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End Mental Health Stigma with the Culture of Schizophrenia

February 5, 2014 Dan Hoeweler

Creating a culture around people with schizophrenia will end stigma against us. Here's my vision for the future without mental health stigma. Join me.

We, as schizophrenics, must band together to form our own culture, art and way of life. We need to be recognized as a people who have a unique perspective to offer this world. Even a disability as debilitating as schizophrenia can have strengths built into its terrible nature. With the advent of medication and advanced treatment we are capable of forming our own ideas, opinion and voice that can strengthen us as a disabled people.

How to End Stigma and Discrimination Against Schizophrenia

Within the realm of psychosis many of us have been touched by the darker side of human nature, and we need to express these experiences in creative ways. Not only have we been touched by our own demons, but that of the world around us. Discrimination is rampant towards people with schizophrenia, making expressing ourselves even more important. We must show others what it is like to live with schizophrenia. If more people were to understand this perspective on life then they may become more sympathetic towards people with schizophrenia, and allow us access to better treatment and basic necessities.

Years from now I envision a time of great poets, artists, writers, and philosophers who have schizophrenia. When this happens we will be recognized as a people with a unique culture and way of life. No longer will we live in the shadows, but come out to a more forgiving world. This era will begin from the medical advances in schizophrenia that are now being realized.

The Schizophrenic Culture Origins

The journey towards schizophrenic culture began with Louis Wain and John Nash, and it will end with a sea of others. Our talents will be utilized despite our disability and we will form a new culture that has yet to be seen. Many of us have endured the trials of a life under the spell of psychosis. We have been touched, and forever changed in ways that most cannot fathom. As painful as our disease is, we understand human fragility and mortality better than most. We must take this knowledge and apply it to good use.

A delusional life is one fraught with tricks, spies and false persecutors. It is a mysterious life that is unseen and intangible to the human senses. It can only be described through words and art, in creative complex ways. The story of schizophrenia will be told again countless times by individuals who have been touched by its fury then lived to tell the tale. These are the ones who will build a foundation for us to grow on.

Upon this foundation will be a legion of productive citizens, that will defy the traditional stereotypes of people with schizophrenia. This trickle will then grow into a gushing fury that will vanquish the stigma of schizophrenia. We are witnessing the birth of a new culture from recovering schizophrenics. The culture of schizophrenia has just begun.

APA Reference
Hoeweler, D. (2014, February 5). End Mental Health Stigma with the Culture of Schizophrenia, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 28 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/creativeschizophrenia/2014/02/end-mental-health-stigma-with-the-culture-of-schizophrenia



Author: Dan Hoeweler

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