Reply #9: I'm not saying that most schizophrenics are violent... [View All]

[LAGC]

Alot of it depends on whether or not they've come to realize the voices in their head are really just that -- in their head -- most can manage their symptoms just fine on medication. But it often takes a psychotic break, someone totally losing it and flipping out with major delusions before the problem is realized and can be treated. But for that minority that refuses medication and is sure that "someone else" is talking to them, religion can really turn things ugly real quick.

I mean, you hear stories all the time of distraught mothers who murder their infant children because they think "God" told them to do so, or are convinced "the devil" is inside them or some bullshit like that. Certainly having more mental health services available can help if you can get to them in time, but you have to admit that the prevalence of religion is part of the problem here.

I mean, if you're a non-religious person and hear a voice telling you to do something, how likely are you to act out on it? Only if your first assumption is to presume its "God" talking to you, do thinks get complicated.