“I’m Schizophrenic!”
Keyword(s):
One of the challenges of living with schizophrenia in the United States is the clear identity conferred by the diagnostic label itself. In a society so acutely aware of individual rights, care involves explicit diagnosis. After all, a patient has the right to know. But the label “schizophrenia” is often toxic for those who acquire it. It creates not only what Erving Goffman called a “spoiled identity” but also an identity framed in opposition to the broader social world. This chapter illustrates this challenge through the life of a man who struggles with this illness.