Mental Illness Hurts
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday May 16, 2000
Why people with schizophrenia need your support
Eighteen-year-old Troy has diabetes, a disease caused by an imbalance of chemicals in his pancreas, and needs medication every day to control his illness.
But the disease doesn't prevent him from being like any other 18-year-old, and he enjoys going out and having fun with his friends.
But it's a different story for 18-year-old Lisa. Two years ago she, too, was diagnosed with a disorder caused by a chemical imbalance in one of her organs.
But in Lisa's case, many of her friends avoided her because of her disease.
The difference between these two teenagers is that in Lisa's case the organ affected by a chemical imbalance was her brain.
She has schizophrenia, a disorder which can cause a person's thoughts to become very confused.
They may also have hallucinations - meaning that they hear and see things that aren't there.
Lisa's friends said she was ``weird" or ``possessed" by spirits.
The point of this true story is to show how differently society often treats people with schizophrenia - even though, like diabetes or heart disease, for example, the disorder has a physiological cause.
Although schizophrenia affects one to two per cent of people from all ethnic backgrounds and religions, many people don't understand this disorder.
Yet schizophrenia is treatable and many people who have it are able to live fulfilling lives, to have jobs and to marry and have children.
But, despite this, there are still many myths about schizophrenia.
These myths include ideas that the disorder is a curse from God, or caused by possession by demons. These beliefs are wrong.
It's also untrue that people with schizophrenia have two personalities or have an intellectual disability.
Although people often link schizophrenia with violence, the truth is that people having treatment for schizophrenia are no more violent than anyone else.
A minority of people who aren't receiving appropriate treatment, however, may become violent, especially if they abuse alcohol or other drugs.
Thanks to early diagnosis and treatment, Lisa's schizophrenia is now well controlled with medication.
The drugs used to treat schizophrenia (which aren't addictive) work by correcting the chemical imbalance associated with the disorder, and Lisa rarely has the symptoms which made her friends call her ``crazy".
Because her thinking was confused, some of the things she'd say didn't make sense and sometimes she had strange beliefs - she once thought she was being stalked by people who were going to harm her.
Gradually Lisa's old friends are coming back and she's beginning to have a social life again - and, by spending time with her, her friends now understand more about the disease.
Although there's no cure for schizophrenia, the disease can usually be controlled by treatment, enabling most people to live in the community.
For more information, contact the Schizophrenia Fellowship on (02) 98782053. The Foundation provides support and information for people with schizophrenia and their families.
This article is available in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Italian, Korean, Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. Look up the multicultural health service web site http://mhcs.health.nswgov.au or call 42746233.
Illawarra Target 2000 is a local initiative by a group of organisations to promote healthy lifestyles. The two-year media campaign aims to get the community thinking about preventive health in the lead-up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury