Paranoid schizophrenia and violence associated with this disease

It is not rare to hear stories of violence caused by schizophrenia patients. However, while the media may be promoting news about how they schizophrenia patients might have killed their family members or might have attempted to assassinate political leaders, it is important to understand that they cannot be regarded as violent and dangerous as such, simply owing to the disease. Though it might seem to some that segregating the patients from the rest of the society is the best form of prevention, it is crucial to know that according to the experts such a measure is not really required. Regarding schizophrenic patients as dangerous for the society because of the few cases of violence that get so much attention, is simply, a social stigma that hardly bears much of a meaning. Needless to say, segregating them from the rest of the world can barely help much in controlling the crimes in the modern world.

Though it cannot be denied that mental illness and violence have a link or a connection at least somewhere, the fact remains that the link is hardly as strong as the link between substance abuse and violence. An alcoholic or a person under the impact of drugs is far more capable of causing harm to the society than the schizophrenic patients.

Therefore, instead of following the social stigma that schizophrenic patients are dangerous, the family members must take care of them and provide them with the required help. Generally those suffering form this disease, are in fact far from being violent in nature. Many a times, they are just too depressed and withdrawn form the rest of the world to actually attempt causing them harm. Instead of worrying about their own safety, it would be thus much wiser of the part of the family members and the close ones to worry about violent conditions of suicidal tendencies in the patient.

It is crucial to understand that more of the crimes of violence , that threaten the society and the people today are not caused by people who are mentally ill, but by those who are absolutely normal and can plan their plan actions clearly. After all isn’t the number of people who are mentally fit, more than the number of those who are not a lot more in the crime scenes? A schizophrenic patient requires is not the fear and abandonment of the near and dear ones that can worsen their mental state, but warmth and love, with lots of positive vibes that can teach them to handle their emotions bravely. After all though Schizophrenia and Poverty, Crime and Violence are related to each other, the extent and its effects is too minute to be given much significance. It is time that we understand that schizophrenia and violence are two ideas that do not really need to be clubbed together, since they barely can have much of an impact, if it is present in the schizophrenic mind at all.