Question

Describe schizophrenia and discuss why people with schizophrenia may be stigmatized as violent when the research suggests that this is untrue. Describe how/why treatment fits into this discussion regarding stigmatization and violent behavior.

Answer 1

Describe schizophrenia and discuss why people with schizophrenia may be stigmatized as violent when the research suggests that this is untrue. Describe how/why treatment fits into this discussion regarding stigmatization and violent behavior.

Schizophrenia is a disorder in which people tend to show social behaviors that are abnormal, such that they are not able to distinguish between the reality and imagined reality. They tend to be having false beliefs, or confused thinking, or they tend to keep hearing voices that other people will not be. These people tend to have lack of motivation, and may be having health problems such as substance abuse or depressive and anxiety symptoms. These symptoms begin early on, progressing on a gradual basis and continue towards adulthood and tend to last for a longer time.

Schizophrenics are considered to be harmful or delusional because of the fact that they are away from reality. They tend to protect themselves from other people and they have a natural response in the form of aggression which comes when they face fear. As a result, in order to protect themselves, they tend to carry out aggressive actions.

Stigmatisation of violent behaviors is because whenever there is even a single case of violence by mentally ill people, it is amplified and highlighted. This highlighting makes people into believing that the actions that are being carried out are general and all the schizophrenics carry out these form of actions. As a result, when one case of violence by schizophrenics is highlighted, there is a general impression that all of them are the same. Hence, the stigmatisation

Thus, when treatments are carried out, they have to be designed such that the invoking of fear stimuli should not be done, such that they would feel comfortable and in their skin with the therapist, to be relying on them and the patient will not get aggressive.