World Schizophrenia Awareness Day

Date : 24 May 2025

24th May is known as World Schizophrenia Awareness Day. This year, the theme is “Stay Connected” in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schizophrenia is the most misunderstood and one of the most complicated mental health disorders known to mankind. Misunderstood mostly due to widespread portrayal that every patient suffering from it behaves violently. Complicated because of its wide variation of presentation, response to treatment, and course of the illness. Like all mental illnesses, schizophrenia is multifactorial and polygenic in origin. Its wide symptomatology includes positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions), negative symptoms (apathy, social withdrawal, lethargy), and cognitive symptoms (difficulties in attention, short term memory and executive functions). There are a lot of rampant misconceptions surrounding this disorder and its treatment. Some of these myths are outlined below, along with the relevant facts about the disorder.

Myth: Schizophrenia is caused by black magic or because of evil spirits. Fact: Schizophrenia is a medical illness, much like diabetes, or heart disease, or any other chronic noncommunicable disease. Though its exact cause is not known, we do know that it is a disorder of the brain that affects widespread network of numerous areas of the brain. Many theories have been proposed lately to explain the causation of the disease, like neurochemical, neurodevelopmental, infectious and immune, nutritional, endocrine and stress theories. However, none of them have satisfactorily been proven.

OMyth: Bad parenting causes schizophrenia. Fact: Though parenting is an important environmental factor for growth and development of a child, no parent has the power to cause a disorder in their offspring. Environmental stress can be precipitating factor in already predisposed individuals and so familial and social support is of utmost importance for compliance to treatment and chances of recovery.

Myth: Schizophrenia runs in families. Fact: Though there is an increased risk of having the illness if one of your parents or siblings have the disease, it doesn’t mean every individual with a family history of schizophrenia will have the disorder. Though heredity has a role, genetics and epigenetics do not work mathematically.

Myth: Persons with schizophrenia are dangerous and need to be hospitalised all the time. Fact: Media and entertainment industry have portrayed mental illnesses, and specifically schizophrenia, in a poor light. Patients having positive symptoms can sometimes get aggressive and act out on their delusions and hallucinations. This especially happens when empathetic approach is lacking from family members. Aggressive behaviour is seen more commonly in persons with co-existing substance use disorders or there is history of violence prior to illness. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia like apathy, social withdrawal, lethargy, and lack of awareness of reality are far more common and difficult to treat than the above mentioned positive symptoms.

Myth: Persons with schizophrenia cannot work or hold a job. Fact: Actually if given an appropriate job, working has been found to be helpful in early recovery of patients suffering from schizophrenia. Patients work to the best of their potential in a supportive and understanding environment with minimal stressors.

Myth: Antipsychotic medicines are worse than the illness itself. Fact: Antipsychotics form the mainstay of treatment of schizophrenia. They usually improve the positive symptoms but are less effective on negative and cognitive symptoms. Taking antipsychotics regularly has been found to be effective in reducing Relapse and Rehospitalization rates. Though antipsychotics cannot prevent relapse completely they can definitely decrease the severity of relapse and ease the management.

So, to summarise, schizophrenia is a disorder of the brain with multifactorial origin. Many of these factors are not known or not proven as yet. Person with schizophrenia is not in touch with reality, and treatment of the illness facilitates to bring back the person to reality. Person suffering from the disorder has to face the stigma surrounding the illness apart from experiencing the wide range of symptoms in various degrees. Treatment in the form of antipsychotics, along with social support and vocational rehabilitation can help the person fight the illness and live a productive life. Early diagnosis and intervention in the course of disorder results in better outcome.

Fight against Schizophrenia needs a concerted group effort between doctors, patients, and society, by understanding the illness, busting the myths surrounding it and investing more in evolving research in schizophrenia.