The stigma attached with the word Schizophrenia, is to say the least severe. Thanks to much misinformation in the media and public at large it evokes connotations of mass murder and demonic possession. In the latest Batman movie “the Dark Knight” all of the Jokers associates are Schizophrenics, as according to the movie- they are the types he hangs out with.
Not only does it have a bad public image, but along with diagnosis people are often told it has no known cause, no known cure and is a lifetime illness which they will have to be medicated for the rest of their lives, and suffer frequent hospitalisation and enforced treatments.
This as you can well imagine does little to aid the recovery process. A person becomes fearful of the voices, and paranoid of other people finding out. It discourages people from looking for ways of managing and helping themselves, from seeking help at an early stage of their experiences, and does nothing to help them to understand their experiences and to move forward.
At the Hearing Voices Network, we encourage people to see their experiences of hearing voices as a journey not a dead end destination.To look for the meaning in their voices as a better way of understanding their self.
We beleive that the abolition of the Schizophrenic label will encourage others to treat people that hear voices as an individual, who has arrived at their current location as a result of their life experiences. To enable them to be treated with equal dignity by all.
Dr Steven Onken said at the TheMHS conference in Auckland this year.
“If you want to see change, then change what you see.”
Removal of the Schizophrenic label is paramount to this happening. So we can support those with these type of experiences on their healing journey. Empowering voice hearers to take control of their voices and their lives.
A label that gives them an incurable disease with terrible stigma does not do this.
Unadulterated words, some truthful words man. You rocked my day!!
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I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
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I think as a consumer of mental health
the lable that covers twenty different
types needs to be divided into such..
each could be attachted to the different
gentinic markers for different treatment.
if an issue requires
intence thereapy only
plus all different nutrition
herbs etc then that should be done…
if there are hussiciantions
then that is different
genticly from confussion
which is different from
delisions of grandur
which is different etc etc
if it is a large problem
like aids the orfen drugs
and new ones should be speed up
not ten years of
of ofteninadiqute sample testing.
do they even use computer
modles of the brain
do they try other things
than Hydrongen cloride
which seems standard on
alomost all types of drugs
thee has to be more
specificity on this
to match brain types
and i think it is overdue.
thanks kindly
RicH
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I would like to think that we throw out labels altogether and treat a person as an individual who needs some support, help and healing.
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Hi i am a born again Christian and i was once labled skizophrenic and was possesed. I have been set free through Jesus from this. This lable needs to go and people need to know and be educated about the truth about skizo./ and bi polar disease. I would like to be a part of your campaigne, if there is a phone number that i can have to speak with who ever is in charge of this please email me this. Thank you.
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Hi Michael, which country are you in? There are Hearing Voices Networks all over the world? Let me know and I can give you a number to call hopefully.
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schiz. is not a diesease it is strickly demonic possesion not only does this lable need to be removed but drs. need to understand the truth behind this so that those who are possesed can recive real help.
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Gorgeous Stuff! My spouse and i had been only contemplating that there’s too much wrong important info on this theme and you also just simply updated our judgement. Appreciate your sharing a very effective piece of writing.
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It appalls me that we still live in an age when mental health professionals are trying to justify their disgusting and bullying behaviour by hiding behind the DSM and “knowing what’s best for you”. Did you know that Eugene Blueler, the person responsible for the “Schizophrenia” label, had links to Eugenics and the Nazis later on. I think this is quite telling. From my experience, psychiatrists don’t like it when we talk about why we got sick in the first place. I was abused by a serial child molester, but oh, no they wouldn’t have a bar of this, they would do just about anything to change the subject back to me hearing voices, imagining things, not trusting people etc. I’m quite happy to be “treatment resistant” and “lacking in insight”, if one’s idea of insight is denial and sweeping things under the rug, and drugging you up to keep you “treatment compliant”. This kind of language is pretty Orwellian, when you think about it. So I support Paul Hammersly’s CASL campaign thoroughly, and believe you cannot remove stigma attached to a label, without removing the label itself, it does no-one any good. And I think mental health training courses need far more awareness of trauma based theory, and the work of people like Alice Miller and Mike Lew-they only do a wee bit on A+D as well, it’s an abysmal state of affairs given how many people present with either or both of these issues.
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Yes there is such a long way to go. It is time people were treated as the person they are, rather than as a diagnosis.
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I find it amazing that even today health professionals are so ignorant clouded by the single minded things they learnt at uni. IT may be that people are indeed talking behind a persons back, or been bullied.It may be that there are evil spirits.Are they such an expert and know everything there is too know about the universe.Open your eyes and your minds.
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Well, I’m doing my best to remove the stigma. I’m not going to be ashamed of hearing God’s voice. I have a blog at http://www.icanhearvoicesinmyhead.wordpress.com
I’m not trying to change anyone, but this is my experience.
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i have low grade depression and i hallucinated a couple of times and i had some symptoms that crossover in both health issues. i had paranoia and fears and aggressiveness. i used intensive nutritional supplementation and a complete overhaul of my diet to natural whole foods and i feel in excellent health physically and mentally schizophrenia can be healed holistically with love and family support and spirituality as well i know truehope.com can cure schizophrenia as well as the symptoms of mental health issues are the same as nutritional imbalances ps smoking ciggies can make you crazy as it depletes zinc and vitamin c from your brain
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I want to say thank you here to Adrianne at Hearing Voices Aotearoa. She recommended the work of Dr Abram Hoffer- Niacin the real story. Life changing. I care for my son a SZ of around 15 years. On Dr H’s prescription he is rapidly recovering. Get it, read it, do it. Oh an dI would label the condition AH ( adrenochrome hallucinator )
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