[gabe911]

hi. i was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. ive had very bad psychotic episodes and the matter seems very real to me. It seems very real that schizophrenia and other "mental illnesses" are real illnesses. However, I have been reading anti-psychiatry articles and the opinions of Thomas Szasz that have made me doubt whether or not they are real illnesses. The main doubt i have been having is " how can a behavior be a symptom of illness?" In other words, dont we have freewill? If we have freewill then how can behavior be a symptom? One of the main reasons im asking this is because im planning to apply for disability, but im feeling guilty. what if my illness is not real and i just have some sort of character flaw? Also, If anyone has any other arguments in favor of the existence of mental illness, and particularly schizophrenia, please let me know.

[Soul Quake]

You'd be best to not read such articles, imo.

Schizophrenics do not have normal, healthy brains. There are things those with psychotic disorders cannot control. schizophrenia.com has MRI images of the non-schizophrenic brain versus a schizophrenic brain. It's a disease.

[Maven]

I've read a lot of the anti-psychiatry stuff out there, and while I agree with them about some things, I do believe I am mentally ill. Just as you can be physically ill, I think you can be mentally ill. This doesn't mean that you can't control your behavior; just that you're facing obstacles that make "normal" behavior more difficult. With therapy and sometimes medication, some of us can live fairly normal lives. Everyone is different. I wish I could say everyone can overcome our issues, but I don't think everyone can. I also think we have a long way to go before we can find a cure for the different mental illnesses. I'd like to be proven wrong and be cured. And, because people don't always get what I mean by "cure," I'll explain it this way: I'm talking about the mental illness symptoms no longer being there. You might still do certain behaviors out of habit, but as someone who was once very close to cured, those habits are easily broken once the thoughts that compel you to do them are gone.

[wing]

Another proof is that symptoms are relieved with medication. There can't be a mass placebo effect.

[IceCreamKid]

Hello. Maybe this will help. The people I have known with major character flaws never asked if they had character flaws; they knew any problems they encountered were someone else's fault. You have an illness, cause not completely known yet. Accept what treatment you can and live your life without any guilt about your situation.

[madisgram]

perhaps the one that gave u your diagnosis, psyc. or psych.?, can explain why the dx.
re freewill, i'm of the opinion schiz. is a biological cause for the dx primarily. so freewill couldn't change the behavior.
i wish you well. if your dx causes you unable to work or function you are eligible for disability.

Ignore what those nut jobs say. They are the kind of people who blatantly ignore researched evidence that supports the existence of mental illness.

My argument would lie with diabetes. When a diabetic has an abnormal spike or drop in blood sugar levels, they often have symptoms that make them act psychotic. They cannot control their behaviors and do things that they normally wouldn't do, due to an illness. By the same logic as many of those anti-psychiatry articles, diabetes doesn't exist for this reason. Though we have free will, we can lose complete control of our minds and bodies.

Hell, lack of sleep and poor diet mirror this concept well.

To peruse: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/par...2/METHOD=print

The Psychiatric Times has a lot of information on schizophrenia. The link is to the cache since registration otherwise is required to access the articles: http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=us

National Institute of Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topic...ia/index.shtml

Ultimately, we must decide what course of action is appropriate for us.

[cin1]

Originally Posted by gabe911

hi. i was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. ive had very bad psychotic episodes and the matter seems very real to me. It seems very real that schizophrenia and other "mental illnesses" are real illnesses. However, I have been reading anti-psychiatry articles and the opinions of Thomas Szasz that have made me doubt whether or not they are real illnesses. The main doubt i have been having is " how can a behavior be a symptom of illness?" In other words, dont we have freewill? If we have freewill then how can behavior be a symptom? One of the main reasons im asking this is because im planning to apply for disability, but im feeling guilty. what if my illness is not real and i just have some sort of character flaw? Also, If anyone has any other arguments in favor of the existence of mental illness, and particularly schizophrenia, please let me know.

i was labeled with schizophrenia years ago. spent 5 years in a hospital. fast forward to 2005, (although it wasn't fast at all), ended up in another hospital who said i was bi-polar. am ok now on the meds i am on, will always take meds, always need to get enough sleep, on and on. i did have a dr. tell me that schizophrenia is not a illness, it is a different state of mind. not sure about all of that. every one has flaws. do what you need to do and don't feel guilty. and for sure there is mental illness, all types, including schizophrenia.. take care.