My son is schizophrenic. The ‘reforms’ that I worked for have worsened his life.

I have met very many people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Some of those people were drug users (or had been drug users); some of those people were "forensic" patients and were being held in secure hospitals; some of those people were in the community, on medication, with full time work.

Schizophrenia is a complex illness that expresses in a wide range of behaviours, and a broad depth of severities of behaviours. One person may hear a few voices, but be able to cope well with those voices, while another people may hear more voices which are very threatening and hard to cope with.

Please, I understand what you're saying. (Some people with schizophrenia are very ill, and will need extensive support just to avoid homelessness) but I find your comment a bit stigmatising. Many people with schizophrenia do work; not all of them work full time paid employment but it's certainly possible for someone with a diagnosis of schizophrenia to lead a full and productive life.

If I give a pauper a million dollars, they are no longer a pauper--foolish noveau riche, perhaps, but not a pauper.

If I repeal laws pertaining to various things, drugs for example, a great many criminals cease to be so.

Mental illness, unfortunately, tends to stay with the person.

:(

They provide evidence based advice. They've provided some advice about getting people with mental health problems who are claiming incapacity benefits off benefits and back into work.

The traditional response is a long slow curve; don't rush anything; work is stressful; start with a bit of part time voluntary work; build that up; there aren't enough jobs around anyway and no-ones going to employ mentally ill people and the stress of rejection is harmful. They also used to have a stock of low grade jobs (shelf filling at supermarkets) so when people turned up they'd get kludged into whatever was available.

The evidence shows that many people actually want to be much more active. We now have strong anti-discrimination laws. And "place then train" (get someone a job that they want, then support them to keep that job) is much more effective. If someone is a good employee an employer probably wants to keep them on, and if there's funding available to make reasonable adjustments then letting them know is good.

Here's a list of the Sainsbury Centre publications

(http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/publica...)

I'm 18 and currently live alone with this parent and am moving out soon as I work on my company. The situation is fine (for me) because there are few things to set them off these days and I've just had to learn how to deal with many of the disturbances. Like paranoia of me (What I talk about to others), using certain words in relation to illness like saying something is "mental" or even how are you. The illness only pops up at certain times. People wouldn't know they are ill from speaking to them, most of the time. It's 10X better than it was when I was much younger and lived with both of my parents.

I won't go into detail out of respect to my family but their illness has broke up their marriage (Although sometimes couples don't work) and now they refuse to take any medicine or see anyone. Because they aren't anymore at the level that they are forced into treatment there's nothing that can be done.

What I've learned from this is most policy on mental illness is under the assertion that if the person is at extreme harm to themselves or the public, they require treatment. If this isn't the case and the person refuses to believe they are ill or that they need treatment, little is done.

Does cannabis have a causitive or trigger effect on schizophrenia? Or are schizophrenics more likely to live on the fringes of society and encounter (and like) cannabis?