Voices Forum front page //// Articles //// site index
Whose Distorted Perception?
As sufferers from the unmentionable illness we are often said to have a distorted view of the world. But is the reverse true? Does the world have a distorted view of us? The national dailies never point out that the general population commits murders at about the same rate that we do. This does not condone any murders but it is hardly a reason to selectively discriminate against us. Certainly, a great many people are aware that we are not a bunch of people who need to be feared, (There are always a few who are in any section of society). There are also those who are afraid of us and these are far too many still. Perhaps they should be called schizophobics. One of the symptoms of schizophobia is a sudden change in behaviour towards a person on discovering they are schizophrenic. This may involve complete withdrawal, coldness towards the person, copious politeness masking fear or a belief that they are superior to the person, which can be coupled with aggressive or threatening behaviour. Those on the receiving end of this kind of thing inevitably find it difficult to behave as they had done prior to the revelation about themselves. This means that the schizophobic has their belief that those with schizophrenia are quite different confirmed. Had the nasty little home truth not been made to him in the first place they might have been friends.