Posted by Liz The bad news : The ugly news : Frustratingly, I find that almost no one is really concerned with facts - everyone has an agenda. Here are some of them: Some people who've been diagnosed want to dispute that mental illnesses even exist so they don't have to take treatment; this despite the fact that others are desperately seeking care for their illnesses so they can resume a productive place in society. I say, stop disputing that the illnesses exist because that just ain't true. But do fight against unecessary or inhumane forced treatment. Psycho-analysts are still pushing the notion that schizophrenia is your own fault, or your mother's fault, or society's fault - it is a good financial move for them; similarly, general practitioners with almost no training in psychiatry are tapping a goldmine by prescribing psychiatric drugs to people who don't need them - also a good financial move. I say, hold psychoanalysts to the same scientific standards as other disciplines - don't allow imaginative "theories of mind" to dictate treatment principles. Also, make it a crime to casually dispense psychiatric medications for minor difficulties - the industry needs to police itself much more carefully. Psychiatrists are committing people who don't need it and shooting them up with haldol, while turning away people who are begging for help in fear their symptoms might cause them to harm someone. I say, every involuntarily committed patient should be met at the hospital by an independent observer and advocate who is trained to fight for good humane treatment when needed, and against treatment that isn't needed. I also say that anyone begging for help with psychosis should not be turned away. The media and tons of famous people are focusing on everyday depression, anxiety, and mild "witness" trauma and calling them "mental illnesses". Give me a break! These are NORMAL experiences not even approaching the cognitive, physical, and perceptual difficulties caused by schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. These red herrings trivialize the real issue and distract us from helping those who really need it. Frankly, if one more successful female celebrity confesses her own depression as a way of becoming a spokesperson for the "mentally ill" I am going to pop! It doesn't help the cause! It just makes people with real illnesses look stupid and weak. I say, focus on clear-cut illnesses that have major negative impact and also have proven treatments. Stay out of the quagmire of minor/short-term life difficulties and vaguely defined illnesses. In summary, let's focus on the facts. Have treatment available for those who need it, use coercion where true danger exists but not where it doesn't, and stop trying to do social engineering through psychiatry or anti-psychiatry.
on August 20, 2002, 1:49 am
The good news :
90% of violent crimes are committed by people who do not have schizophrenia. In fact, people with schizophrenia who are taking medicine for it are far less likely to commit violence than the average person.
While people with schizophrenia make up only 1% of the general population, they account for 10% of violent crime. This means some aspect of being diagnosed with schizophrenia makes a person 10 times more likely to commit a violent crime than the average person. Of course, most of these crimes are linked to concurrent medication non-compliance and/or illicit drug use, so it isn't like anyone need fear the normally-functioning person with schizophrenia who works at the desk next to them.
The very irrationality and outlandishness of certain crimes committed in the midst of medical psychosis garners a lot of undue media attention. This fixes in the public's mind the IGNORANT belief that schizophrenia is related to scores of unpredictable violent acts. The public hears the bad news rather than the good.
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