Sanyukta Singh
“Stay away from her. She’s
psychotic.” Those diagnosed with schizophrenia are subject to similar insults
and taunts on a daily basis. From being considered dangerous and violent to
unpredictable and crazy, there are numerous misconceptions surrounding
schizophrenia. These misconceptions stem from the lack of awareness of mental
disorders and inaccurate media depictions. The account of Pragya’s mother was
no different when it came to the perceptions of society. In the Ted talk
‘Schizophrenia through a child’s lens’, Pragya Tank shares her experience of
living with a family member diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a chronic brain
disorder that alters the individual’s interpretation of reality and impairs
daily functioning. Its symptoms can be divided into three categories: (1)
positive symptoms which are abnormally present, such as hallucinations, (2)
negative symptoms include behaviour that is absent, such as avolition (lack of
motivation) and (3) disorganized symptoms such as trouble with logical thinking
(What Is Schizophrenia?, 2020).
Schizophrenia hinders normal
functioning by causing difficulty in deciphering what’s real and what’s not.
Additionally, the display of disordered behaviour determines how people are
treated. While coping with schizophrenia is no easy ordeal, inadequate
attention has been paid to the family members of people diagnosed with
schizophrenia. Caqueo-Urízar et al. (2017) stated that over a third of family
caregivers reported feeling overburdened and had trouble coping with their
child's or spouse's illness. Pragya Tank gives us an insight into what it was
like as a child to live with her mother who has paranoid schizophrenia.
Pragya was merely thirteen years old
when one day she saw her soft-spoken mother yell at their neighbour; something
very unlike her. Over the next four years, her mother’s behaviour only
worsened. Witnessing her sobbing or shouting in public places became extremely
frequent and her erratic behaviour drew a lot of negative attention toward their
family. Neighbours would not only refrain from interacting with Pragya’s mother
but would go as far as to humiliate her. Unaware of the reason behind her
mother’s turbulent behaviour, Pragya and her family relocated five times to
find a judgement-free place that they could call home. Yet everywhere they
went, they were subject to snide remarks, smirks and backhanded comments.
Fearing that a particular colour, person or activity would trigger her mother’s
instability, the family started to refrain from socializing.
The prejudice associated with mental
illness was projected on Pragya’s family as a whole. This phenomenon of
discrimination being extended to people who are linked to someone who has a
mental disorder was termed courtesy
stigma by Goffman (1963) (Corrigan et al., 2006, p. 239). The stigma includes blame for the onset and
relapse of the disorder along with the opinion that the family is incapable of
taking care of their family member (Corrigan et al., 2006, p. 244). Research
has also shown that the children of those with a mental disorder are often
viewed as contaminated (Corrigan et
al., 2006, p. 240). The stigma, therefore, extends beyond the person diagnosed
with the disorder to their family.
Four years after the symptoms
manifested, a psychiatrist was consulted. Her mother was diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia which is mainly characterized by the aforementioned positive
symptoms (ex: delusions and hallucinations). Pragya’s mother’s hallucinations made her believe that
everyone was out to hurt her. Her mother’s condition intensified to a point
where she made Pragya and her brother eat and study in the dark so that no one
could harm them. As a child, what her
mother was going through was confusing to understand. Nonetheless, Pragya spoke
to her mother about her hallucinations and pretended to believe that her
delusional world was in fact real. Despite being extremely young, Pragya was
able to calm her mother down by having these conversations.
Psychological
intervention improved her mother’s condition considerably. Therapy allows individuals to manage the
severity of their symptoms and live with minimal assistance by equipping them
with social skills and coping mechanisms, along with the awareness of warning
signs of remission (What Is Schizophrenia?,
2020). Since family support is crucial in enabling the functional recovery of
individuals with schizophrenia, family members must focus on their well-being
as well (What Is Schizophrenia?,
2020). However, there are limited resources for family members of those dealing
with mental illnesses, especially for people coming from a lower socioeconomic
background and those residing in developing nations.
Taking
care of someone with schizophrenia can be a tiring, demanding responsibility
which makes it rather easy to sideline one’s own life goals. In her talk,
Pragya revealed feeling agitated when she saw the relationship between her
friends and their mothers. The pampering, the kisses and the affection was not
the same between her and her own mother. Schizophrenia, therefore, reversed
familial roles by switching the responsibility of ‘caregiver’ from the mother
to the daughter. Although she was a growing child in need of parental guidance
and support, her mother’s illness took precedence while her own feelings, interests
and desires took a back seat.
Pragya’s experience highlights what it is like living with someone diagnosed with schizophrenia. Dealing with courtesy stigma, geographical changes, high emotional costs and sidelining one’s own goals takes a toll on the caregiver. It is, therefore, imperative that more research is conducted (especially in the Indian context) to unravel the impacts of schizophrenia on family members and how they can be minimized. Peer support groups are one way families can vent their feelings to those who understand better than anyone else. Family members can also set healthy boundaries and partake in activities outside the house to reaffirm that they have a purpose beyond caretaking and that their ambitions and health also deserve attention (Rus-Calafell et al., 2015). Lastly, encouraging conversations about mental illness in order to tackle stigma is paramount in engendering meaningful change and avoiding delays in treatment.
References
Caqueo-Urízar, A., Rus-Calafell, M.,
Craig, T. K. J., Irarrazaval, M., Urzúa, A., Boyer, L., & Williams, D. R.
(2017). Schizophrenia: Impact on Family Dynamics. Current Psychiatry Reports, 19(1),
1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0756-z
Corrigan, P. W., Watson, A. C.,
& Miller, F. E. (2006). Blame, shame, and contamination: The impact of
mental illness and drug dependence stigma on family members. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(2), 239–246. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.20.2.239
Psycom.net. (2021, May 8). Schizophrenia: Understanding Hallucinations
and Delusions. Psycom.Net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1996.
Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.psycom.net/schizophrenia-hallucinations-delusions/#:%7E:text=Roughly%2070%25%20of%20people%20with,sounds%20like%20whispering%20or%20murmuring.
Psycom.net. (2020b, October 2). Six Common Myths and Misconceptions About
Schizophrenia. Psycom.Net - Mental Health Treatment Resource Since 1996.
Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.psycom.net/schizophrenia/six-myths-about-schizophrenia/
Rus-Calafell, M., Caqueo-Urízar, A.,
Urzúa, A., Escudero, J., & Gutiérrez-Maldonado, J. (2015). The role of
family therapy in the management of schizophrenia: challenges and
solutions. Neuropsychiatric Disease and
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Schizophrenia - Symptoms and causes. (2020, January 7). Mayo Clinic.
Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354443#:%7E:text=Schizophrenia%20is%20a%20serious%20mental,with%20schizophrenia%20require%20lifelong%20treatment
Tank, P. (2018, April). Schizophrenia through a child’s lens
[Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/pragya_tank_schizophrenia_through_a_child_s_lens
What Is Schizophrenia? (2020, August). Web Starter Kit.
Retrieved April 3, 2022, from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/schizophrenia/what-is-schizophrenia#:%7E:text=Though%20there%20is%20no%20cure,acute%20episodes%20and%20their%20severity.
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