1. The Truth About
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia and Related Disorders
Alliance of America
(SARDAA)
Linda Whitten Stalters
Board of Directors

2. Schizophrenia and Related Disorders
Alliance of America
(SARDAA)
Mission: Improve the lives of people with
schizophrenia and related disorders by
promoting hope and recovery through
support programs, education and
advocacy

3. Schizophrenia is NOT
• A lack of will power or self-discipline
• A result of poor parenting
• A consequence of substance abuse
• A Personality disorder
• Being evil or possessed

4. Schizophrenia is a
Physical Disease

5. Research Indications
• Schizophrenia is a disorder of the neurochemicals
that transmit messages between neurons in the
brain and quantity of synapses
• There are physical differences in the brain
• There are differences in the cognitive processing of
information
• MRIs show significant changes in brain functioning
for those with schizophrenia
• Genetic markers that can increase a person's risk for
schizophrenia

6. Brain Connectivity
Synapse

7. Normal Schizophrenia
Fewer synapses
in schizophrenia

8. Enlarged Ventricles

9. Positive symptoms Cognitive
Symptoms
Hallucinations Working memory
of
Delusions Schizophrenia Selective attention
Disordered thoughts Anosognosia
Negative symptoms
Avolition
anhedonia
anergia
asociality
Alogia

10. Abnormality Locations
A Frontal
B
Lobe
Temporal Negative
Lobe symptoms
Positive
symptoms
C D

11. 3-dimensional profile of
gray matter loss in
brains of teenagers
with schizophrenia
Greatest loss in the temporal and
frontal brain regions that control
memory, hearing, motor functions,
and attention.

12. Genetic Risks
General population 1%
Sibling 5%
Child with 1 parent w/schizophrenia 10%
Dizygotic (Fraternal) co-twin 10%
Child of 2 parents w/ schizophrenia 40%
Monozygotic (Identical) co-twin 50%

13. Recovery Is Real

14. A Consumer’s Perspective
“Recovery does not mean cure…”
“…rather recovery is an attitude, a
stance and a way of approaching the
day’s challenges.”
Patricia Deegan PhD (1996. pp.96-97)

15. Barriers To Recovery
Stigma and discrimination
“The stigma is harder to deal
with than the illness itself.”

16. Barriers To Recovery
Lack of Education
Lack of Access to Effective Health Care
Lack of Resources
Lack of funding for Schizophrenia and related
diseases
Hopelessness and shame

17. Putting Things In Perspective
• Schizophrenia: 3 million Americans
• Multiple Sclerosis: 400,000
• Insulin-dependent Diabetes: 350,000
• Muscular Dystrophy: 35,000
• HIV/AIDS: 1.2 million
• Two times more prevalent in the U.S. than
Alzheimer’s
Schizophrenia.com/CDC 2003

18. The Real Impact & Cost
Schizophrenia accounts for more hospital
stays than any other illness
2% of GNP, nearly $70 Billion in direct
and indirect costs
One of the 10 leading causes of disability
in world (WHO)

19. Did You Know?
Lifelong morbidity and increased mortality
Individuals with a serious mental illness die,
on average, 25 years earlier than other
Americans
Substance Abuse & Mental Health
Administration (SAMHSA)

20. The Current Approach?
Two of the largest mental health providers
in the country today are Cook County and
Los Angeles County jails
– between two and four hundred thousand or
more persons with mental illnesses are
confined in U.S. jails and prisons

21. SARDAA Sponsors Hope
Schizophrenics Anonymous
Peer Support

22. Joanne Verbanic
Founder of Schizophrenics Anonymous
• 1970 diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia
• 1985 volunteer work with
Mental Health Association in
Michigan
– Spokesperson at Mental
Health conferences,
universities, schools, clubs,
TV, radio in an effort to
educate the public
– Founded Schizophrenics
Anonymous in Michigan

23. “I have made a commitment to
devote the rest of my life to
helping other mentally ill…I will
continue the endeavor as long as
I live.”
Joanne Verbanic

24. Schizophrenics Anonymous
2008 – More than130 groups meeting
throughout 31 states, as well as
Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and
Venezuela.

25. Schizophrenics Anonymous (SA)
• Voluntary
• Consumer membership driven
• No dues, governing bodies, or by-laws
• Peer support providing empowerment in working
toward recovery

26. Schizophrenics Anonymous
“While most SA participants value the help
they receive in professional settings, SA
provides a unique type of help in dealing
with schizophrenia that members do not
receive from professionals or from other
mental health organizations.”
Salem, Reischl, & Randall, 2000
Michigan State University

27. Qualitative Findings
Involvement in SA helps members:
– Increase understanding of schizophrenia and
how to cope with it.
– Promotes change in self-esteem
– Provides opportunities for participation in
meaningful social roles.
– Helps to combat feelings of loneliness and
social isolation.
Salem, Reischl, & Randall, 2000
Michigan State University

28. SARDAA Philosophy
With treatment , support, public education
and awareness every person with
schizophrenia can have the opportunity to
recover to their potential and live a full life
in the community, free from stigma and
discrimination.

29. What Can You Do?
Contact us to learn how.

30. Schizophrenia and Related
Disorders Alliance of America
SARDAA
PO Box 941222
Houston, Texas 77094-8222
www.sardaa.org
Linda Whitten Stalters, MSN,APRN,BC,PMH,MTAPA,FAPA
Board of Directors
linda.stalters@sardaa.org
(240) 423-9432

31. Schizophrenia Quiz
1. Schizophrenia is a way of describing a
“split personality.”
False. It is a disease with a physical cause,
like cancer or heart disease.

32. 2. No one can recover from schizophrenia.
False. With proper treatment and support,
the majority of people do recover.

33. 3. Schizophrenia is a common mental
illness.
True. About 1% of the world’s population
and about 3 million U.S. citizens have
the disease.

34. 4. Schizophrenia most commonly begins in
people over age 50.
False. The onset of schizophrenia normally
begins between the ages 15 and 25.

35. 5. Schizophrenia can be caused by bad
upbringing, or personal or moral
weakness.
False. It is a disease with a physical cause.

36. 6. Schizophrenia can be diagnosed through
a series of medical tests.
False. There are, currently, no medical tests
for schizophrenia but several tools are
used by trained professionals to
evaluate and diagnose the disorder.

37. 7. Approximately 1 of every 10 people with
schizophrenia completes a suicide
attempt.
True. And about 20%-40% of people
with schizophrenia attempt to
commit suicide.
Suicide is the number one cause of
death for young people with
schizophrenia.

38. 8. Like diabetes, schizophrenia has a
genetic pattern.
True. There is a hereditary tendency.

39. Hereditary Tendency Rates
General population 1%
Sibling 5%
Child with 1 parent w/schizophrenia 10%
Dizygotic (Fraternal) co-twin 10%
Child of 2 parents w/ schizophrenia 40%
Monozygotic (Identical) co-twin 50%

40. 9. People with schizophrenia are often
violent.
False: People with schizophrenia are no
more likely to be violent than their
neighbors. In fact they are the
victims of murder 6 times the
general population
(Lancet, 2001)