Schizophrenia Misconceptions

There are some misconceptions in schizophrenia. It may be present by its own or in mixture with other medical and psychiatric form of disease states. Today it is important to understand what schizophrenia is and what schizophrenia is not.

It is not a disease condition where the patient has several personalities. MP ( Multiple Personality) is classified as a different disease with rare cases.

Most of the patients do not exhibit violence to their environment (Only few may develop violent actions)

Majority of the patients isolate themselves from the society, mostly they avoid personal contact.

A person who demonstrates a paranoid behavior does not mean that it has schizophrenia. Although this person may be a candidate; without having other signs and symptoms we can’t conclude that the person has schizophrenia.

Hearing voices alone does not indicate schizophrenia by itself. People who have depression, who are suffering from a severe disease could hear voices.

What are the Misleading Terms Associated with Schizophrenia?

Several misconceptions about schizophrenia have arisen from incorrect terms and labels that may be applied to patients. Unfortunately, many of these terms are in such common usage that they obscure the true definition of schizophrenia and create unfair stereotypes. Some of the most common misleading terms (multiple personality, psychopath, and sociopath) are discussed here. Multiple personality, called dissociative identity disorder in the DSM‑IV-TR, is a condition in which a person displays two or more distinct personalities, each of which may actually exist as a separate entity inside his or her mind. Although this misconception may have arisen from the term schizophrenia itself (which literally means "split mind"), schizophrenia is not synonymous with multiple or split personality. In fact, the DSM-IV-TR places dissociative identity disorder in a category completely separate from schizophrenia.

The term psychopath is primarily used in television and movies to describe dangerous criminals who enjoy maiming and killing. This term is not associated with schizophrenia and is misleading for two reasons. First, the word psychopathic simply refers to a disease of the psyche, or mind, and has no inherent association with murderous behavior. Second, individuals with schizophrenia are not especially prone to violence. The term sociopath is loosely defined as a person who is unprincipled in dealing with others, who lies and cheats to accomplish his or her own ends. This term is completely inaccurate when used to describe people with schizophrenia. Although patients with schizophrenia may have relationship problems, they are not particularly prone to the deceptive behaviors associated with this label.