The Collected Schizophrenias

Mental illness is generally stigmatized and demonized in cultures across the world, and Wang makes this evident in her account of her mother’s denial of both her own mental illness and Wang’s. Disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are seen as particularly negative, as conditions that involve psychosis are frequently assumed to make a person dangerous, unpredictable, and even “subhuman.” These stereotypes are harmful to people with the disorders, as they lead to social ostracization, the inability to find employment or gain an education (as in Wang’s case with Yale), and suffering, all of which may lead a person to look down upon themselves as the rest of society does. Ultimately, they may lose hope in trying to improve at all.

Stereotypes of psychosis are prevalent both in fiction and news media. Wang cites depictions such as The Exorcist and Legion as being different but equally inaccurate and harmful stereotypes of psychosis; the former shows it as a matter of demonic possession, and the latter falsely depicts it as a superpower. While the latter may seem like a positive example, illustrating psychosis as a superpower can contribute to the