For most of us, schizophrenia is just a word used to describe characters in books or movies. But there are those who have to live with it.
1. Schizophrenia occurs in an average of 0.5-1% of people. This is much more common than many serious illnesses feared by most people.
2.If one parent has schizophrenia, it can be passed on to a child with a likelihood of 25%. Nature has the final say.
3. Researchers studying the life paths of the world's greats point out that clear signs of schizophrenia were found in Gogol, Joyce, Van Gogh, Vrubel... As they say, the list goes on... We're not assessing the contribution of schizophrenia to the talent of each of them, but the fact is clear: schizophrenia and huge potential - creative, intellectual, labor - are entirely compatible.
4. Auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia cannot be distinguished from reality. In particular, so-called "echo voices" are possible - any word or sentence said by the patient or someone else can "get stuck" in their ears for hours.
5. There are much fewer violent individuals among schizophrenics than among ordinary citizens, so schizophrenia and aggression are by no means synonymous.
6. Schizophrenia cannot be cured. Medical intervention comes down to constantly taking medications that keep the condition "within bounds".
7. Schizophrenia is incurable also because its causes have not yet been established. It is known that the symptoms arise as a result of disturbances in the exchange of neurotransmitters. Much else is also known, but far from everything.
8. Schizophrenics are resilient to various types of shock: temperature, pain, histamine, and... radiation!
9. Among all persons who are subject to serious legal responsibility, those with mental disorders account for about 3%. The remaining 97%, so to speak, are perfectly healthy. Generally, as already mentioned, people with schizophrenia are quite calm.
10. The myth that people with schizophrenia do not feel emotions. This may seem so because people with this diagnosis usually find it difficult to express their feelings, although inside they may be "boiling and bubbling." On the other hand, schizophrenics may indeed exhibit emotional disturbances such as seemingly excessive emotional inadequacy, coldness, apathy, and so on.
