Mental Illnesses & Their Myths

Mental illness has been something to be ashamed of for centuries. Whether one was suffering with a mental illness or was related to someone who was, mental illness personified "different". Imperfect. Impure. Unclean. Diseased.

Cast out by god.

 Nowadays, we call it "stigma".



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The combination of shame with the traditional human fear
of anything different does not usually inspire people
to learn more about something, and mental illness
is no exception.

So over those same centuries, "sane" people have combined ignorance with prejudice to create stereotypes that fit
their paranoid fantasies.
Nice people call them "myths".



Here's one now...

Schizophrenia

The Myth: Schizophrenic people hear voices in their heads.


We all know about schizophrenia, and we’ve all read jokes
about “the voices in my head”. But, contrary to what a lot
of people believe, not all people with schizophrenia hear
voices in their heads.

Auditory hallucinations are very common in schizophrenic
people, but they are more likely to hear voices coming from
some object outside of their body than inside their mind.

Plus, not everyone with schizophrenia experiences the same
symptoms. They may have hallucinations (actually seeing
or hearing things that don’t exist), delusions (believing
unrealistic ideas), disordered thoughts, lack of affect (no
appearance of emotions), or, in catatonic schizophrenia,
even a lack of desire to move at all.

Schizophrenia is a complicated disorder with a wide range
of possible symptoms.


9 more illnesses and their myths right here!
























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