Schizophrenia is not a crime, so why was my brother treated like a criminal?

Before the pandemic, my younger brother had been studying at high school, working at a restaurant, going to parties – trying the best he could to lead a “normal” life, despite his condition. But one night, a police officer turned up at our house at 3am and told us he was being held in an overnight cell. When my brother came home his face was bruised and bloody. He had to get stitches in both ears. A police officer had kicked his head in because he’d been yelling.

Schizophrenia is not a crime, but is often treated like one. Popular culture tells us that psychosis leads to violence; in fact, people suffering from psychosis are much more likely to be on the receiving end of violence than to inflict it upon others.

Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn and her brother Max, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.Credit:

Both my parents and my brother have all been diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. My parents actually met in a public housing program for psychiatric patients diagnosed with psychotic conditions. They stayed together for 11 years, having two children before Dad died.

I have many conversations with my mother about whether her friends are really ASIO agents in disguise. I have heard many conspiracy theories, especially over the past couple of years. Building trust with people when you have a complex mental health condition is difficult, not least in times of stress.

One of the lesser-known health impacts of the pandemic is the emergence of psychotic symptoms from people who have never exhibited them before. Between 2019 and 2021, the National Health Service in the UK noted an increase in the number of patients referred to mental health services for their first recorded psychotic episode, with admissions rising from 7000 to 10,000 per year, among them significant numbers of elderly people.

In Australia, the rate of involuntary admissions for first-time episodes of psychosis almost doubled for young people during the pandemic.

Max and Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn as children.Credit:

Mental illness will affect more than half the population of Australia at some point in our lives, but it’s rare that we hear about complex mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

Schizophrenia is an umbrella term often associated with delusions, hallucinations, dissociation and hypervigilance. Its cause is uncertain. Like many mental health conditions, it is impacted by life stressors. According to Stanford psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert Dr Alex Dimitriu, some people have a genetic predisposition towards psychosis, which can be triggered by traumatic events.

My mother says she believes schizophrenia is the mind’s way of protecting itself; by crafting paranoias and hallucinatory scenarios, the brain protects itself against the possibility of further harm. I don’t know where my family’s history of psychotic illness comes from. What I do know is that I wish it didn’t always feel so lonely.

I still get messages from my dad’s old friends, saying they miss him. And yet, I have never met most of these people. My mother has a few long-term friends she can rely on – many who have stuck around are also people who have schizophrenia. In the past couple of years, many of the people who were friends with my younger brother, who is in his early 20s, have dropped off.

Now on antipsychotics, my brother spends most of his time in bed. Because of side effects such as lethargy, as well as his asthma, he finds it difficult to do things as he did before. There are days when he feels more himself. I have never felt unsafe around him, and I rarely feel like the carer in our sibling relationship. He cooks me meals when I’m working. He does laundry and takes the dog for a walk.

When our mum was kicked out of her flat, he bought her white goods. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, we had Zoom calls together where he would fall asleep while we played word games. Now, he falls asleep with Rubik’s Cubes beside his bed. When he isn’t studying for his university degree, a unit on data handling and statistics, he is usually watching YouTubers play chess or Minecraft. He draws funny pictures and writes poems and plays Scrabble with our mother and orders too much takeout. He is getting on with his life.

It is my hope that he gets on with that life in a world that perhaps understands him more. That’s why I’m writing this. I love him. I hope life does too, and I hope we can see this condition for what it is, rather than a projection of our worst fears.

Zowie Douglas-Kinghorn is a freelance writer.

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