Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that inspires individuals to interpret reality abnormally. According to McCutcheon et al. (2020), approximately 20 million people experience schizophrenia globally and live disoriented lives. As Elyn Saks and Cecilia McGough say in their presentations, schizophrenia is characterized by several symptoms, including hallucinations, distorted thinking and emotions, delusions, and disorganized speech, among other abnormal behaviors (McGough, 2017; Saks, 2012). Unfortunately, some people stay without seeking medical care for fear of isolation or stigmatization for long periods because other individuals perceive them as insane. For instance, in the video, Gerald is reluctant to remain under the doctor’s care alone and prefers to live with her mother. I believe that the irrational connection of schizophrenia with insanity leads to the severity of the disorder among many patients. Indeed, people with schizophrenia require early treatment to control the symptoms before developing serious complications, like those witnessed in Gerald’s video.
There is a possibility of full recovery from schizophrenia with early and proper medications. As Saks and McGough say in their presentations, people with schizophrenia need assistance from their family members due to the lack of awareness that their challenges originate from mental illness (McGough, 2017; Saks, 2012). This help is essential to ensure that they receive treatment early because schizophrenia treatment using psychosocial support and medicines has proved effective in the recent past. Consequently, the most significant factors to increase the likelihood of attaining full recovery and functional life, as McGough and Saks, are timely treatment, supportive family, and recovery-oriented psychosocial interventions. Instead of using force to hospitalize people with schizophrenia against their will, it is essential to help them understand and embrace their conditions, thus assisting them to envision the dire need for treatment (McCutcheon et al., 2020). Finally, agreeing to McGough, the federal government and other global stakeholders should carry out intensive research on schizophrenia and establish supporting organizations that protect patients from stigma and support their medical processes.
References
McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia: An overview. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(2), 201-210. Web.
McGough, C. (2017). I am not a monster: Schizophrenia [Video]. YouTube.
Saks, E. (2012). A tale of mental illness [Video]. YouTube.