Myths & Stigma
The idea that someone with a mental illness is bad or disgraced is called ______________.
Stigma. People with mental illness are unwell, but they are not dangerous, crazy, incompetent, or weak
At what age do most people develop psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia?
Onset of symptoms is typically between age 16 and 30 with men developing symptoms in the late teens to early 20s and women developing symptoms in the late 20s to early 30s.
During the active phase of schizophrenia, noticeable psychotic symptoms emerge. These symptoms are categorized into three categories. What are those categories?
Positive Symptoms: symptoms that emerge but shouldn’t be there (hallucinations, delusions)
Negative Symptoms: symptoms that aren’t there but should be (limited follow-through with activities, little interest in life, lose interest in things once enjoyed, difficulty expressing emotions, difficulty sustaining relationships)
Cognitive Symptoms: symptoms that interrupt the way in which a person thinks & communicates (disorganized thinking)
This distraction technique requires a personal music player and access to MP3s.
What is listening to soothing music
He was the youngest child of Albert Einstein who spent many years under psychiatric care for schizophrenia.
Who is Eduard Einstein
True or False: Serious mental illness is incredibly rare in the United States
False: nearly 1 in 5 adults in the US live with a mental illness (52.9 million people)
There are four known causes of schizophrenia. Name two.
Genetics: (people who have a close relative with schizophrenia are 6x more likely to develop schizophrenia)
Environment: exposure to viruses or malnutrition before birth (especially the first 6 months of pregnancy) increases the risk of developing schizophrenia
Brain Chemistry: problems with neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine, glutamate) may contribute to schizophrenia
Substance Use: taking mind-altering drugs (e.g., methamphetamine) during the teen years & young adulthood can increase the risk of schizophrenia
These are false perceptions (e.g., things that are not actually there) that can be perceived with the senses of hearing (auditory), seeing (visual), feeling (tactile), taste (gustatory), or smell (olfactory).
What are hallucinations
When a hallucination is experienced, this coping strategy can be used to gather evidence from someone the person trusts and compare it to what he is experiencing.
What is reality testing. Bonus: Provide an example of how to do this
This famous person, known as the “Queen of Pinups” in the 1950s spent 10 years in a psychiatric hospital due to symptoms of schizophrenia
Who is Bettie Page
Once a person’s symptoms of schizophrenia are well managed, will they need to continue taking medication? Why or why not?
Yes, they will. Medication remains necessary in order to keep symptoms in remission. If medication is stopped because symptoms have gone away, the symptoms may return and may be worse than they were previously
This phase of schizophrenia begins in childhood and does not include psychotic symptoms, although it contains many other observable symptoms.
What is the prodromal phase (including a change in friends, drop in grades, sleep interruptions, lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating, irritability, isolating oneself, and withdrawing from others.
These are false beliefs that do not change, even when the person who holds the belief is presented with new ideas or facts.
What are delusions
When someone is experiencing auditory hallucinations, he can use this coping technique and frustrate the voices by repeating everything they say like a small child might repeat what an adult says.
What is “frustrating the voices by repeating everything”. Bonus: provide an example of how this is done
This famous person was a painter who is known for cutting off his own ear, possibly in distress due to the voices he heard.
Who is Vincent van Gogh
True or False: people who have experienced symptoms of psychosis will never be able to live a “normal” life.
False. It’s important to remember with effective treatment, people can reduce their symptoms of schizophrenia and live productive, meaningful lives.
Medication may reduce symptoms of schizophrenia so successfully the person no longer experiences them. Name the phase of illness in which this occurs.
What is the residual or maintenance stage. Symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking become mild or completely absent. Medication is still required to maintain this phase.
“I stopped caring about how I looked. I even stopped taking a shower” is an example of this type of symptom.
What is a negative symptom (anhedonia, amotivation)
This coping technique requires the individual to focus on his breathing.
What is purposive breathing, square breathing, timed breathing (or any variation of these). Bonus: provide an example of how this is done.
This famous footballer played for the Green Bay Packers and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 30s.
Who is Lionel Aldridge
True or False: All people with schizophrenia are dangerous and unpredictable.
False. Only about 3% of people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder ever become aggressive or violent.
What is it called when someone with a mental illness is stigmatized and treated differently from other people?
Prejudice which can result in the person feeling shame about their illness, experience blame for having an illness, and contributes to denial when the person is first diagnosed.
This symptom may cause the person to struggle to remember things, have difficulty organizing their thoughts, or experience difficulty in completing tasks.
What is a cognitive symptom or disorganized thinking
This coping technique postpones listening to voices by asking them to go away and telling them they can return at a set time for a limited amount of time.
What is “Time Out.” Bonus: provide an example of how this is done
This person was one of the world’s most brilliant mathematicians. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his 30s, won the Nobel Prize in Economics and his life story was depicted in the movie, A Beautiful Mind.
Who is John Nash, Jr.