When you hear or read the word “schizophrenia” or “schizophrenic,” what do you first think of? Is it a person? An adjective? Personally, when I think of this word, my brain immediately thinks of a famous criminal, such as Ted Bundy, and the associated adjectives used to describe him, such as “crazy,” or “dangerous.” Our society has formed preconceptions about schizophrenia, yet most don’t know what schizophrenia fully entails. We typically only focus on the manic episodes people with schizophrenia experience, which include hallucinations, when in reality, schizophrenia is more complex. Mental illness arises from multiple sectors of life simply beyond genes. Most are diagnosed in their late teens or early twenties for men and early twenties and early thirties for women. Symptoms of schizophrenia include psychotic symptoms, such as delusions, hallucinations, and scattered thoughts along with symptoms associated with depression, such as loss of motivation, and cognitive symptoms, such as an inability to focus. Since this mental illness consists of a vast range of symptoms, society only focuses on “stand-out” symptoms that most cannot relate to. With that comes stereotypes that mold those living with schizophrenia into people that do not reflect who they truly are. In this piece, I want to debunk some of the stereotypes associated with schizophrenia to bring awareness to those who are more “normal” than we believe.

People who have schizophrenia have several personalities.

Since people with schizophrenia have altered realities and can even hallucinate people speaking or bodies that are not there, those not with the illness watch them interact with these hallucinated people. As a result, people think they have multiple personalities when they simply cannot decipher reality or have mistaken ideas about their surroundings. No evidence suggests that schizophrenia causes people to have multiple personalities.

2. Schizophrenics are dangerous and can be violent.

People who have schizophrenia and are dangerous are known to have another condition in addition to schizophrenia, such as substance abuse. The majority of people with schizophrenia exhibit non-violent behavior.

3. A traumatic upbringing causes schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia arises from numerous areas, such as genetics, environment, drug abuse, and trauma. Psychological disorders cannot be pinpointed to a singular cause, which makes them so complex. Specifically, with schizophrenia, the environment the person grows up in can contribute to their diagnosis. Still, other sectors in their life can further contribute to where they are today.

4. People living with schizophrenia lack intelligence.

Those diagnosed with schizophrenia struggle with learning and paying attention, but this does not dismiss their intelligence. Some of history’s most brilliant minds have schizophrenia, such as John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in mathematics. People with schizophrenia also tend to demonstrate significant levels of creativity.

5. Schizophrenia is an uncommon mental illness.

Despite people believing this, schizophrenia in the United Kingdom has been found that roughly 1 in 100 people will exhibit symptoms of the illness within their lifetime. The UK’s National Health Service also revealed that approximately 280,000 people had been diagnosed and treated with schizophrenia.

6. People who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia cannot recover.

25% of those who have schizophrenia will experience a full recovery within their lifetime. Additionally, 50% of those with schizophrenia will observe significant improvements in their symptoms. These statistics can be attributed to early diagnosis with effective treatment, including anti-psychotics, other medication, and psychotherapy.

For more information about schizophrenia, listed below are credible organizations that explain in further detail what this mental illness entails: