User talk:DishareeGangulee

Society and Schizophrenia

Often times Schizophrenia goes undiagnosed for long periods of time. It causes rifts in the most important relationships in a persons life and tneds to destroy your professional and social lives if left undiagnosed and untreated. This is most what everyone knows but what a lot of people dont know is the frustration and challenges in takes to get to the point of being diagnosed because it is a very tricky and sneaky mental disease. In an autobiographical novel Susannah Callahan digs deep into the story of her struggle with schizophrenia. The changes were daily and suttle, it snuck up on her and neither her or her family saw it coming. She had to give up her job and her home, the place she treasured most in the world. She lost trust in her family and her family lost comfort in her. The most frustrating part of this was that her neurologist was convinced and very adamant in the idea that it wasnt a mental disease rather she partied too much and had a very demanding job. She was an "alcoholic" and was experiencing withdrawals. Her scans all came back clean and hospitals turned her away to make patients that "really needed help." This mentla illnesses is one that gets looked past so often because human nature is so quick to call someone crazy or dramatic. In her book "Brain of Fire" Callahan describes blackingout many times and hearing about the things she did or even expereincing the things that she was doing and just not understanding what was happening. she experienced several out of body experiences and no one believed her. They thought she was simply crazy or stressed out. I feel like this is a call to action. We need more of a focus on this mental illness and we need to bring awareness to it. My friend that i graduated highschool with was just diagnosed with schizophrenia. He had to leave college and come back home because it was unbearable. He was the kid in school everyone thought was too emotional and crazy. If we treated him with more care and understanding he could have gotten help sooner.