In my fourth year of my PhD on schizophrenia and I'm currently writing up my thesis. I'm procrastinating right now so thought I'd do something useful with what I've been studying.

And no, schizophrenia is not multiple personality disorder.

Edit: I have to get dinner and run some errands. I'm really enjoying this so I will definitely get back and answer the rest of the questions.

  • an_engel_on_earth [he/him, they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    are the symptoms of schizophrenia culturally determined? for example, iirc some schizophrenics think they can talk to God, but that is only possible in a society so saturated with God talk as ours.If so, is it possible to find a treatment that works for schizophrenics worldwide or would every treatment suited to the cultural context of the patient? Does it even matter?

      • Pezevenk [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        in the United States, the voices are harsh and threatening; in Africa and India, they are more benign and playful.

        The US fucking fails even in that regard, impressive.

        • acealeam [he/him]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I remember hearing this about ghosts as well. It makes sense they're related, but in America ghosts are also uniquely malicious and in most cultures they're kind and usually a dead relative or friend.

        • Orannis62 [ze/hir]
          ·
          4 years ago

          IME that's more a matter of stigma. People in the US who hear voices in a way that isn't immediately threatening are less likely to tell others about it because of the stigma around hearing voices.

            • Orannis62 [ze/hir]
              ·
              4 years ago

              Not always in the same ways, though that's changing as American cultural hegemony gets more and more ingrained.

    • Sidereal223 [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yes, the linked article already shows a good example of it. If by treatment, then it depends on what you by treatment. The sad fact is that we don't really understand the mechanisms of schizophrenia and what causes it so we don't have anything that comes close to curing it. Medications are usually just formulated to stop symptoms but end up just shutting down a lot of the brain (hence why so many patients experience non-stop brain fog and why eventually, many will hop off medication).

      However, some types of treatment (for example, types of CBT treatments) try to just help patients cope with their symptoms. It's here where I think that the type of voice they hear would be important. If voices are mostly positive and accepted, it would approached differently and would probably be much easier to help than people in the US who only hear hostile voices. I really like the point in the article, how the whole conception of schizophrenia (in the West) as some horrific mental disease might contribute towards the negative voices US schizophrenia patients hear.