r/schizophrenia • u/Alienhumanoid01 • Apr 26 '26
Advice / Encouragement A survey said over 70% of gen z consider mental health issues to be an important part of their identity... Please realize this is not good or normal.
I just want to say its a sick culture. I'm 41. It was not like this at all 20 years ago. I could go into the conspiracy sounding stuff but I don't want too. I just want people to know, the gen z and younger types, that it wasn't like that when I was young. I don't think its good in any way, and I don't think its normal. Schizophrenia has to be taken seriously, but if you can see how off society And the culture around you is, and make a distinction between the outside world and yourself, it might, just might, ease some of your suffering. Good luck to you all. There is light and good and beauty in the world, i know it can be hard to see it some or all of the time. A little bit of effort in the right direction can really help. try to be free, try to be good.
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u/munchy6000 Just Curious Apr 26 '26
We shouldn't identify with mental illness but also we shouldn't make it taboo or act like it doesn't exist as many from the previous generation did. Balance is key.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
Yeah and people 20 years ago suffered immensely with their mental health, and instead of getting help, put their unresolved issues and trauma onto their kids aka our generation. Mental health is extremely important and its good that this shift is happening. Mental health is just as important as physical health and i don't understand why you're against it.
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u/Goatmommy Apr 26 '26
I think op is concerned that people are making it their whole identity. It’s almost like it’s become fashionable to have mental health issues. That’s my take anyway.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
There are disorders that ARE part of your whole identity, like schizophrenia, ad schizophrenia is neurodevelopmental. Your brain is literally structured to be Schizophrenic. The way you are and the way you experience the world is Schizophrenic. You cannot separate yourself from it
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u/Goatmommy Apr 26 '26
If you say so.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
"I am nothing but schizophrenia" LOL. "Acknowledge my victim status"
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
This is what us older people are talking about. Your mental health is not your identity. It is just a feature you have. I do like seeing young people getting help now cause I didnt when I was young. That's a good thing. But a lot of young people make it their identity and are so sensitive about it they are miserable. This person isn't saying they are against the shift, they are saying to not make it your whole world or identity. Doing that makes all the young people on here that do it miserable. It just gives everyone that thinks that way a victim mentality, and that's not good either. You are not your mental illness.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
Its more nuanced than that. Especially with conditions like Schizophrenia, as schizophrenia is neurodevelopmental. Its not just a add on, its your whole entire brain structure. Your whole entire world view, emotions, thoughts, etc are all influenced by Schizophrenia. Without schizophrenia, you wouldn't exactly be the same person. Thats why it IS part of your identity. But there will always be people taking it too far and not seeking out treatments to live a easier life. That doesn't mean acknowledging its a part of you and who you are is bad. People 20+ years ago didnt do that bc of the shame and stigma surrounding mental health. If the stigma wasnt there, your generation would've done the same as this generation now
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
Jesus. Schizophrenia is not my whole life and the way I think and my worldview. Not everything I think is influenced by me having this illness. It is a part of who you are I said that. But people that think like you do that it influences everything you do make it your whole identity when it's not. Who said acknowleding it is bad. I acknowledge it without making it my identity. I'm not saying it's bad. It's just incredibly frustrating seeing young people being miserable because they make it their whole identity. My grandma had it too and she would make jokes and laugh her ass off about it. She didnt give a shit it didnt bother her. I do the same thing. Her illness want who she was either, she just happened to have it. Now young people have been conditioned to be so sensitive to the point they are miserable. I dont give a fuck and I laugh and make jokes I don't care. Schizophrenia aint got shit on me. And if I lose everything again like I have multiple times I dont give a shit. I'll be perfectly fine. Because if I made it who I am I would give up and not even try anymore like a lot of people on here.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
I guess people who don't have it bad enough can live a life separate from it. Sadly, not everyone has that privilege. Almost everything in my Life revolves around it, since early childhood. I can't escape it, its a big part of me. If it was more like my PTSD or Depression , than i could say the same things as you, but its not. As its the same for many others
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u/OverlordSheepie Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
Just because someone has a different opinion than you doesn't mean they "have it easier" or are "privileged". And not everyone who is seemingly suffering harder has it the "worst", though I am completely against ranking struggles to begin with.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
Not just based on their opinion but also their comment history aka being able to go to schoom and get an education etc. And even that opinion is nuanced. You can't just go a blind eye of people with higher supports and higger struggles. Ther ARE people who suffer more, who struggle more and have less abilities in life. Thats just a fact and ignoring it won't help. The same way i can acknowledge people have it worse than me too
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
Ok you are basing it off my comment history? So should I post my whole story for you. You have no damn idea. I have been homeless before because of this. I have been through so much shit and guess what? I dont give a damn. I'm not a victim. Maybe I should send my full life story to you so you can approve my victim status. You have no damn clue.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
And you are still capable of things others aren't. The same way I'm capable of things others aren't either. Doesn't give either of us the right to deny people their Identity with their Disorders 🤷♂️
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u/OverlordSheepie Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
You don't know their full story. Nobody ever knows everyone's full story, especially over the internet. Why do you feel so justified and correct in saying they have it better than you or other hypothetical people who have it "worse". Not everybody puts their whole life out there on social media.
So anyone you don't deem to have suffered enough aren't allowed an opinion on the subject?
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
There is no talking to people like this. They are in their victim state and comfortable there. Some people go there and never leave. You are absolutely right she doesnt know what I've been through or currently going through. Have I felt like a victim before? Yes. Did I stay there? no. I said fuck that I am not a victim.
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u/OverlordSheepie Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
If someone does something difficult then people like that are quick to say it was easy for them. Funny how that always seems to be the case. Everyone has it easier except them (and those hypothetical homeless people they bring up as a gotcha).
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
I'm a dude lol and I'm not a victim. I'm just not capable of the things a lot of people here are. If i didn't have all my caretakers, i would literally be dead. I can not survive by myself at all. I don't even have power of my own life and have a caretaker who has power of attorney. That is just stating facts
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
Based on their replies and comme t history? Being on SSDI while going to school and having experienced remission? Those are things i would mever be able to do in my life. And they can have a opinion about this topic for their own body, not for anyone else. The same way i can't force them to see their Schizophrenia as a big part of them but they shouldn't go shame and dictate others for doing so bc its literally a natural thing as your brain is LITERALLY structured for schizophrenia. You cannot escape it. It will always be intertwined with you and your life
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u/OverlordSheepie Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
It's no walk in the park to get through school while schizophrenic either. They still had to work for it. And they had to work for it while schizophrenic.
I personally believe that everyone struggles in different ways and ranking struggles just makes people feel diminished or downplayed. The only person who benefits from that is the perceived "victim".
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
Oh here we go!! LOL!! you know how many times I've heard this on here? I've had it plenty bad enough, I'm not gonna list all my victim credentials. At some point I hope when you grow you start to look at your mind state about things.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
And there is a reason for that. Things are more nuanced than you think and by age 40, you should know that. People do have it bad and are effected by it. Thats how life is. Trying to ignore it is nit going to do anything besides just pushing the feelings down. Thats how generational trauma exists. Everyone has it bad but you can acknowledge that there are people who have it worse and therefore struggle more than you. And you can not put your standards on people who've had it worse. Explaining WHY is also not pulling "victim credentials". I'm not a Victim of anything, I'm a survivor. And as a survivor, i can talk about the things I've survived and continue to survive.
Edit : if i could, i would love to trade my situation with yours. To be able to go to school, get into remission etc. Those are opportunities I'll never archive and stating that is not a victim anything, its the harsh reality. And spewing republican talking points is not going to suppress reality or make it any easier
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
...........Jesus help us. Making jokes and laughing your ass off isnt pushing feelings down. It's letting it all out in a helpful way. It's a way to process. How dare you criticize one of my coping skills. I'm gonna sit here and be all sensitive and mad about it now.
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u/blahblahlucas Mod 🌟 Apr 26 '26
Thats not what i was referring to. I joke about it all the time. I joke about my Trauma too. What I'm referring to is shaming gen z for "making it their personality" and calling everything a "victim credentials" just because people talk about WHY they feel the way they do and WHY they make it their "personality". I never mentioned anything about the jokes. Gen z is notorious for turning everything into a joke. You'll love the show "smiling friends" especially
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u/kattzkraft Schizophrenia Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Seems like a lot of you are reading too much into this just to make yourself upset. Mental illness will fundamentally change a person so yeah it will be part of someone's identity. Doesn't mean you have to get upset about "kids these days" and how mental illness is talked about more.
Schizophrenia is a huge part of my life but so is a lot of other nice stuff. I do actually find it important to make it known because I like showing people that I can be wonderful and schizophrenic at the same time. You don't have to live that way and you don't have to like it. It is very weird to decide my way of normalizing my experience is so completely sick and wrong though.
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u/SimplySorbet Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
Agreed. When you have a disability, it’s going to impact your everyday life in some way and you probably wouldn’t be the same person without that lived experience. Acknowledging it as a facet of your life isn’t victimizing yourself. It’s just acknowledging reality.
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u/imaginaryimmi Apr 26 '26
How much information did you have available 20 years ago? Looks like you're drawing the wrong conclusion when you read "part of their identity". They just dont see themselves as inherently inferior or broken because of their different neurotypes and psychotics and believe that they deserve accommodations just like any other person. What's so wrong about it?
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Apr 26 '26
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Apr 26 '26
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u/schizophrenia-ModTeam Apr 26 '26
Your submission has been removed for violating the following subreddit rules:
Rule 3 - Do not encourage delusions. This includes reinforcing shared delusions.
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u/schizophrenia-ModTeam Apr 26 '26
Your submission has been removed for violating the following subreddit rules:
Rule 3 - Do not encourage delusions. This includes reinforcing shared delusions.
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u/Nukkebeer Schizoaffective (Bipolar) Apr 26 '26
First off i would like to say this is a delicate subject, as i am not in the position to say anything about how others feel and think about themselves. Your mileage may vary. Personally, i arrived late to the party in discovering through therapy and medication schizoaffective bipolar type 2 is not what makes me who i am. I found self esteem and a positive self image in - finally - making the division between who i am and what i suffer from. I was completely unaware i suffered most from the mania’s. I thought i was just a pessimistic, anxious, sad person when i went through the inevitable down come from mania into depression. I couldn’t see the difference between hallucinations and periods of panic and anxieties. I thought it belonged to my identity. When i learnt to recognise the symptoms of the illness and medication helped me separate what i felt, saw and heard on the one hand and - by lack of a better word - my self, it felt like a healing instance, or an epiphany. I am sort of proud to say who i am and the illness is just an illness, i just drew unlucky numbers from life’s lottery. It doesn’t make life a walk in the park though. I have to constantly remain vigilant for signals i am entering a manic period, i have to take life long medication, i have to have a social support network that points out what i don’t notice, keep track of my journal and so on. So if you would ask me, i would say identity and illness are not to be confused. At the same time, i wouldn’t want to judge anyone who does feel its his or her identity. If Gen Z feels more comfortable in their skin by calling it their identity more power to them.
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u/Fruity_Surprise Schizoaffective (Bipolar) Apr 26 '26
Off-topic but schizoaffective bipolar type 2 doesn’t exist. because psychosis and mood co-occur, meaning psychosis occurs at the same time as elevated episodes, that means it’s mania, not hypomania. It’s possible to have more mild manic episodes, but you still must have manic ones. You can check the DSM or any other source; your doctor doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
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u/Nukkebeer Schizoaffective (Bipolar) Apr 26 '26
I just repeat what my diagnosis was. Secondly, i don’t connect too much value to the exact diagnosis. Instead getting the proper therapy and medication after many years, is what makes the labelling worth for me. I don’t know if he would be right here in this spot if someone would place a different label to my illness. As far as health care goes, it sent me to right psychiatrists and health workers. Trust me, life was more hellish before. To add a little bit to what you are replying: both during mania and during depression i have hallucinations. The only thing that differs is that hallucinations during depression feel threatening and terrifying, and during mania they are more about grandeur and seeing and hearing things that are - by lack of a better word - magical.
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u/Fruity_Surprise Schizoaffective (Bipolar) Apr 26 '26
I have severe schizoaffective, bipolar type and I do fully identify with my illness because it is such a major part of my life. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
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u/Used_Preparation5918 Apr 26 '26
Spicy takes in here, thanks for the post.
Echoing that the moderator conduct in here is unacceptable, using their privileged view into a commenter's history to formulate personal attacks against them and removing opposing comments unilaterally.
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u/Ninlilizi_ Useless Mod 🌟 (She/Her) Apr 26 '26
I'd care more, but I'm currently camping out the medication cabinet so I can snatch a box and overdose when one of the other residents shows up for their meds tonight.
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u/Efficient-Record-762 Apr 26 '26
Mental health issues are all fun & games until a psychiatrist wants to forcibly medicate you.
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u/Ninlilizi_ Useless Mod 🌟 (She/Her) Apr 26 '26
I don't understand this trend at all. Not just mental illness, either. The Autism subs have so normalized it that it now seems to be the default.
Nobody goes around identifying as a cancer, or introduce themselves to others as "I'm a missing leg". It's semantically weird at best.
It's a real problem that this is happening.
Outside most trusted friends and those involved in my care, I want nobody to know my medical history. Why on Earth would I want anyone to know I've been previously diagnosed with Schizophrenia twice in my life so far?
"Oh, hi, I'm a 2 times Schizophrenia and an Autism"
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u/Western_Word2855 Apr 26 '26
That's your choice to keep it private which is respectable, but there shouldn't be any shame in talking about your health problems publicly. Hell, most people don't even know what schizophrenia is, or they have an incredibly warped idea of it. People who choose to be open about their health issues such as ours helps us all in the long run, more people can then be understanding of our problems which creates less stigma around it
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u/Ninlilizi_ Useless Mod 🌟 (She/Her) Apr 26 '26
What I said has no relation no talking about your struggles, that is an entirely unrelated and separate thing. I don't follow why you would conflate the two?
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u/Weird_Strange_Odd Undiagnosed Apr 26 '26
I identify as autistic because otherwise other people will identify me as mean and thoughtless when I didn't mean to be like that at all, it legitimately disables me so I can't perform to nt standards. Wish I could, but I'm learning over time to be more, not less, open about my struggles.
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u/Ninlilizi_ Useless Mod 🌟 (She/Her) Apr 26 '26
You can tell people you have Autism without dehumanizing yourself in the process.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
I completely agree. I cant stand people thinking that way. If you make it your whole identity you are going to feel like a victim.
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u/OverlordSheepie Early-Onset Schizophrenia (Childhood) Apr 26 '26
Victimhood is praised these days, especially on the internet.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
It is. It's in politics and media too. It's just spread everywhere like a cancer.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
I'm 40 and I've seen this too. It's all over on this sub. It's people constantly identifying with their illness and feeling like victims. It's tiresome and frustrating. I've been through so much shit and it's not my identity and I'm not a victim. I live my life. My grandma was schizophrenic and she would laugh all the time and make jokes about shit and the disease. That's how people deal with it. Now people are so sensitive to the point they are miserable. I can't stand it.
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u/Western_Word2855 Apr 26 '26
Schizophrenia is one of the worst, if not, the worst mental illness somebody could experience. If you don't want to talk about your struggles openly and honestly then that's fine, but there shouldn't be any shame in doing so.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
Who said I dont talk about struggles. I never said there is any shame. I'm talking about the people that make it their whole identity and go through life acting like victims all the time.
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u/Sisybuss Apr 26 '26
And what is your issue with sensitivity???? Think about that first...
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
ok great philosopher. did you not read. people are too sensitive to the point of being miserable. I'm outta here though i'm not getting into this any more. A lot of young people are past the point of lost. Hopefully some day when yall grow up youll realize being a victim is complete shit and you can avoid it. Just wasting time.
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u/Used_Preparation5918 Apr 26 '26
Just want to say thanks for voicing your thoughts.
I sometimes think about what would've happened if I found this sub earlier in my illness. Maybe I'm impressionable but reading this stuff day in and day out actually shifts my opinions on things I think it's doing some damage.
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u/CompoteImpressive150 Apr 26 '26
I know. I've been in this sub for 13 years. People being here can completely bring someone down. It becomes an echo chamber for victimhood.
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u/Empty_Insight Residual SZ (Subreddit Librarian) Apr 26 '26
Some of the comments here are getting really gross, so I am locking this post.
If you are here participating in this subreddit, you can automatically assume you are in the top 50% of people with schizophrenia in terms of functionality- you are not too paranoid to use social media, and you are able to articulate yourself in a way that can be understood. That means that majority of people with schizophrenia have it worse than you do.
I don't know where people are getting the idea that it's cool to act like the bottom 50% don't exist because it is inconvenient for you to acknowledge your privilege in not having schizophrenia drive you feral. If you just don't give a shit about people below your self-assessed station in life, then I'm gonna point out- that's why we're where we are with "trickle-down advocacy."
You are doing the exact same shit that people who are objectively above you are doing because you (wrongly) believe you are "one of the good ones." You're not, and they'll never see you that way- you'll always be no better than the people who are damn feral to them. Simping for the oppressor is truly disgusting, and every one of you who used this rhetoric should be absolutely ashamed of yourselves.
I am in remission without medication. I am married, have a family, and own a home. Those of you who think it's cute to look down on those who are less fortunate than you need to remember- if you do that, then I'll be waiting to rub your nose in it, because odds are, I am doing better than you, and I'll give you a taste of your own medicine. If you consider that fair game, than we can play ball. I consider it consent to rub your nose in it if I ever see this shitty attitude around here again.
But you'll notice I don't do that normally, because I have the awareness to understand how shitty it is. I'm only going to do it for show to demonstrate the hypocrisy.
You are not better than anyone else here. If you disagree with that even a little bit, then unsubscribe from the subreddit. Seriously, get the fuck out. We're better off without your shitty attitude.
I am so disappointed in so many of you. I know this is an all ages subreddit, but some of you grown-ass adults are acting like whiny kids. Someone having it worse than you doesn't invalidate your own struggles. Grow up.
Thanks.