Schizophrenia: A Word Not A Label

Philosophically speaking, referring to schizophrenia as a word rather than a label is to strip away the clinical coldness that masks the human soul. A label is a sticker placed on a box to define its contents, but a word is a tool for communication - a starting point, not a derogatory destination. Making this distinction acknowledges the condition exists without possessing the sum total of a human being. It is a chapter in a story, not the title of a biography. Schizophrenia being a descriptor not a whole destiny. Objects are categorized not humans. When we view the word as a term not a label we escape the stigma that locks an individual in a box. The word becomes a piece of language used to negotiate a challenge, rather than a permanent seal that defines worth or future for an individual.