Schizophrenia

I have been watching a bit of iview lately. For many, no doubt, it is a part of everyday life. For me, it has been a new experience. I’ve got to say I have really enjoyed it.
The latest thing I saw was really heavy in a way. It was about Schizophrenia. I loved how the people discussing it, and who had it, were so open and honest. One guy was even in tears.
When I see something like that, the first thing I know I need to do, is examine myself. What is my motive? It seems to me, that a natural instinct is to recoil. I feel I don’t need to be ashamed of that, but I do need to respond differently. The last thing a person with a mental illness needs, is to feel rejected. Certainly there are people that I should not associate with, but I don’t know that it should ever be because I reject them, based on some perceived defect. To me, it would be like saying, “oh they have cancer, I won’t associate with them.” I would be disqualified on that basis.
It seems it is not like folk chose mental illness, over other things. The common theme from everyone interviewed, was that they did not want it. A guy with it, that now has a PHD said, there are two acknowledged foundations of it - hereditary and environmental. That is, for some it is a family predisposition, while others pick it up through some activity.
Violence came up. The conclusion reached seemed to make sense to me. That was, violence is in the person, not the disease. Self-harm seems more of an issue than harming others.
What also came up was media beat ups. They commented that so often the media looks for the mental illness angle when reporting on shooting tragedies. The upshot is mental illness = crimes against humanity. Their comment - no more,no less.
So often it seems, I respond that they just need to pull their socks up. As one person suggested, “just go outside and get some fresh air, and you’ll be right.” The impression I get is, if it was that easy, they would. But it is not that easy.
I have my own belief system about such things, but it has never been tried by me. I cannot say, “I’ve come across this before, and this works.” Certainly I believe certain things would work, and I have seen them work, but I cannot say I’ve proved them for myself. It seems things are way more complicated than I would like to acknowledge.
One thing they all had in common, was they were on medication to deal with it. In a sense, it really does not matter where it came from, it just needs to be dealt with. Medication is doing the trick, but they all spoke of side effects. I am a great believer in doing things the best way possible. Something may work, but is it the best? Personally I think, go with what works, and try for the best.
I loved what the guy in tears said. It was basically that just because I have failed before, does not mean that I am not going to try. To me, it is never too late to be free.
One person interviewed is celebrating a long term relationship, another says he is better equipped because of what he has been through, another is happily married, while another said they had to return to their “boring” (their words) job tomorrow.
Those experiences and aspirations seem pretty universal to me. I think my role is to not hinder.