Schizophrenia Still Misunderstood
This morning I was reading an article which looked at a survey of 1500 people conducted by the charity Rethink Mental Illness. The conclusions show that people are still woefully misunderstanding Schizophrenia. These misunderstandings can lead to people not getting the help they need. When one considers that this unfortunate condition will strike one in one hundred people, it surely should be better understood.
The article went into how people believed that schizophrenia always led to violent behaviour rather and that sufferers were dangerous. These misconceptions are extremely unhelpful on many levels.
I am doing a course today on mental health awareness in the work place. Programmes like these are designed to help managers and staff to look out for the warning signs of mental distress and to give practical advice as to how best to support sufferers. This course is designed to take the fear and misconception out of mental health issues.
I only wish that programmes like the one I am teaching were the norm rather than the exception in industry. We often hear about the challenges that industry faces in order to be competetitve. Sadly, we seldom hear that looking after staff mental health is one sure way to make a work place safe and supportive. A safe and supportive work place is a productive and vibrant one.
