How To Cope With The Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

 A schizophrenia diagnosis can be an exhausting condition to digest. The symptoms can cause a lot of ditress, especially when the sufferer's medicine doesn't seem to be working as expected. Sometimes medicine can take time to come into effect. In that time, the sufferer is frustrated. They may hear voices that are cruel and unkind, or aggressive. Humans already go through a hard time dealing with daily life struggles. But when someone is diagnosed with schizophrenia, it's almost like the brain is fighting with itself, after consuming so much overwhelming content around them. They may start to believe the unkind words they hear from the people around them, which can affect their confidence and self esteem. 

People have a hard time understanding schizophrenia because they fear what they do not understand. There is this fear that ordinary people have when it comes to being associated with a schizophrenic, because they don't want to be labelled. That makes it hard for the sufferer to get the social support they need to manage their condition and live a normal life. It's not uncommon to find someone with schizophrenia being discrimianted against by different people in their lives. Maybe the environment at work is not conducive enough for them to thrive and be more productive. Sometimes, some relatives may make some ignorant comments about their perceptions of mental illness, adding more to the stigma of people living with schizophrenia. 

So it's only understandable that living a positive life despite having schizophrenia takes time to navigate, more so without a social support system. But the right mindset and a positive outloook on life makes it easier to face life's challenges with courage and bravery. Instead of suppressing unpleasant thoughts and feelings about the symptoms and their effects on a schizophrenic, it would be better to explore where some of these thoughts and feelings come from. Every schizophrenic has an inner critic that can sometimes be harsh because schizophrenics struggle with working on self love and compassion. They may think negatively about the way they appear to others when they are seen talking to themselves, because it's not what ordinary people would do in public. The shame that comes with being pointed out for this kind of behaviour can add to the idea that they are to be blamed for what they suffer from. They may have a persecutory delusion, thinking that people around them are conspiring against them, when it's not actually plausible in reality.

When exploring how these symptoms make them feel, there will defintely be some discomfort. However, upon further interrogation of the thoughts and beliefs they have absorbed from their critics, a person living with schizophrenia should realise, they don't deserve to be judged. They're simply misunderstood. People around them will take some time to understand the nature of this disorder before they gain insight on how they can live with and relate with persons with schizophrenia better in harmony. Be that as it may, everyone gets judged for having perceived weakness and this can be an uncomfortable experience for anyone and everyone. 

It's important for schizophrenics to realise that despite the stigma and perceptions out there, they are still human and humans would like to belong. To be loved and accepted. And though there may be people who respond in unpleasant ways towards those who are living with this condition, that has nothing to do with the person living with this condition. As much as they internalise the hatred and ridicule, having patience with others and kindness to one's self can make life more tolerable. A lot of the knowledge about mental health wasn't known years ago but is in teh public domain today. Therefore, they should learn to accept that though some people may not understand how to relate with them, there are people who will love and respect them, rather than judging them for what they suffer from. 

But it all starts with self love.