25th July 2022 is National Schizophrenia Awareness Day. Hosted by Rethink Mental Illness, the day aims to shine a light on the challenges individuals living with a schizophrenia diagnosis face.
A schizophrenia diagnosis is usually confirmed by a psychiatrist or specialist nurse rather than by a GP and can usually be diagnosed if an individual has experienced one or more of the following symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, hearing voices, or negative symptoms (for example, flattening emotions), for one month or more, and these symptoms are causing significant disruption to their day to day life.
Read more about a schizophrenia diagnosis, including symptoms, causes, and treatment options.
Read more on supporting a loved one with a schizophrenia diagnosis.
National Schizophrenia Awareness Day was created by Rethink Mental Illness, a mental health charity that was founded over 50 years ago by a group of individuals who were looking after a loved one with a schizophrenia diagnosis. They came together in 1970 after journalist John Pringle wrote an article in The Times about his son’s experience of living with schizophrenia. The group decided to launch the charity to tackle common misconceptions, challenge stigma, and offer advice and support to others.
National Schizophrenia Awareness Day occurs annually, and the aim of the day is to share the everyday challenges faced by individuals living with a schizophrenia diagnosis, as well as tackling the stigma that is still associated with the illness.
Rethink Mental Illness believe that a lot of the stigma surrounding schizophrenia is due to a lack of understanding of the condition, and are working to tackle this through sharing accurate facts and information about schizophrenia, as well as sharing the lived experiences of individuals with a schizophrenia diagnosis.
The Rethink Mental Illness Lived Experience Network is a platform that allows individuals living with any mental health diagnosis, not just schizophrenia, to share their experiences. The information provided is used to guide Rethink Mental Illness campaigns, and shape the advice and services offered.
This lack of understanding likely stems from the way schizophrenia is portrayed in the media – on tv, in films and on the news.
An analysis conducted in 2012 by Patricia R. Owen Ph.D looked at the portrayal of schizophrenia in English-language films released between 1990 and 2010.
42 characters portrayed with schizophrenia were identified from 41 films:
Overall, the findings show that the portrayal of schizophrenia is often negative and reinforces stereotypes, in particular the common misconception that individuals with schizophrenia are dangerous, violent and unpredictable.
Another analysis, conducted by Nikita DeMare in 2016, looked at 10 films that feature a protagonist with a schizophrenia diagnosis. The earliest film was released in 1948, and the latest film was released in 2015, which also allowed for analysis of how the portrayal of schizophrenia has evolved.
Each film was evaluated against four stereotypes: violence, using love as a cure, gifted individuals, and abuse in mental hospitals.
It was found that there were instances of violence in all 10 films, with the character showing an average of 6 instances of violence towards others, and 5 instances of violence to themselves.
8 out of 10 films portrayed love as a treatment for schizophrenia, whilst 50% portrayed the gifted individual stereotype, and 4 out of 10 included abuse in mental hospitals.
These findings demonstrate the false perception that love can reduce/cure symptoms of schizophrenia. They also show that violent behaviour is very commonly portrayed, and, interestingly, it was also noted that the more recent films in the sample, released between 2000 to 2015, showed higher instances of violence than the earlier films.
This suggests that stereotypes have not shifted and actually may have been further perpetuated in more recent years.
For the majority of people without first hand or second hand experience of schizophrenia, it is likely that they will get most of their information and experience from film, tv, and media, which unfortunately perpetuates the negative perception of individuals with mental illness.
Education around schizophrenia is the most powerful tool. As research shows, a lot of misconceptions about the illness come from how it is portrayed in the media or on the news.
Sharing the stories of individuals living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia offers a valuable insight into schizophrenia and is a great way to combat negative perceptions.
In this video, Michelle describes her experience of living with a schizophrenia diagnosis, and how she created a business to challenge the negative perceptions of mental health:
At Northern Healthcare we support individuals with a schizophrenia diagnosis. We work with each individual to provide tailored support to their needs and collaborate closely with their care teams to ensure the standard of care and support is of the highest quality.
Read Mark’s story, one of our Tenby House residents who lives with a schizophrenia diagnosis.
Nikita DeMare, 2016. “Exaggerations and Stereotypes of Schizophrenia in Contemporary Films.” Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=1474
Patricia R. Owen, Ph.D., 2012. Portrayals of Schizophrenia by Entertainment Media: A Content Analysis of Contemporary Movies.
How the stigma of mental health is spread by mass media.
Why is schizophrenia portrayed so negatively on screen?
Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash.
