I did some research to find a list of famous people with schizophrenia. I could hardly believe what I found: the same inaccurate list being recycled in blog post after blog post; including one on the Web MD website. Half the list is made up of early twentieth century female film stars who may not have been schizophrenic at all. It’s not all that long ago that women were placed in mental institutions for behaving in ways that patriarchal society did not agree with. Women have a long history of being oppressed by psychiatry and mental institutions which have been a catch-all place for “difficult” and violent women. Several other people on this list may have experienced episodes of drug induced psychosis which is not schizophrenia. Also, people who have bipolar disorder should not be lumped in with people who have schizophrenia. They are very different mental illnesses.
People with schizophrenia
The chances of becoming famous are pretty low even for people with excellent mental health. It’s uncommon for someone with a schizophrenia diagnosis to live life with stability in the basic areas of work, school, and relationships. Most people with schizophrenia often find it difficult to maintain a consistent grip on reality let alone be especially creative or productive.
People with schizophrenia have a broad spectrum of experiences with the illness . There are a few people with schizophrenia that are able to find long term stability in relationships and in their work. These rare success stories include an incredible amount of support, love, and tolerance from friends and family PLUS the willingness of the person with schizophrenia to accept the fact that they have severe and chronic mental illness. And, people with schizophrenia who are not engaged in the treatment of their disability are at a higher risk of dangerous behavior towards themselves and others.
Helping people with schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is an invisible disability in that it may not be obvious to the onlooker that a person has this mental illness. You may only notice extreme cases, i.e., the unbathed homeless person who talks to herself as she walks the street. Schizophrenia also makes a person invisible in the sense that their very existence often goes unnoticed by society at large. Their illness may drive them to live on the fringes or they may be locked away in jail or long-term care facility. In the short term, it’s easier to dismiss people with mental illness rather than address their needs. It can be difficult for family and friends to even know what to do. And, doing the right thing might cost a lot of money or time. People with schizophrenia can be difficult to treat for several reasons:
- People with schizophrenia stop taking their medications because they don’t like the side effects.
- Life gets better for people with schizophrenia when they get treatment and as a result they may question their diagnosis or think they don’t need their medication as prescribed.
- People with schizophrenia might be paranoid and they see their delusions or hallucinations as totally real. As a result, they do not want the kind of help you are offering–even when the help is coming from family and friends. They don’t think the problem lies within themselves.
- Societal resistance to change and redistribution of resources that would help people who are unable to advocate for themselves.
Take care of yourself first
My mom has schizophrenia. For most of my life, her schizophrenia went untreated. As a kid, I didn’t have the knowledge or power to help her. Even now, as a 51 year old woman, there are limits to how much I can help her due to her unwillingness to accept help or consider alternative viewpoints. One thing I’ve learned is that I am not ultimately responsible for her well being. The best thing I can do to help another person is to take care of myself first. And, taking care of myself means asking for help. One of the things I get help with is the responsibility of caring for a schizophrenic family member. I don’t have to do that alone because I’ve tapped into the community resources that are available for my mom.
But, things had to get pretty bad before she became willing to accept the help she needed. That’s one of the hardest things to accept. And, I don’t have any control over outcomes. I can point her in the right direction and even provide transportation and money on a case-by-case basis but the decision to for her to accept help is up to her.
My ego tells me that I can fix everything and that I am responsible for keeping my mom safe.
But, I’m not.
