From Mad in Ireland: On hearing voices, dissociation & being labelled – ugh! – ‘paranoid schizophrenic’.
I may go about my life, like most other people, maintaining my place of abode, holding down a fulfilling job, keeping contacts with friends and family etc.
I was recently at the GP’s and to see my diagnosis splashed across the screen ‘PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIC’ feels like a slap across the face, a massive affront.
I try not to think about this term for the sake of my day-to-day happiness and well-being. As a friendly doctor once told me, “They’re just words”. I find the term scary and enormously stigmatising. It’s hard to even conceptualise or even say it.
Read the full article here.
