Does it worry you how ignorant some people are?

[charliecat]

My brother is mentally ill, its not his fault, he didnt cause it, its just the way he is.
Some peoples reactions to knowing that a relation of mine has schizophenia is awful, I just think OMG it could be you...it really could.
And you wouldnt like it if other people reacted like that to you...does it get to you?
They just dont get it!

had a boyfriend whose brother was brain damaged in a bike accident at 19. Everyone thought he was drunk because he walked unevenly, often stumbled and had slurred speech. was very and making to be out with him

ohh..meant to say that it gets to me...and I hope I get it!

totally agree.

people hear the term shizophrenia and instantly assume it means axe murderer.

same as people who look at ds assume he is just naughty...he cant possbily be ASD as he isnt sitting in a corner rocking or looking blankly at some lights..or whatever other bloody ignorant streotype they have in their mind.

there is a huge difference between being niave as to the full facts of a disorder and being ignorant to it.
there was a similar thread recently whihc ended up in some of the most knowledgable people i have ever spoken to with regardws to SN leaving so be careful.

I saw that mentioned, didnt see it, and will excuse myself from any rucks that may take place further up this thread for any reason...disclaimer
I read somewhere that 60 schizophrenics flip each year and kill someone in a moment but 6 times more "normal" people do it with no mental issues. Just anger and rage and cruelty.
But thats not mentioned on the front page of the newspapers is it?

Message withdrawn

I suppose it is difficult for people to understand due to the way schizophenia is protrayed in films and dramas, the only protrayal I can think of when they weren't a crazed murderer was recently on House. Same with most mental health problems, they try awarness campaigns but films make these illnesses etc scary to most people.

It worries/angers me immensely..and the fact that the majority of people are not sufficiently interested to learn anything new or challenge their prejudices..

there are next to no appropriate facilities for accommodation,work or leisure activities for those who aren't (mistakenly)in prison or in secure units either.

Singing orders sounds wonderful, fio. Well done for challenging your colleague

there is still loads of prejudice out there
dh had an accident when he was 17(he died thank god for the man who gave him the kiss of life)
he has epilepsy and I hate all the joke people make about it
it can ruin lives

I had a lovely customer used to come in the shop..brought me his poems to read and spent all his money on penguin book mugs, would come in with the exact amount in change and bits for each one. He got quite upset at reviews his poems got in a magazine they were published in and he used to tell me about people as though I knew them

"I'm very worried about jean she is back in hospital and I can't visit her "

He even used to come in just to talk..as did a few other people

He is such a gentle and vulnerable person very softly spoken, I miss him actually.

i don't know anyone with sn and i think i am very niave (ignorant). Up until now I def had my head firmly in the sand on any type of sn subject. Recently though i've found an interest in individual and social health and i'm trying to learn what i can about sn. in fact shortly after i started a course in gen health i saw the autism video that jimsjams posted and this made me want to know more too.

hope jim jams hasnt left btw???

however it IS a very difficult subject and I do still find myself feeling very uncomfortable if say a person with sn is overly friendly to us when we are out shopping - to a certain extent i would feel uncomfortable if anyone was overly friendly but if the person has obvious sn it somehow makes me feel more uneasy - i feel that this is my reaction and hope once i understand more i'll be a bit more relaxed if someone says hello or wants to look at the lo in the pushchair...

I must have a very approachable look because people make a beeline for me for chats about this and that whenever i poke my nose out of the door..I live next to a post office and also have to go in there everyday and it's guranteed that i will have a somewhat eccentric conversation most days..but I enjoy it,better than the old miseries who assume you share there New of the World prejudices in this life.

Raggy hopefully once you open yourself to contact with a wide variety of people then you will realise that your anxieties can be alleviated.

Yes. I think some people must live in a bubble, can't believe they have never known anyone with mental ill-health (it's soooo common) or SN. Deeply wrong that some people's knee-jerk reaction to difference of any kind is staring, suspicion, making fun of the different or even fear. Almost all murders are committed by entirely sane people - you are far more likely to be killed by someone who knows exactly what they are doing. In fact people with mental health problems are far more likely to be the victims of crime than the rest of us. But there's still a perception that they are dangerous, somehow.

I have epilepsy, and it took me a very long time before I would tell anyone outside the family, because there's such a lack of knowledge about it. People think you must be brain-damaged or something, or incapable of living a normal life. Hate people whose immediate reaction is 'OMG what do I do if you have a fit?' I suppose it's understandable, but feels prurient, and as if I'm being labelled.

Btw, the answer is I've only ever had them in my sleep and am on medication which stops them, so bog off, but for most people with epilepsy, it's just move anything that they could bump into and FFS leave them alone and don't try fiddling with their teeth. Once they've stopped fitting put them in the recovery position if you really need to. Only call an ambulance if the fit doesn't stop within a few minutes. IIRC - as I don't have fits in the daytime I'm not sure I remember this properly.

Unfortunately it only takes one ignorant person to mess a kid up. My sister was epileptic (has outgrown it now luckily) but always dreaded work colleagues knowing about it. This is entirely due to the attitude of the careers advisor at her school (after she passed all her exams despite having time off) handing her a leaflet on jobs for the disabled! My sister was devastated after all her hard work and it's the only time my mum has ever stormed off to the school to complain about something.

Luckily sis managed to sort out her own career. She is off on a management course tomorrow .

I suppose you could say I lived in a bubble because up until recently I have had no freinds or family with special needs or mental health problems apart from depression. I worked with a few SN kids on occasions but that is it. I now have a couple of collegues with various physical SN.

I think ther must be a difference between ignorance/ niavety and abusive thoughtless comments and reactions. Some peope just don't come into close contact with people with SN.