Media And Schizophrenia Essay

Schizophrenia often carries a lot of social stigma in modern day society. Media representation plays a large part in this, as it has created a lot of confusion about the illness which in turn has led to a fear of those suffering with schizophrenia. The media has often inaccurately reported the symptoms and the specifics of the illness which has led to misleading ideas and opinions. Furthermore the media have created the impression that people with schizophrenia are unpredictable and dangerous. The facts however are that 9 out of 10 people with schizophrenia never hurt themselves or others. However, as not harming themselves or others the media only tend to report incidents where a person with schizophrenia has hurt themselves or somebody else, reporting only the most negative and exceptional cases. A study by Indiana University found that while the mental illness has achieved acceptance in the wider community as being treatable, it is also found that there was still a misconception that people …show more content…
This is usually not that case as people diagnosed usually become withdrawn and avoidant towards those in society rather than violent. The truth actually shows that sufferers of schizophrenia are more likely to be the victims of violence rather than the attacker. The media often tends to focus on acts of violence committed by the people suffering with schizophrenia giving them a great deal of high profile media coverage. This therefore gives the impression that violent acts happen frequently when in fact they are very rare. In 2008, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) conducted a survey to better understand the depths of the stigma surrounding schizophrenia. The survey found that:
• 85% of respondents understood that schizophrenia is a medical illness
• Only 43% said they would tell their friends if they had