Things you shouldn’t ask or say to someone on the schizophrenia spectrum or it will be rude:
“Do you want to hurt people?” (We’re statistically more likely to be hurt and manipulated by others.)
“Do you see anything right now?” (Makes us uncomfortable and paranoid and causes us to focus on what’s reality and what’s not)
“Are you hearing voices right now?”/“what do the voices say about me?” (We aren’t here for your entertainment, and this will make us uncomfortable and distrustful of you. And same as above comment.)
“That’s so cool!” (It’s a disorder and disability that is painful and hard to live with)
“I wish I had that” (Lord, I wish I was exaggerating.)
“So, you have multiple people in your head?” (May fuel a delusion, or you’re confusing it with Dissociative Personality Disorder)
“Are you dangerous?” (If we didn’t seem dangerous before telling you, why do we seem dangerous now? Again, we’re more likely to be abused and to hurt ourselves.)
“What medications are you on?” (Too Personal. You don’t need to know that.)
“Maybe it’s spiritual/real.”(any theory that it’s not a mental illness can cause confusion, paranoia, mistrust, fuel a delusion, or feeling misunderstood.)
“We’re all a little crazy, haha!” (Our brains look and work differently than majority of the population. It’s not comparable to bad or weird choices and quirks you have.)
“Do you trust me?”/“You trust me though, right?” (If we do, it could make us feel worried you doubt us. If we don’t, it’ll make us uncomfortable and feel like lying or fuel our mistrust.)
“You dont seem like you have schizophrenia/schizoid/schizoaffective/schizotypal..” (We aren’t all the same, and a lot of us are in different places of coping and have different severity of symptoms and how we hide them. It’s exhausting hiding and coping with our symptoms. Could also fuel a delusion of not being sick. Just don’t say that.)
“I knew someone with that.” (We really don’t care; that person isn’t us.)
Things you can say without being rude if someone lets you know they have a schizophrenia spectrum disorder:
“Is there anything I need to know about how this affects you?”
“Will there be times you’d like my support?”
“How can I support you if you need it?”
“Thanks for you letting me know/Thanks for opening up about that”
“Is there anything I need to look out for to make sure you’re safe and comfortable?”
“Is it alright if I ask a few questions so I have a better understanding?”
