I think it's poignant to reflect on the fact that you very rarely hear people saying that they are haunted by fears of being depressed, or developing manic depression, or bi-polar disorder or whatever. It's always Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenia. Why ? Because as Janine said, nowadays the word 'Schizophrenia' encapsulates the worst possible outcome of our fears. In medieval times it might have been possession, or the incubus. And it's not suprising really, the fear of Schizophrenia, due to the fact that DP/DR is a psychiatric disorder that makes us see the world 'differently'.
As other posters have said, the reality of Schizophrenia is very different from what non-sufferers imagine, or could possibly imagine. The usual suspects are either 'losing control' or hallucinations. There is a wide spectrum of Schizophrenic disorders, with some that involve 'simple' emotional blunting, to what we would imagine as classic Schizophrenia - someone running down the street, covered in their own faeces, howling at the moon.
I would dispute the fact that Schizophrenia is a pleasant experience. It's not a case of 'ignorance is bliss' at all. Most of the time they are living in a bewildering world of terror, paranoia, loss of thought control, delusions....not nice at all. Sometimes the emotional blunting can cause them to appear like zombies, passive, but that's rarely the case.
One type of Schizophrenia, however, Parasphrenia, or 'late onset Schizophrenia', can sometimes be puzzlingly pleasant. Cases like, for instance, of an 80 year old women who, every evening, hallucinates the figure of her long dead husband. Apart from these nightly visits, which she finds very enjoyable, and comforting, her Parasphrenic symptoms are negligable. I find that odd. Why is Schizophrenia is youth so usually morbidly terrible ?
As other posters have said, the reality of Schizophrenia is very different from what non-sufferers imagine, or could possibly imagine. The usual suspects are either 'losing control' or hallucinations. There is a wide spectrum of Schizophrenic disorders, with some that involve 'simple' emotional blunting, to what we would imagine as classic Schizophrenia - someone running down the street, covered in their own faeces, howling at the moon.
I would dispute the fact that Schizophrenia is a pleasant experience. It's not a case of 'ignorance is bliss' at all. Most of the time they are living in a bewildering world of terror, paranoia, loss of thought control, delusions....not nice at all. Sometimes the emotional blunting can cause them to appear like zombies, passive, but that's rarely the case.
One type of Schizophrenia, however, Parasphrenia, or 'late onset Schizophrenia', can sometimes be puzzlingly pleasant. Cases like, for instance, of an 80 year old women who, every evening, hallucinates the figure of her long dead husband. Apart from these nightly visits, which she finds very enjoyable, and comforting, her Parasphrenic symptoms are negligable. I find that odd. Why is Schizophrenia is youth so usually morbidly terrible ?
