Have you ever walked into a room and felt like you were just being watched? It’s an alienating and uncomfortable experience that schizophrenics are all too familiar with. Above is a video by Bridging Minds—a Canadian based organization devoted to combatting the stigma against mental illness[1]. This short film was featured at Mount Sinai Hospital and Ryerson University depicting just a clip of what schizophrenic people experience.
Schizophrenia is defined by the occurrence of auditory and visual hallucinations, often manifesting in the form of people and voices respectively. In this video, we view the world from the perspective of a schizophrenic male as he is bombarded by a stream of (mostly) antagonistic voices. Note that the overarching emotion being conveyed throughout the video isn’t one of anger; it is closer to panic or fear. This is a common occurrence amongst those who suffer from schizophrenia with nearly 17% of the schizophrenic population in the Unites States suffering from the comorbidity of Social Anxiety Disorder—reporting an extreme fear of social situations in which the individual fears humiliation or embarrassment [3] .
Contrary to popular thought, schizophrenics are not innately violent (in fact, they are more likely to be targets of violence [2]). Rather, several are antisocial and would simply prefer be left alone. When confronted with this new image of an ostracized and possibly scared individual, we’re also forced into the shoes of a sincerely misunderstood group of individuals. Schizophrenics may already feel under assault and alone—so why would we want to add to it?
References:
1) Briding Minds. http://bridgingminds.ca/ Retrived March 3rd, 2014.
2) Silsby, Gilien. October 23rd, 2001. Schizophrenic individuals victimize by crime, study finds. University of Southern California. Retrieved March 3rd, 2014.(http://www.usc.edu/uscnews/stories/7368.html)
3) Spollen, J. John. Schizophrenia and Social Anxiety Disorder. http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/457030. Retrieved on March 3rd, 2014.