When you think of a person with schizophrenia, who comes to mind first?
A. That one dude in the movies who’s always hacking people up.
B. Those people who live in some sorta group home, and I don’t want to think about it.
C. Vincent van Gogh. Author Jack Kerouac. Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac. John Nash (whose life is the subject of the Oscar-winning movie, “A Beautiful Mind.”)
If you answered C, then you’re on the right track. And, you see, that’s part of the problem; there are very few positive role models in our society of schizophrenics, which feeds into misinformation and fear.
Lots of people have schizophrenia, but you don’t often hear their stories.
An estimated 1.1% of the American population is schizophrenic. That’s a lot of people — about 2.5 million adults — but they often seem invisible.
Enter Christine Deneweth.
She’s a cartoonist and uses her medium to explain some of the things that life presents to those who are schizophrenics and how friends and others can help.
(And, by the way, I’m choosing to use “schizophrenic” here because the author of the below comic prefers it. Those who have schizophrenia can let you know how they wish to be referred to.)
Her hope is that schizophrenics come out to people in their lives so they’re not perceived in such negative stereotypes.
That’s a noble idea.
Take a journey through these insightful 29 panels to see where she’s coming from:
When it comes to anybody having issues or struggles coping with life, those last few panels have some of the best advice.
Please be patient, don’t judge, and just listen.
