An American Schizophrenia
Today I was shown by one of my co-workers a recent article published in the Chicago Tribune. It is an interesting and thought-provoking piece dealing with the United States’ frequently changing foreign policy. The author wanted to bring attention to the fact that the U.S. government seems to oscillate between extreme isolationism from and direct intervention in burgeoning democracies around the world.
The problem arises with the article’s title: “An American Schizophrenia”. While I understand what the writer is trying to say, the title uses “schizophrenia” interchangeably with the term “multiple personality disorder”. >
The writer of the article was obviously pointing out that the U.S. government has what could be loosely term a “split-personality”. On the one hand, the U.S. government is intervening in Iraq to bring democracy. On the other, the U.S. government of the 1950s did not intervene when the Soviet Union invaded Hungary. While “split-personality” is not actually a medical term, it is often used to incorrectly refer to people with multiple personality disorder.
Multiple personality disorder is part of a group of illnesses called Dissociative disorders. The term multiple personality is not synonymous with the term schizophrenia. They are two very different mental disorders.
On the NAMI website, multiple personality is described as a disorder in which “an individual has more than one distinct identity or personality state that surfaces in the individual on a recurring basis”.
Schizophrenia “interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others”. It does not cause an individual to have more than one personality. It is a very common misconception that multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia are the same thing. It would do much to dispel stigma and to encourage compassion for people with mental illness, if the public had a deeper understanding of various mental illnesses.
This blog entry is simply to point out that schizophrenia and multiple personality are not the same thing, and that using the terms interchangeably confuses people about mental illness. The more people understand various mental illnesses and how they affect those who have them, the less mysterious they become. The more mental illness is understood, the less stigma there will be surrounding it.
posted by Christa Andrade
The problem arises with the article’s title: “An American Schizophrenia”. While I understand what the writer is trying to say, the title uses “schizophrenia” interchangeably with the term “multiple personality disorder”. >
The writer of the article was obviously pointing out that the U.S. government has what could be loosely term a “split-personality”. On the one hand, the U.S. government is intervening in Iraq to bring democracy. On the other, the U.S. government of the 1950s did not intervene when the Soviet Union invaded Hungary. While “split-personality” is not actually a medical term, it is often used to incorrectly refer to people with multiple personality disorder.
Multiple personality disorder is part of a group of illnesses called Dissociative disorders. The term multiple personality is not synonymous with the term schizophrenia. They are two very different mental disorders.
On the NAMI website, multiple personality is described as a disorder in which “an individual has more than one distinct identity or personality state that surfaces in the individual on a recurring basis”.
Schizophrenia “interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy, to manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others”. It does not cause an individual to have more than one personality. It is a very common misconception that multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia are the same thing. It would do much to dispel stigma and to encourage compassion for people with mental illness, if the public had a deeper understanding of various mental illnesses.
This blog entry is simply to point out that schizophrenia and multiple personality are not the same thing, and that using the terms interchangeably confuses people about mental illness. The more people understand various mental illnesses and how they affect those who have them, the less mysterious they become. The more mental illness is understood, the less stigma there will be surrounding it.
posted by Christa Andrade
Labels: schizophrenia, stigma
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