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STUDY PACKAGE "The Mentally Ill" (for schools) - Feedback | ||||||||
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A Bavarian class from Brannenburg presenting the results of a survey carried out during a BASTA's study project. "I always thought, Schizophrenia is a split personality. Now I know that patients with this illness, see two versions of the world.(...)" "I liked the activities very much. As far as the mentally ill are concerned, starting an Anti-Stigma Campaign can only be advantageous. I found the visit by Mr. H. not only to be very informative but also very courageous. He openly answered all questions and was consistently friendly. At times, we were intensively involved in the Campaign, for example, through the questionnaire we did - which I liked very much. (...) Altogether, I think the Project was a great success." "I thought the project made a lot of sense, for example the widely held misconception that those with Schizophrenia have a split personality was cleared up. Through the meeting, the information could be communicated more specifically." "(...) The questionnaire, which we started in connection with Schizophrenia, [Some] were surprised at the title, since most people don't know much about it. (...)" "I think BASTA is a great thing and I hope that even more people learn more about Schizophrenia since there are so many affected and the Media brings this illness in disrepute. That is easily done since most people know nothing or hear only negative things about those with Schizophrenia. In the Media and in the minds of people, schizophrenia is usually associated with violent and aggressively ill patients. Since that is not the case, something must be done! Everyone has the right to be treated normally. I found the explanations very interesting and informative, but unfortunately, too short. I certainly won't have preconceptions towards people with the illness and will attempt to spread my knowledge." Students from the State BFS for Dietetics, Home Economics and Social Care at the vocational school center, Antonienstr. 6, Munich. "I think the project was very good. It provided valuable insights as to how one should behave in dealings with the mentally ill, and that they are not nut cases. One is particularly well informed regarding the illness Schizophrenia, since I personally knew little if anything about it. The visit by a person, suffering from the illness for many years, was especially informative. I learned a lot about how improvements can be achieved and which medications can alleviate symptoms. It was very informative, how the outbreak of the illness can be prevented or recognized (...) I found the only negative aspect of the project to be the questionnaire (...) I would recommend that everyone do the project in order to rid the world of prejudice." (Contributions from Students of the Vocational School for Wholesale and Automobile Sales People as well as the Vocational School for Media Careers, Munich) "At the initial visit to a school class within the framework of the School Project, I was pretty apprehensive as to how the presentation would proceed. Following a few introductory sentences, I was given the floor. I began to describe my life, with emphasis on my illness (schizophrenia psychosis). I became increasingly more confident once I noticed how attentively the students were listening. After the first question by the students, the ice was broken! Today, I am always excited about every school visit since I now feel ever more capable of answering even the more difficult questions and we've become a good team. Yes, the visits to the school classes help me while I realize that the interest of the students is real and through these projects I gain self-confidence and have the opportunity to revisit my past." Wulf-Peter Hansen, Associate of BASTA "I've been suffering with schizophrenia for the past three and one-half years. Two weeks ago I took part, for the first time, in the so-called School Project of BASTA. Through the project, I want to help abolish prejudices towards the mentally ill. After I was informed that I should speak freely about my illness in front of two school classes, I was pretty nervous. Would I be able to clearly communicate such a Ôconfusing' phase of my life? How would it feel to come out to such a large audience? Are the students even interested? I asked myself these questions before the start of the hour. It turned out that my fears were unfounded. The interest was so great that even after two hours, the students still had unanswered questions. At no point did the students ever make me feel that I should be ashamed about my illness. They dealt with it very respectfully. I believe this work is a very valuable contribution to the clarification of mental illness and will, for that reason, gladly continue with it. I also have the feeling that it helps me to be better able to deal with my illness and to address it from an objective perspective by summarizing the occurrences of the psychosis, so to say - what actually happened in this phase of my life. It is also important to me, the mentally ill not be stereotyped as crazy. I hope that through my contribution this preconception can be refuted and I look forward to future opportunities to explain schizophrenia to people." A.H., Associate of BASTA |
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