Respondents described experiencing a lack of information about the support services available and stressed the importance of receiving information about the illness.
PATIENT #1 | Male | 40 years old
"It was around 1989 when I learned what was wrong … I still don't understand the word exactly and don't really know what it is, but … it's schizophrenia."
PATIENT #2 | Female | 38 years old
"It is important to be informed early about what help there is to be had. You shouldn't have to wait until the patient education program, but instead get it when you're discharged or when you first go the outpatient ward, so you know right away what kind of things you can get help with. And maybe repeat it again after 3 months, because your life might look different then."
Patients felt the lack of information towards the public was actively contributing to the stigma against schizophrenia patients. Therefore, they were asking for information about the illness to society and relatives too.
PATIENT #3 | Male | 55 years old
"I've found it hard to tell people that I'm schizophrenic. This guy at this restaurant I go to always said “Hi.” One day he saw me standing outside the psychosis treatment clinic. “Oh, are you among these idiots?” he said. “Yeah, sometimes,” I said. So now it's not “Hi there” anymore, but “Uh … hi” keeping his distance. So I've never wanted to say what sort of sickness I have."
Interviewees also emphasized how important people are who listen and see them as individuals, to meet people who are receptive, and people who see to their needs.
PATIENT #1:
"When I sit in the waiting room here in the psychosis clinic, I'm not just an anonymous figure in a sofa, but they greet me. It is so important to know that they can see who I am as a person behind the disease."
The respondents that regularly visited meeting places for people with psychiatric problems valued this sense of community and opportunity to share experiences.
PATIENT #2:
"Thanks to the locale, I was saved. I could go there and meet other patients … And when I met others who'd been in the hospital too, we started laughing, “Well, you were there too and now you're here!” So we could laugh and joke and didn't have to take it so seriously … So that saved me … because my family sure can't … I've been very lonely."
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