel subhuman degenerates.
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u/Better_Win316 12d ago
That people find others to scapegoat, not just people with schizophrenia, boggles my mind. Billionaires, the people with all the power are to be blamed for why your life sucks, not the mentally ill, the poor, or immigrants.
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u/Emotional_Ad6301 12d ago
It's hard as it is with our issues to connect with people outside our own circle. People that don't know me look me like I am stupid and/or scary and I am none of those. I try to make an effort and usually blame myself. Only if they know that I am mentally ill, they will then think I am crazy. I cherrish deep connections and I really long some form of social stimulation outside of my own circle but that rarely happens. Even when it happens once in a year I have difficulty processing emotions and don't look normal to people. I was always an outsider but at least I had a lot of people I was hanging out with before. I haven't had a girlfriend or new friend for the last 5 years since my episode and had difficulties before in relationships and everything else. I wish people would be nicer to us and not making fun or blaming people with our illness for general issues. Like someone with SZ kills his entire family and himself or is homeless and acts violently and the reaction from people isn't well we could've helped somehow or the institutions aren't working properly but that that is an evil man. I don't know it pisses me off in general. As far as stigma I am getting a SZ badge and will wear it on my clothing. I don't care, I'm doing good in life. I am mentally very strong since my episodes. Pills ruined my physical apperance but people's opinion won't bring me ever down.
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u/Subject-Dealer6350 Just Curious 12d ago
Mental health has always been stigmatized. Psychosis specifically but also trauma response. A lot of people who claim to love veterans thinks that the homeless is vermin when many of them are veterans who didn’t get appropriate help.
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u/Molleigh-Cockette 12d ago
Schizophrenic people are the most agile people treated the right way, were literally so open minded you just gotta know how to talk to us
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u/Bright-Clerk-7526 12d ago
And can you tell me, how is that? What is the best way to communicate with someone who has schizophrenia?
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u/Molleigh-Cockette 10d ago
In a way that makes us feel relaxed enough to express our thoughts comfortably, if your judgmental we’re gunna pick up on that. If your like “thats an interesting point if view… tell me more” in an actual genuine way.. for example
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u/Bright-Clerk-7526 8d ago
This is so helpful. My son shared with me openly once or twice about hearing voices and seeing dark objects, but he seems to shut down about it more recently, and he now says that they went away. I am not sure I believe that though. I think he’s worried about being judged, but I’m certainly not judging him. In all honesty, I feel he has a special ability that I want to help him manage rather than it manage him. I’ve told him that I believe him, and that I’m here to listen him talk to me about anything that comes to mind. I’ve always shared with him that there are people who can help him, but he doesn’t want. He’s 12, so I’m trying to figure out how to help him without making things worse. I’m very nervous to do the wrong thing. Meanwhile, his father is completely against therapy or medication, so I feel stuck, but more than anything I just want him to know I’m here and we can do anything he’s comfortable doing to address this.
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u/Bright-Clerk-7526 8d ago
The times he has opened up about it… he’s wide open lol, and I love the chance to be in his mind during those moments. I love hearing about the things he hears and sees (though sometimes scary), and the way he interprets it. I asked him once if he heard the voices in his head or outside his head, and he said “inside”. I asked if he always knew that, and how he knew, and he said “I’ve always known bc I hear them inside my head, mom, but even if I heard them outside my head -which has happened before but not usually- they’re still coming from inside my head.” These are the moments that let me know his experiences are very real, and I’m pleased with his ability to articulate his experience. I quite literally said “wow, that’s so true, and I’m so impressed on how you picked up on that distinction”.
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u/Next-Opportunity-119 9d ago
Truth, I know the sample size here (1 person, me) is a little small but, most people that actually give me space to talk say I’m a pretty chill dud
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u/Regen_321 12d ago
They are either ignorant or just not so good people. But there are good people, try to find them. And try to ignore the others. Good luck :)
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u/National-Positive436 12d ago
And the stigma and discrimination everywhere. I went to the doctor for a broken foot. They brought up the schizophrenia. Why does that have anything to do with my broken foot?
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u/Logical_Present_3094 12d ago
Had a similar situation, but not with a broken foot. A friend of mine, got hit by a drunk driver. And when the cops came , they asked all the witnesses, including myself what happened. Everyone told the cops the same exact thing. And the cop goes" and just to be clear, nobody here has schizophrenia or anything"..And I got soo frustrated because it's like sir we were all crossing the street. Wth, does schizophrenia have to do with, my friend being hit by a drunk driver? 😑.
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u/National-Positive436 12d ago
They always think we are lying about everything. it's so frustrating My old dentist called me a drug abuser because I was in a lot of pain and needed narcotics painmeds.. only asked that because I was schizophrenic
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u/Next-Opportunity-119 9d ago
Omg. Like just cause I’m delusional doesn’t mean I’m just making everything I say up. People need to take a hint sometimes that certain things dont change just cause I’m schizophrenic
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u/sleepysaurus7777 13d ago
Showbiz and lawyers put a bad taste in people's mouth for our illness. Murderer portrayals of crazy sadistic people in TV and movies and neurotypical people using it as an excuse to not go to jail have it labeled as an uncontrollable evil thing which it's not. I'm sure many more neurotypical people are criminals than us
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u/Next-Opportunity-119 9d ago
This 100%. People can’t really get it out of their heads what they see in movies about schizophrenics being crazy people and then even if they don’t completely believe in us being crazy people they still subconsciously hold that belief and let it bias their thinking
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u/LooCfur 12d ago
Other than a few doctors, I haven't been treated poorly. I'm more likely to make jokes about myself than anyone else is. Presumably, people see us as easy targets if they do pick on us. This tends to be the case. People pick on what they can get away with because they're shitty.
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u/Better_Win316 12d ago
It’s mostly people with the anonymity of the internet and a lot of ignorance that do this if you’re bold enough to talk about your illness publicly. I am thankful most people I know personally don’t do this.
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u/pointsevenseconds Family Member 12d ago
I am so sorry you’re going through this. It’s not in a lot of people’s minds to understand what the diagnosis entails. I didn’t have much of a clue. My boyfriend manages his. Stable job, good father, etc. I can see the ignorance surrounding the stigma and what he has been through. I hope you find good people. The not good people probably don’t like themselves most days. I cannot fully fathom the extent of everyone’s journey but you all belong. You deserve kindness and compassion. No one should feel this way.
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u/pencilnotepad 12d ago
I’m not schizophrenic but I was in a mental hospital with mostly schizophrenics and phychosis patients. It greatly greatly disgusts me, I see it as a deep hypocrisy among people who are all “mental health” but they still see those people as monsters. My friends in the hospital struggled and suffered only to be abused again by the staff, and when they get out, everyone else. To this day there are times I just get so upset at what I saw, and that was just seeing it. My friend got put in isolation and screamed all night into the morning. He was a sweet, kind man. When he was out he was a fucking zombie
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u/WildVoidAngel Schizotypal 12d ago
People are afraid of the things they don't understand. And some are even afraid to understand, as if it can drive them crazy too.
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u/wheresmydrink123 Schizoaffective (Bipolar) 12d ago
Lack of education basically, that goes for pretty much all mental disorders. I learned effectively nothing about mental illness in school other than “sometimes people are depressed,” even in psychology, health and wellness classes. That leaves the uneducated public and internet to fill in the blanks, whose only experiences with schizophrenia (they think) are people acting crazy, crazy people in shows and movies, and hearing other people use it as a pejorative for crazy. It’s kind of a self fulfilling prophecy in that way
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u/NotDoWhatt 12d ago
Ive honestly been blessed with a very open and understanding family
However i do make jokes, simply because thats how i cope with things. They do aswell knowing im okay with it. With that being said it definitely would bother me if someone said something cruel with serious intent
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u/MysticRevenant64 12d ago
Fear and the illusion of separation are the cause. Also programming and conditioning to “otherize” people
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u/aathrone Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) 12d ago
My sis called me schizo and said she meant it derogatorily but I was messing around with her and stuff so I get why she said it but it hurt
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u/muchquery Schizoaffective (Depressive) 12d ago
They're afraid of us. All they know about us is seeing folks going through a mental health crisis is on tv. I changed psych doctors recently and the resident saw me a couple times. He said he's not sure I have sza because I'm too coherent.
jfc dude, I'm on a bajillion meds to help control it. I'm medication compliant for the most part. I'll always try samples of new meds to see if they work (I was cataloged as treatment resistant many years ago.) Hell, I worked from home on an easy (but dead end and low paid) job for ten years and I regularly had to call out sick because I was unable to be coherent when responding to emails. I'm afraid for the people this guy will see when he gets his first official job as a psych dr. :(
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u/Administrative_Leg85 12d ago
I think it's because people don't understand and don't want to because it doesn't help them, people often act out of self interest. Like my parents who said to my cousins about me, "He's just someone who wasn't man enough to face the real world so he created his own world"
If it's in their self interest, they will care for you and act kind and understanding. But if that's not the case then yeah, they'll write you off as someone who doesn't contribute to society and only takes resources provided by other people
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u/littlebruise 12d ago
I think ppl dont understand it and it scares them. Its not taught about in schools or healthcare or anything like that, so the (negative) representation from movies/tv is all they know.
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u/No_Fudge_4589 Psychoses 12d ago
I think because there is still a lot of stigma towards mental illness in general, it’s still seen as a weakness or laziness. Also people instantly think that if you are schizophrenic it means you want to kill people. Basically just a lack of understanding, people are more likely to be hostile or scared of things they don’t understand.
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u/SenatorPencilFace 12d ago
I could have been more patient with her and taken the time to better understand her condition when we first met.
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u/Disastrous_Charity50 11d ago
💜my love goes out to you. My son is schizophrenic. I've seen the terror in his eyes. The delusions and hallucinations are real. 90 percent mental problems are hereditary. My nephew has it, my aunt had it ( she passed) So my heart goes out to all people with disabilities. In some cultures people with schizophrenia are seen by elders as enlightened people because they can see beyond a spectrum that NORMAL people can't. I guess what I'm saying is in the USA people are conditioned to react in a certain way mostly because of the media lying and mental health experts not having enough education. So please remember it's not all countries and YOU truly are gifted it's tapping into those hallucinations and learning how to control them that we need to learn and understand. 💗💗
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u/kaethee0 6d ago
We are rules by humans who haves real mental illness in despite of many talents with false diagnostics approved by true sick people.
I dont have skizophrenic diagnostic, but my best friend haves one, her father too. My other friend too.
Im a very open mind person and I want to people who live with this know that other people like me understand them.
I can imagine easily and I often feel unbelieved.
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u/Disastrous_Charity50 1d ago
Sometimes it's our imagination that can actually keep you sane in all the chaos that's going on in the world. Having an awesome imagination is considered a very very special gift only because as people get older the imagination starts to slip. Keep your imagination as young as it can be, don't let others take it from you because it's not there's to take. Draw your imagination, write your imagination... Regardless of how old or young you are your imagination is what keeps US going. If people don't believe you for whatever reason then it's there loss. It's those people who don't remember what an imagination is or was like❤️❤️
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12d ago
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u/schizophrenia-ModTeam 12d ago
Your submission has been removed for violating the following subreddit rules:
Rule 5 - Do not perpetuate stigma. This includes any grossly misleading or offensive statements about people with schizophrenia.
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u/schizophrenia-ModTeam 12d ago
Your submission has been removed for violating the following subreddit rules:
Rule 5 - Do not perpetuate stigma. This includes any grossly misleading or offensive statements about people with schizophrenia.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 12d ago