Part of the stigma that surrounds mental illness is caused by nothing less than ignorance.  Most people aren’t educated about mental illness because they think it will never happen to them.  Slowly, but surely, this is changing as people realize that one in four families are effected.  Every time I give a presentation to a group of people, from a few to hundreds, I always ask the question, “how many of you in this room know someone who has a mental illness?”  If I had to guess, I would say that it’s almost 90% every time.  I also find during the discussions, that once the barrier is lifted and people feel comfortable talking about it stories that have long been kept private because of stigma are articulated in compelling and often cathartic ways.

One common confusion is that people believe that a psychopath and a person experiencing psychotic symtoms like those suffering from schizophrenia, are one and the same. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Schizophenia is a thought disorder that can cause delusions (psychosis) and psychopathy or sociopathy consists of a certain set of personality traits and behaviors.  Superficially charming, psychopaths tend to make a good first impression on others and often strike observers as remarkably normal. Yet they are self-centered, dishonest and undependable, and at times they engage in irresponsible behavior for no apparent reason other than the sheer fun of it. Largely devoid of guilt, empathy and love, they have casual and callous interpersonal and romantic relationships. Psychopaths routinely offer excuses for their reckless and often outrageous actions, placing blame on others instead. They rarely learn from their mistakes or benefit from negative feedback, and they have difficulty inhibiting their impulses.

Psychotic disorders are characterized by distortions of reality and disturbances of thought and language and can cause withdrawal from social contact.  People with schizophrenia, bi-polar or even acute depression can experience psychosis.  The good thing is, that these mental illnesses are treatable and most can and do achieve mental health recovery.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 1:37 pm and is filed under brain disorders, depression, General Mental Health, Health, mental illness, recovery, schizophrenia, stigma. Tags for this post: bi-polar, brain disorders, delusions, depression, mental illness, psychopathy, recovery, schizophrenia, stigma, therapy, treatment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.