The Faces Of Mental Health: Schizophrenia

It's schizophrenia awareness day! Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder. People with the disorder may hear voices other people don't hear. They may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This can terrify people with the illness and make them withdrawn or extremely agitated.

As Memorial Day approaches, it's important to mention that many of our veterans who return home suffer from schizophrenia. Often times they are afraid to even mention that they have a mental illness, in fear of not being accepted back by friends or being viewed as "changed". They struggle internally with the stigma and coping with how and why they can't overcome it, after learning how to be "Army Strong". 

The case of Jason Jepson is no different: "I was hearing voices in my head, and I thought I had special powers that allowed me to use my telepathy to talk back. Looking back, my illness really broke out after I experienced hazing. I was duct-taped. Sometimes people didn't believe that I was experiencing hazing, because I have schizophrenia, but I assure you I did. I was 23 years old, and I was later honorably discharged".

 So you can understand how having schizophrenia made people believe he wasn't being hazed.

The hardest part for Jason is managing his symptoms and having the confidence to trust others once he tells them what he suffers from: "Everyone has issues. Schizophrenia, however, is a full-time job and a marriage at the same time. It dominates your time and can be very stressful. And dealing with the stigma is hard. I have to really know someone before I tell them I have schizophrenia. I think most people see those living with schizophrenia as dangerous (like, for instance, a serial killer) or deranged".

Can a Disability Be Redefined as a Super Ability?

Two articles have recently brought the assumption that a mental illness or disability has a negative impact on someone's future under the gun.

In the New York Times, Blake Charlton talks about battling and living with dyslexia, then wonders whether the condition makes him more creative than most? There are some who argue that it does, that the wiring in a brain that causes a person to have difficulty deciphering letters into words may also increase creative thinking. Instead of succeeding despite dyslexia, are people succeeding because of it? 

The author then brings up the idea of diagnoses, a timely topic given the release of DSM-5 this month. Should the definition of dyslexia be altered? Should those affected by it be part of the conversation about what it is and how it is diagnosed? “Traditionally, a diagnosis is something devised by distant experts and imposed on the patient. But I believe we must change our understanding of what role we should play in defining our own diagnoses.”

In Forbes, Cheryl Conner dissects different diagnoses and offers CEOs and high-level Executives who are living with and thriving while dealing with said disorder. So again the question arises as to whether these people have thrived despite--or because of--their diagnosis. Are they forthright about it or do they hide away from the stigma that is attached when people admit to having a mental health disorder?

So are all diagnoses disabilities? Should patients be involved in the process of creating a diagnosis? And how should someone with a diagnosis deal with moving forward and understand what new abilities such a “disability” could portend.

Mental Illness....All Grown Up

This past week, the CDC released a report on the number of children diagnosed with a mental illness. The results were startling, to say the least. The report, serving as the first its kind revealed that one in five children suffer from some sort of mental illness.

Children growing up with a mental illness, are forced to face adulthood with these issues. Yahoo has run an excellent post, detailing the “faces of mental illness”. The article features Americans who are diagnosed with some of the most common mental illnesses and how it affects their lives. One is featured here:

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Deb Cooper has been in counseling for avoidant personality disorder for 33 years. Avoidant personality disorder is a mental health condition in which a person has a lifelong pattern of feeling very shy, inadequate, and sensitive to rejection.

Going anywhere or doing anything that involves interaction with other people is a struggle: “Even though I have been in counseling for 33 years, it was the last three years that proved to be most effective. Still, each morning is a struggle. I wake up debating if I need to go to the store, and I usually put the trip off if I can. The fear of being disliked or unwanted is so overwhelming that I'd rather be alone. My daily life involves watching TV or being on the internet. Neither of them involves personal interaction".


More children diagnosed with mental illness means more will have to deal with their condition into adulthood. It's important to help them realize that if they manage their symptoms and get the help they need, they don't have to stop living their lives.

Curious About Mental Health? Take Our Quiz

With all the talk (and heated debate) about the new DSM-V which is set to debut any moment and (intentionally or coincidentally) coincides with National Mental Health Awareness Month we wanted to see how much you know about mental health. Not so much whether or not X will still be categorized as a Y but facts such as, 1 in 17 Americans live with a serious mental illness or that although women experience serious mental illness at roughly twice the rate of men, they are 50% less likely to seek treatment.

Here are 7 multiple choice questions we'd like for you to answer. It's not about being right or wrong but in honor of the month we want to bring awareness to how deeply society is affected by mental illness. Rather than squabble over how to diagnose and relegating those with mental disorders to a box let's not lose focus on the why and the how. Examining issues surrounding why women are less likely to seek treatment and how we can all be better served by a more enlightened crowd are just as important to discuss.

Approximately, how many adult Americans are affected by a mental disorder?

• 3.9 million
• 61.2 million
• 750,000

1 in ____ children has had a seriously debilitating mental disorder

• 10
• 7
• 5

6.7% of American adults are affected by a major depressive disorder. About how many people does that equal to?

• 976,000
• 6.8 million
• 15.7 million

The nation's community behavioral health organization employs more than 250,000 people who care for _______ adults and children with mental and addiction disorders?

• 8 million
• 528,000
• 2 million

The average age of a mental illness diagnosis for a teenager with schizophrenia is:

• 16-19 years-old in men
• 13-15 years-old in women
• 16-19 years-old in women

What percentage of Americans receive treatment for a mental disorder?

• 79.2%
• 41.1%
• 54%

Approximately how many people have experienced some type of traumatic event at least ONCE in their lives?

• 71 million
• 167.5 million
• 223.4 million

Interested in discovering where this information came from? Don't worry you can find the answers by checking out our Pinterest page.

Mental Health Stigma Pinterest Board

We'd like to give you a sample of our "Mental Health Stigma-Lets End It" Pinterest board. Its packed with  factoids and infographs about all things mental illness and how to fight the stigma!

Walk a Mile in Another Parent's Shoes

The take-away from the Mikaela Lynch tragedy? We as a society are too quick to judge, too quick pronounce that someone did it wrong. As the National Autism Association blogged, the wrong questions are being asked. Instead of trying to understand the common behaviors of a child with autism (a fascination with water, a propensity to wander, a dislike for certain sensation on skin), we are quick to question why the parents took their eyes off their child.

Talk to any parent--whether of a typically developing child or an atypical one--and see how easy it is to move your eyes away for just a minute and POOF!

So before you judge, before you cast that first stone, take a breath. Think about the challenges in your own world and imagine someone else's. Perhaps you could offer sympathy and a helping hand instead of judgment and rancor.