A horrifying event took place in Bondi, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. This quickly became an international news story. A man armed with a knife stabbed over 12 people, and 5 of those people lost their lives. It is something that doesn’t normally happen in Australia and has left the whole of the country in shock.
The spotlight is now on the perpetrator who a brave female officer had shot dead in a brave act of self-defense. He was found to be mentally ill, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, and this has made people wonder if there are enough resources to deal with people suffering from mental illness in Australia.
I personally think that a lot of stigmas in relation to mental health have been reduced over the years and this should help many more people from reaching out to accept help to deal with their mental health. On the other hand, many people that do not receive mental health treatment are not educated on the symptoms of mental health conditions that some mentally ill sufferers are experiencing.
The perpetrator involved in the mass stabbing in Sydney, Australia had schizophrenia and an unhealthy obsession with firearms and knives. Due to his diagnosis, many people around the world may misunderstand that schizophrenia is associated with violence when this is not the case.
People suffering from schizophrenia are more likely to harm themselves than others, especially when not treated. We don’t know what was going on in his head at the moment and may never know; however, the world needs to understand that they should not be afraid or write off people suffering from this mental disorder.
The good news is that many people with schizophrenia can live a normal or near normal life, and as much as 20 percent of sufferers can recover from the illness within 5 years.
If they find people in their life to be suffering from schizophrenia, they may be pleasantly surprised that they are good people just like many others with or without a mental illness.
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