Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, in his book, “Surviving Schizophrenia” (2001) describes schizophrenia
as “a cruel disease where the lives of those affected are often chronicles of constricted
experiences, muted emotions, missed opportunities, and unfulfilled expectations. It leads to
a twilight existence, a twentieth-century underground man.”
Schizophrenia is the most severe mental illness within human existence and yet it has only
been researched for approximately thirty years. Within this time frame, new antipsychotic
drugs along with new clinical and therapeutic methods have begun to improve the lives of
those suffering; however, much more must be discovered to bring about relief from this
debilitating illness.
The following is a fact sheet found in the above-mentioned book by Dr. Torrey:
- Approximately 2.2 million Americans have schizophrenia in any given year.
- At least 40 percent of them are not receiving treatment at any given time. Thus,
there are approximately 900,000 individuals with schizophrenia not being treated.
- There are at least as many individuals with schizophrenia who are homeless, as there
are in all hospitals and related facilities.
- There are more individuals with schizophrenia in jails and state prisons than there
are in all hospitals and related facilities.
- There are increasing episodes of violence committed by individuals with
schizophrenia who are not being treated. This is the single biggest cause of stigma
against individuals with this diagnosis Individuals with schizophrenia are
increasingly the victims of crimes, including robberies, assaults, rapes, and murders.
- Our treatment of individuals with this disease has, all too often, also been discordant
and cruel. It is, in fact, the single biggest blemish on the face of contemporary
American medicine and social services; when the social history of our era is written,
the plight of persons with schizophrenia will be recorded as having been a national
scandal.
Torrey, E. (2001). Surviving Schizophrenia (4th ed). New York: Harper Collins
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