Self-Help for Schizophrenics

Posted on July 23, 2014

Photo: flickr

In spite of the existence of stigma, the first crucial step in dealing with schizophrenia is acceptance by that individual that he or she has a mental illness.

This acceptance will allow him to deal more effectively with his life and move on with a lifestyle that is perhaps different from that of an ordinary person. Acceptance of one's mental illness and the life task modifications that are involved in existing as a schizophrenic in the world are essential to dealing with schizophrenia with a modicum of success. Noteworthy is the fact that denial of having a mental illness is likely to be a significant step toward delusional thinking, and acceptance of having a mental illness is a step toward sanity.

At this point, it's worth addressing the fact that there has been a fair amount of criticism directed at me for labeling and pathologizing those who have perceptual differences in the articles I've written so far for this website. Much of this criticism has described my articles as "reductionistic" and "stigmatizing". By no means do I intend to denigrate schizophrenics or those with perceptual differences. Rather, these articles represent efforts to illuminate schizophrenia, and they have been intended to help the individuals suffering from the condition of schizophrenia.

Many of the suggested treatments for mental illness have reflected traditional approaches. But I believe in the importance of self-help. This article is intended to offer helpful advice, not only to schizophrenics, but to their treatment providers, as well.

Although not usually construed as a self-help related behavior, taking one's prescribed medication is also an important aspect of self-help. Medication has been empirically studied from the perspective of science, amounting to predicting and controlling behavior by means of medication. There are a multitude of very reliable studies that have been done, equating with the efficacy of medication in treating schizophrenia and myriad other diagnosed conditions, such as depressive, anxiety and bipolar disorders.

Often schizophrenics wax delusional in that they feel that taking medication makes them mentally ill, or that stopping their medication will make them sane, or that taking medication is synonymous with being mentally ill, and they should throw their pills away. They may discontinue taking their prescribed medications as a direct result of their delusional stance, or they may discontinue their medication use simply because they do not like the side-effects of medications.

To read the full post, please click on the link below.


Category(s):Schizophrenia

Source material from Brain Blogger