General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I have a brother with schizophrenia and I am sick of the bigotry against the mentally ill [View all]Lee-Lee
(6,324 posts)I have already said that lumping all forms of mental illness together under one blanket isn't doing anyone any justice, and in this case I think the same. Your second link does just that.
A person with an eating disorder is nowhere comparable with a schizophrenic when it comes to how they interact with society.
As I said, if you can show me studies dealing just with schizophrenia that show there is no increased likelihood of violence from the disorder, I will gladly admit I am wrong. Studies that lump all persons discharged from institutions into one block don't show that.
I am still looking over the first link, I will comment back when I am finished if anything changes my mind. I am open to having my mind changed, but people just telling me I am being mean won't do it. That study seems to only focus on cases where substance abuse is combined with psychiatric disorders- something we all can agree is a dangerous mix I hope. But it also says "The prevalence of substance abuse, mainly illegal drug abuse or misuse of prescription drugs and alcohol abuse, among diagnosed psychiatric patients is 85%"- a shockingly high number to me, but if accurate it means that we with that high a rate almost have to consider the mix as likely prevalent in such patients. And this probably comes from self-medication due to lack of proper care, but it is where it is until we do something to help make it better.