Shock, horror: paranoid schizophrenic steps outside – Guest Post by Anne Goodwin…

Check out this great post from the Story Reading Ape blog titled: Shock, horror: paranoid schizophrenic steps outside – Guest Post by Anne Goodwin

Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Several years ago, after a family tragedy raised a mountain of unresolved personal issues, I succumbed to a virus – no, not that one! – I couldn’t shake off. My GP recommended a couple of weeks’ sick leave, which stretched to six. When I need a sick note, we quibbled over the diagnosis: he proposed anxiety, I thought depression. I can’t recall who won.

It didn’t matter. Taking myself out for walks between bouts of crying, I didn’t have to drag along an unattractive tag, such as“the depressive” or “the anxiety state”. Not so the people I worked with, whose more serious diagnoses smothered their other identities. Schoolteacher, skater, Scorpio stripped away once they qualified as “schizophrenic”.

This would be less controversial if the mental patient identity defined them only within services. Diagnosis is a ticket to treatment and care. But it extends far wider. Witness the media response when…

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