Elfy scott mum

When journalist and author Elfy Scott reached the age of 14, she started to consider that her mother might be experiencing something that other parents weren't.

Few people speak openly about schizophrenia. Saying it out loud rarely makes us think of a mental health condition in the same way that hearing someone is depressed or anxious might, and it rarely sparks feelings of genuine empathy. And since so few people speak openly about schizophrenia, its cultural identity is distorted by myths and misconceptions. The truth is, the schizophrenia many of us think we know fails to reflect the reality of the schizophrenia that most people experience. To this day, I still have no idea what she was talking about.

Elfy scott mum

Too many people with mental health problems fall through the cracks because of socioeconomic disadvantage. Life just goes on and for most of my life our family household, while full of obnoxious noises and heated arguments about inconsequential topics, was always relatively functional. This is, of course, extremely lucky. My mum comes from a fairly privileged socioeconomic background that has allowed her to receive adequate long-term treatment and live a happy and productive life, despite a history of auditory hallucinations and paranoia. This is probably because many Australians with the same disorder do not fare as well. Schizophrenia, like every other mental illness, is complex and factors like income stability, affordable housing, access to healthcare and healthy foods, as well as clean living environments, can have a profound impact on the experience of the disorder. A GP I recently spoke to about mental health treatment of patients with schizophrenia told me that he saw vastly different outcomes at different ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. As noted by psychiatrists Vijaya Murali and Femi Oyebode in a paper, poverty can be both a determinant and consequence of poor mental health. Schizophrenia can be a challenging condition to treat but the way that some patients are permitted to fall through the cracks in Australia because of their socioeconomic disadvantage is an indictment of social and mental healthcare policy. These systemic failures contribute significantly to the stigma and misunderstanding that surrounds schizophrenia. Earlier this week, I spoke to Jenni, a year-old peer ambassador from Sane, who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a teenager and has experienced auditory hallucinations for as long as she can remember. Abject misconceptions about schizophrenia as a disorder have also been undeniably propagated by media reports and depictions in entertainment. Horror screenwriters, please get more creative. Write about things that are actually scary instead — like the Sydney rental market. Jenni is infinitely courageous for sharing her story constantly as an advocate, but even for myself and my family, sharing this story publicly for the first time is quite intimidating.

In any other family group chat, a message like this would be a horrifying, shattering thing to receive.

The stigma surrounding complex mental health is such that Elfy Scott completed a psychology degree to learn more — but even that fell short. W hen I was told that my mum was living with schizophrenia — by my school counsellor, when I was about 14 — I had almost no concept of what that really meant. All I knew for sure was that it felt dark, scary and taboo. In other words, my understanding of complex mental health was almost entirely defined by the stigma that surrounds it. I had begun to suspect that there was something rather odd about Mum, beyond the normal eccentricities. Putting a name to the diagnosis made parts of the puzzle fall into place — but it also opened the door to more questions: What was schizophrenia, actually?

The drugs belonged to her mother. Eccentric, sure; even a little odd. But not crazy. People including her mother. As Elfy learned as a teen, her mother has schizophrenia, a mental disorder that affects roughly one in every Australians. It often begins in adolescence or early adulthood, and it typically involves hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking. The cause of schizophrenia is not fully understood, but genetics are believed to be the biggest risk factor. People who experience violence or trauma are also at increased risk. Despite stubborn myths, it does not typically involve 'split personalities' nor cause the person to be violent. The silence, meant to shelter Elfy and her two older siblings, only left them confused and questioning.

Elfy scott mum

Too many people with mental health problems fall through the cracks because of socioeconomic disadvantage. Life just goes on and for most of my life our family household, while full of obnoxious noises and heated arguments about inconsequential topics, was always relatively functional. This is, of course, extremely lucky. My mum comes from a fairly privileged socioeconomic background that has allowed her to receive adequate long-term treatment and live a happy and productive life, despite a history of auditory hallucinations and paranoia. This is probably because many Australians with the same disorder do not fare as well. Schizophrenia, like every other mental illness, is complex and factors like income stability, affordable housing, access to healthcare and healthy foods, as well as clean living environments, can have a profound impact on the experience of the disorder. A GP I recently spoke to about mental health treatment of patients with schizophrenia told me that he saw vastly different outcomes at different ends of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Sophos vpn client download

In fact, schizophrenia is such a wildly variable condition that many practitioners are now arguing for the abandonment of the diagnosis altogether. And so, it became a secret. Through interviews with her mother and access to her journals, along with intensive research into complex mental health conditions, Elfy began to more fully appreciate what her mother had been through. I met dozens of incredible people living with complex mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, as well as their families and carers. Post continues after video. The silence around schizophrenia was more than a personal discomfort; it extended far beyond our home and my social group, it was there in public dialogue, too. A lot of people will be existing out there, struggling with mental health conditions, and the only time that they receive acute care that wraps around them for a short period of time, is when they end up in emergency rooms and hospitals," she said. Mum also believes that she had a strong source of personal motivation to manage her condition — and that was us, her children. Sign up to Mamamia Daily. As noted by psychiatrists Vijaya Murali and Femi Oyebode in a paper, poverty can be both a determinant and consequence of poor mental health.

In April of , my mum sent a message to our family WhatsApp group. In any other family group chat, a message like this would be a horrifying, shattering thing to receive. Mum, however, remained insistent on her initial theory.

And since so few people speak openly about schizophrenia, its cultural identity is distorted by myths and misconceptions. Elfy Scott. Sign up. Top Comments B. People who experience violence or trauma are also at increased risk. People including her mother. The information becomes a pathway to discovering facets of your own identity and history. Most viewed. We did all the average and happy kid things that most average and happy families did. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 22 , Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on The rest of the time, we spoke about it surprisingly little. Sign up to Mamamia Daily.