- Hi, everyone
and welcome back to the Living Well With Schizophrenia
YouTube channel.
In today's video,
we decided to Google the phrase can schizophrenics,
and then we are going to be addressing the words
or phrases that followed that within the search engine.
But first, if you're new here,
my name is Lauren and I live with Schizoaffective Disorder
and I make videos about what it's like
living with schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder.
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Alright, so before we dive into talking about
the search findings,
I just wanna make a quick note
about the term schizophrenic.
So, it is not something that I typically use
because I typically try to use person first language
as much as possible.
So person living with schizophrenia
as opposed to schizophrenic.
When you use the term schizophrenic,
it kind of conflates the person with their illness
which is something that I don't really feel is a good thing.
So, I try to use person first language.
And if you wanna check out a video that goes more in depth
into this, we have a video here that you can find here.
It is called Language and Schizophrenia,
and it just kind of goes more into why it's important
to be mindful of the language that you're using.
But for the purpose of this video,
we know that people often use the term schizophrenic,
and so, we decided to put into Google can schizophrenics
because we thought that that would be a more popular search
term then can people living with schizophrenia, blank.
Okay, so getting right into some of the search results,
can schizophrenics touch their hallucinations?
So, I think this is probably a good question
if you don't know a lot about schizophrenia
because you would wanna know, you know,
how real is it for the person
who's experiencing hallucinations?
Can only interact with them?
And I mean, the short answer, for me anyway,
for me personally, no, I cannot touch my hallucinations.
I don't have the tactile hallucinations
where I can feel things.
But there are some people with schizophrenia
who do experience tactile hallucinations.
So, you know, I'm not really sure if they can touch
their visual hallucinations,
but for me personally, I can't.
Okay, so the next search trend that we want to talk about
was can schizophrenics drive?
So this is kind of a funny one to me, you know?
I never really gave it a second thought about whether people
with schizophrenia could drive or not because I do drive
and I think I hope I'm an okay driver.
I don't feel that my illness, you know,
is too much at play in terms of that.
Now, I would hopefully never get into the car
while experiencing intense psychosis because then yes,
my perceptions are altered and my reality is altered
and it might not be the safest thing for me to drive.
But on a day-to-day basis when my symptoms are under control
and managed properly, yes, of course I can drive.
Now, I think a lot of people,
a lot of people wonder this.
I've had this asked of me a lot.
And so, I kind of did some more digging
and asked some people that I know who are living
with schizophrenia as well whether or not they drive.
And I was kind of surprised to hear that some people
who are living with schizophrenia don't drive
because, you know, their hallucinations are such
that they feel that it would be unsafe to do so.
So yes, I can drive,
but there are people with schizophrenia who choose not to.
All right, so the next one that we wanna talk about
that we found in the search system was
can schizophrenics drink alcohol?
So, I mean, just like anyone else can, yes,
people with schizophrenia can drink alcohol.
There might be some deeper implications though,
for people who are living with schizophrenia.
I am kind of a social drinker.
I do drink alcohol in social situations,
but lately, I've kind of come to realize that, you know,
the warnings on the antipsychotic medication that say,
do not consume alcohol while taking this medication
are there for a reason.
I never really gave it a second thought.
I just thought that, you know,
I could engage in drinking alcohol the same way
anyone else can,
but due to the medications that I am taking,
it does affect me differently.
And it does affect the potency or the effectiveness
of the medications that I'm on.
So, I've kind of tried to reduce the amount of alcohol
that I'm consuming for that reason
because I do want the medications that I'm taking
to be as effective as possible.
And when I do consume alcohol,
it does lower the efficacy of it.
And I don't feel as great the next day.
And sometimes my symptoms are more pronounced.
And so, I am trying to stay away from it more.
I know a lot of people with schizophrenia
do tend to self-medicate with things like alcohol,
which is another layer to this problem
and something that I would not recommend.
Overall to answer this question,
yes, people with schizophrenia can drink alcohol.
However, there are some things to be aware of for them
that maybe other people don't necessarily
have to be aware of.
Okay, so the next one is, can schizophrenics live alone?
This is another one that kind of strikes me as like, well,
yes, of course, because you know, I've lived alone
and I've lived through living alone.
It was fine.
You know, I do know a lot of people who are living
with schizophrenia who do live alone,
and you know, they can manage their symptoms on their own
and they can live, you know, stable lives on their own.
I am living with a partner right now,
and that has been really helpful
in terms of keeping my mental health in a stable place
and making sure that I'm engaging in proper self-care
and whatnot,
and making sure that I'm taking my medications regularly.
So, you know, living with someone else is of benefit
to people who are dealing with a chronic illness
like schizophrenia.
However, it is totally possible for people who are living
with schizophrenia to live on their own.
Now that said,
schizophrenia is kind of a spectrum illness,
and there's definitely a degree of varying severity
of symptoms that one experiences.
And so, there are people who are living with schizophrenia
who maybe can't live on their own
or can't live without people around on them.
And so, there are, you know, group homes
or some people have to live with family
and that's totally okay too,
if they know that they need a little bit of extra support,
that is fine.
But it is possible for some people
who are living with schizophrenia to live on their own
if they are able to manage their symptoms
effectively on their own.
I think that this search result is, you know,
just indicative of the level of stigma within society.
I was told, and even within the medical system,
the medical profession,
I was told by one psychiatrist in the hospital once
that I should be kept in a hospital
for the rest of my life.
And basically, you know,
insinuating that I would never be able to be autonomous
or independent in living my own life
and I should be essentially institutionalized.
And so, you know, I think a lot of people don't really know
how or if it's possible for someone who's living
with an illness, like schizophrenia,
to live on their own and to live independently,
and to, you know, lead a normal life.
And I really want everyone to know that it is possible.
And even if the degree of severity of symptoms
that someone is experiencing are so much so
that they do need to live with someone else,
it is still possible for them to live outside
of an institution.
And for them to, you know,
engage in life the same way that anybody else might.
Okay, so the next one is can schizophrenics love
and can schizophrenics feel love?
And I mean, short answer is yes,
of course, we are people too
and we can experience the full breadth of emotion
that anybody else can experience.
And that includes feeling love for other people
and love for ourselves and love for, you know, whatever.
Of course people who are living with schizophrenia
can feel love.
In terms of romantic relationships, you know,
it might be a little bit harder for someone
who's living with schizophrenia to be in a relationship
due to symptoms or due to, you know,
dealing with a chronic illness.
However, it is fully possible.
I am in a longterm relationship right now.
I have been in them before,
I have been in love,
I am currently in love.
And yes, it is absolutely possible.
I think this question that people have is kind of stemming
from maybe what they see or what they understand
in terms of the negative symptoms
that someone who's living with schizophrenia experiences
where, you know, there is more of the flat effect
and kind of the despondency and that kind of thing
in which kind of leads people to, you know,
wonder if they can experience joy, or happiness, or love.
And so, you know,
even if someone is presenting as more flat and whatnot,
and you know, maybe even experiencing less range of emotion,
it is still possible for them to experience love.
Okay, so the next one is,
can schizophrenics have babies?
So, I mean, again,
short answer is just like any other human,
they do have the potential to have babies.
It's kind of a little bit more of a complicated question
than that because, you know,
I myself grapple with the question of whether or not,
you know, the morality behind having a baby
because I have schizophrenia,
I live with schizophrenia,
I know what it's like to have to try to manage an illness
like this, and it's very, very hard.
And it is, there is a degree of, you know,
geneticism linked to passing it on.
And so, I would not wish that on my child at all
to be living through schizophrenia.
However, if one parent has schizophrenia,
the chance of their child inheriting it is 10%,
which is a lot higher than I would like it to be.
However, I think it's a lot lower than most people
think it is.
I also think about it in terms of,
if my child does have schizophrenia,
I think I would be one of the best suited parents for them
to have in terms of helping guide them through it,
helping to identify it as early as possible,
and helping to, you know,
just help them learn how to manage it
and how to look at it from a positive light.
So yes, people with schizophrenia can have children.
I know several people,
I know a lot of people who have the illness
who do have biological children.
I think that this question kind of stems from people
also wondering whether or not someone who has schizophrenia
could be fit to be a parent.
So not only, you know,
the biological component,
but also just, you know,
what it takes to care for a child and another person.
And to that, I just want to say, you know,
everyone has their challenges
and everyone has their strengths likewise.
And so, I think that people who are living
with schizophrenia also, you know,
have these challenges and strengths.
And so, yeah it might be challenging
to manage your symptoms in a way that, you know,
doesn't affect your children too much
and to parent in a loving way
without having your symptoms interfering too much.
However, you know,
I think that people with schizophrenia
have typically have a greater capacity for empathy
and compassion and that kind of thing.
And I think that that serves itself wonderfully
to having children.
I have two children right now who are not biologically mine,
and it has definitely been a learning curve
to learn how to take care of two small children
while also taking care of myself.
And I think those kind of go hand-in-hand
where I need to know how to take care of myself
in order to best take care of them.
And so, there has been a learning curve
in terms of how to manage and juggle all of that.
However, it is possible.
I am doing it right now.
And my partner and I are also discussing having a biological
child of our own.
And so, you know, I think that I just wanna communicate
that it is absolutely possible for someone
who's living with schizophrenia to parent
and to have a child of their own.
Okay, so the next one is, can schizophrenics work?
Again, you know, there is a variety of severity
in terms of symptoms that someone with schizophrenia
may experience.
And so, some people may not be able to work
because of their illness and that's fine, you know,
they can still contribute to society
in other meaningful ways.
However, there is a large subset of people,
who are living with schizophrenia,
who are able to work.
I have held various jobs throughout my life
and, you know, have done so relatively successfully.
And I know many other people
who are living with schizophrenia
who also work successfully.
Now, that said, from my own personal experience,
it has been harder for me to hold a steady job
for long periods of time.
This is either because my symptoms started to become
more prevalent, and I, you know,
I withdrew from my employment
or because my symptoms started to come about more
and I needed time off,
and my employer, wasn't really sure how to do that,
or I didn't communicate as effectively as I could
about what I needed in terms of that time off
and that recovery period.
If you are living with schizophrenia and you are working,
I think that it's really important
to have a bit of a contingency plan,
hopefully ideally with your employer,
about what happens when your symptoms become more prevalent
and you need some time off or a break of some kind.
If you feel comfortable,
being honest with your employer about your needs
is going to be the best option.
Now that said, there is still a lot of stigma
within society.
And, you know,
sometimes it's not the best thing to tell your employer.
So, if you want to learn more about this,
we did a video about knowing when to tell your employer
about your illness.
So you can check that out at the link here.
All right, so the next one is,
can schizophrenics recover?
In order to answer this question,
we kind of need to shift our understanding
of the term recover.
I think that a lot of people ask this question
in the sense of can someone with schizophrenia be cured
or can someone with schizophrenia recover completely
and just maintain this stable recovery?
However, I think it's important to look at recovery
and to understand recovery as more of an ongoing process.
And, you know, it's not a linear one.
So yes, it is possible for people
who are living with schizophrenia to recover.
However, you know, they may still have setbacks
or, you know, they may still have flare ups of symptoms
and whatnot, and that's okay.
They are still on the journey of recovery
even if that happens.
So, you know,
I think it's important when talking about recovery
to talk about things like, you know,
utilizing medication, and therapy, and social supports,
and those things being very important and kind of pillars
in terms of getting to, or working on recovery.
However, I think it's important to understand
that even when someone is doing these things,
they still have varying degrees of breakthrough symptoms.
And so, I think it's not so much understanding recovery
in terms of being in a place with no symptoms
and, you know, managing it so that you have no symptoms
of schizophrenia.
It's more recovery in the sense of how well
you're able to function while managing these symptoms
and how meaningfully you are able to engage in life
and how, you know, just, I guess, more quality of life
sort of thing.
If you feel that you have a good quality of life,
I would define that as being in a place of recovery.
All right, and the last one that I wanna talk about today
is can schizophrenics live a normal life?
So, you know,
first thing that comes to mind with this
is what is a normal life?
I think that there is such a varying degree of ways
that someone can live their life.
And so, you know, who gets to define what normal is?
I think that it's important to convey that people
who are living with schizophrenia are people.
first and foremost,
just like anyone else.
And so, you know how they live their life is normal.
They are people and they're living their life normally.
I think that this question is kind of getting at, you know,
can they engage the same way a neuro-typical person would
engage in life, you know?
Working, having a family, you know,
engaging in those milestones of life.
And yes, it is possible for someone
who's living with schizophrenia to do all that.
It may look a little different at certain points
just because of, you know, also having the added challenge
of managing symptoms and whatnot.
And that can interfere in terms of, you know,
life trajectory and in terms of how you're able to live
a normal life.
You know, my life trajectory has definitely changed
at various periods as a result of my illness.
But, you know, I think that's okay.
I think that regardless of having those periods of,
you know, altered life trajectory or less stability
or whatnot, I was still living my life in a way
that, you know, was still meaningful
and that was still productive in terms of
contributing to society and the people around me
and whatnot.
So, you know, again, what is normal?
But that aside,
yes, someone who's living with schizophrenia
can live a normal life.
All right, so that wraps up the list of what we came across
when we searched for the phrase, can schizophrenics, blank.
So, you know,
I think that searching for that phrase
is a really good indication of kind of,
or taking kind of a litmus test about public perception
about schizophrenia.
And it really helped me to understand where people are at
in terms of their understanding of what schizophrenia is
and what people who are living with schizophrenia
are capable of, or can do, or that kind of thing.
So, it was good to address those things.
And I hope that if you're watching this video,
you found it helpful for me to answer some of these
most searched questions.
All right, so if you enjoyed this video or found it helpful,
please make sure to like it and also feel free to comment
if you have any further thoughts on any of the questions
that we talked about today.
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Thank you so much again for watching.
And as always, wishing you and your loved ones good health.
See you in the next video.
Bye
(soft acoustic music)