Testimonies

Peoples' experiences and views on ‘schizophrenia’ or similar labels such as ‘psychosis’.

 

Tell us your story If you have been diagnosed with ‘schizophrenia’ tell us your story

 

Like smoke, it fills the room

Alexandra Crawford

Schizophrenia is a complex word structure used by historical figures of psychiatry and fearfully used by people who either, from one extreme, know little or, from the other extreme, are certainly confused by the external symptoms of a person who is using words and word pictures that are too abstract and ambiguous to sense rapport and 'normal' and predictable function.

Psychiatric drugs causing brain dysfunction

A family member

I would like to point out my observation of my son Alex’s medication history over one year which I think is important to understand what happened with Alex. And which has been ignored by all doctors.

First, Alex used ‘Adderall’. As you know, that drug is a brand name of amphetamine salts-based medication used for attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy.

Relationship lost due to ignorance

Anonymous

An ex-boyfriend of mine who is Irish left Ireland and came to live near me in Liverpool. We were both in our early 20s. Before coming to England, he had been a member of the Irish Guards and had been posted to Lebanon for peace work. While there, he witnessed several very distressing incidents, which were not addressed by authorities at the time, or when he returned to Ireland.

Schizophrenia has much to teach us

Anonymous

In 1997 I encountered a man from Italy who had a profound impact on my life and whom I thought was connected telepathically with me. I was 32 at the time. By 1999 I was diagnosed schizophrenic as the voices in my head were taking up much of my waking life and preventing me from functioning productively or parentally (my eldest was taking A levels!).

Media prejudice is reason for changing 'schizophrenia' name

Anonymous

I hope it's not just a lull, but the media onslaught using the term 'schizophrenia' in a prejudicial way, has abated over the last two years. Good! I have not been aware of a sensational headline or Radio 4 news item in that time, neither have I had a Retink media alert for the period. Maybe it's the Time To Change campaign having an effect. But stories using 'schizophrenia' as a code for: 'Next up it's a random stranger killing' have ceased for a while.

A personal viewpoint from India

Sumit Bhattacharya

I am not schizophrenic; I suffer from Borderline Personality disorder. Unfortunately this disease is not recognised very much in India. I was given some mood stabiliser used in Bipolar Disorder, fortunately the mood stabiliser of bipolar are effective on Borderline as well.

This disorder doesn't feel like a disorder initially, you feel that due to bad childhood experiences you are feeling sad & if you talk about it or punish the person you will become better, but talking is never easy, you have to break the ego which is not easy.

Wilful wrongful diagnosis and its aftermath

Christine MacVicar

My son had obvious problems since childhood and was placed in the local mental hospital at 16 for assessment. They could not diagnose him. At 29 he was privately diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and over the next 20 years had a large number of private investigations which reveal genetic detoxification problems and underlying metabolic and immune conditions. We believe he was given mercury in eye drops as an infant and child, but the case notes are missing.

I got lucky, but not everyone will

Jean

I first came into contact with psychiatric services when I was twenty-five. I actually went in as a voluntary patient as I had no idea what the services were like. I had read a few psychology books and I honestly expected the professionals would be empathetic and interested in finding out about my experiences and feelings. I thought there would be lots of therapy and the drugs would be optional.

Diagnosis helped make sense of behaviour

Elizabeth Mort

I would not advocate a change to the label, though I applaud the investigation.

'Schizophrenia', derived from the Greek 'split mind', seems to sum up my experiences rather well. While not split, in the sense of personality, my world has gone through a blender and been spat back out into pieces. Voices from the outside penetrate my brain. My thoughts are no longer just my own. Each number and each flashing light is a code for someone somewhere. The world is in pieces and every piece has meaning spilling out of it.

Crime against humanity

Anonymous

It is a crime against humanity to give a profession of pseudoscientific neo-phrenologists the unlimited right to forcibly rape the brains of any human being in society they choose to label and smear, as with 'schizophrenia' label for the 'crime' of daring to experience extreme states of mind.

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