Between 3% and 4% of individuals with schizophrenia were classified as employed, and approximately the same percentage were classified as being on long-term sick leave.
According to one 2015 study, up to 90% of people with schizophrenia want to work. However, only around 10–25% have jobs. Other studies also suggest the unemployment rates of people with mental conditions such as schizophrenia range from 80–90% .
Schizophrenia treatment includes medication, therapy, social and family support, and the use of social services. Treatment must be ongoing, as this is a chronic illness without a cure. When schizophrenia is treated and managed over the long-term, most people can live normal, productive, and fulfilling lives.
If you have schizophrenia, the idea of holding down a job may seem like an unlikely or even an impossible goal. But your mental illness doesn't have to keep you from employment. Working can boost your self-worth, ease your symptoms, and help speed up your recovery.
There were 817 individuals with schizophrenia who were employed and 413 who received age care pension. The employment rate (full time and part time) among those of working age was 10.24%–10.5% of the men and 9.8% of the women.
Schizophrenia is often associated with incoherence, disorganized behavior, illogical thinking, illogical speech and flat line behaviors. Any of these can make it impossible to function in a work environment.
Eduard Einstein
The youngest child of Albert Einstein was studying medicine when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20. He spent many years in and out of a psychiatric clinic in Zurich, Switzerland.
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the decline in life expectancy among people with more severe mental illness ranges from 10–25 years . Most studies of schizophrenia show a life expectancy reduction of 10–20 years.
Individuals with schizophrenia usually have difficulty keeping a job and caring for themselves. They must rely on family and friends for help. The disease is often misunderstood, but it is treatable, and in many cases, the individual can go on to lead a productive and normal life.
Schizophrenia has a stronger association with homicide than other diagnoses of mental disorders [19, 20]. Among patients with mental disorders who have murdered relatives, more than 50% were schizophrenia patients [21, 22].
The sample comprised 101 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Of these 70 (69.3%) were married while 31 (30.7%) were unmarried.
Driving with Schizophrenia
A letter from the treating doctor may be required stating the person is capable of driving safely. An additional challenge is that a physician's-office-based assessment of a person's driving skills correlates only minimally with scores on standardized road tests.
Overall, people who live with schizophrenia have lower IQ scores than those who don't experience the condition. There are people who live with schizophrenia who have higher IQ scores, and they appear to have somewhat different symptoms than those with lower scores.
It is one of the most common mental disorders diagnosed among criminals, especially serial killers: David Berkowitz, better known as the “Son of Sam” killed six people in the 1970s claiming that his neighbor's dog had told him to do it. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
[Article revised on 27 April 2020.] Some highly creative people have suffered from schizophrenia, including Syd Barrett, the early driving force behind the rock band Pink Floyd; John Nash, the father of game theory; and Vaslav Nijinsky, the legendary dancer and choreographer.
If left untreated, schizophrenia can worsen at any age, especially if you continue to experience episodes and symptoms. Typically, early onset schizophrenia in the late teens tends to be associated more with severe symptoms than later-life onset. But aging can change the trajectory of how symptoms show up.
Schizophrenia and personality disorders are the most disabling mental health conditions to live with, according to Queensland Brain Institute's Professor John McGrath.
Nevertheless, research has shown that with proper treatment, many people with schizophrenia can experience significant, albeit rarely complete, recovery from their illness. Many can, for example, live relatively normal lives outside a hospital, holding down a job and socializing periodically with family and friends.
To receive protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you have to tell your employer that you have a mental illness. If you do talk to your employer, they cannot discriminate against you, including firing you, rejecting you for a job promotion, or forcing you to take leave.
Personality disorders such as antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic, avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive types have been detected in one third to one half of schizophrenia patients (Nielsen, Hewitt & Habke, 1997; Solano & Chavez, 2000).