Health
5 myths about schizophrenia, according to a mental health expert: ‘Huge stigma’
About 1% of Americans, or nearly 3.5 million people, are affected by schizophrenia — yet the mental disorder remains highly stigmatized and misunderstood, experts say.
The reason, according to Brooke Kempf, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner based in Indiana, is a general lack of knowledge about schizophrenia.
“People may see somebody hallucinating and think, ‘That is schizophrenia,’ when there’s so much more to the illness,” she told Fox News Digital in an interview.
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“It’s important for people to recognize that schizophrenia is a diagnosed and treatable medical condition.”
For World Schizophrenia Day, Kempf shared some of the most common myths and misconceptions surrounding the disorder.
Approximately 1% of Americans, or nearly 3.5 million people, are affected by schizophrenia — yet the mental disorder remains highly stigmatized and misunderstood, experts say. (iStock)
Here’s a look at five.
Myth No. 1: People with schizophrenia are violent
One of the greatest and “most harmful” myths is the notion that people living with schizophrenia are “scary” or “violent,” Kempf said.
“There is a long history of conflating TV or movie characters who are behaving in odd, confusing or frightening ways with a diagnosis of schizophrenia,” she said.
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“However, we have to remember that these are made-up, dramatized situations. A diagnosis of schizophrenia doesn’t have anything to do with what we see on the screen.”
When patients with schizophrenia experience an acute episode — perhaps having delusions or hearing voices — they might behave differently than they typically would, sometimes seeming angry or violent.
“The person is likely experiencing something within themselves that they might be arguing about or responding to, but they aren’t targeting anything toward another person,” Kempf said.
When a patient with schizophrenia is experiencing an acute episode — perhaps having delusions or hearing voices — they might behave differently than they typically would, sometimes seeming angry or violent. (iStock)
When symptoms are managed with medication, “you would probably have no idea of their diagnosis,” she noted.
“Through my long history of working in community mental health and hearing their stories, I know that people living with schizophrenia are good, caring, loving people,” Kempf said.
“They are more likely,” she added, “to be the victim of a violent crime than the perpetrator of one.”
Myth No. 2: People with schizophrenia have multiple personalities
There is a misconception that people with schizophrenia have multiple personalities, which could be because the Greek word “schizophrenia” means “split mind,” Kempf noted.
“However, people with schizophrenia do not have split personalities,” she said.
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“They might have different behavioral characteristics when they’re ill and experiencing an episode, but it’s not because they have a split personality.”
Myth No. 3: People with schizophrenia are not intelligent
This assumption is completely false, according to Kempf.
“If the illness isn’t well managed and continues to progress, or they have repeated relapses, patients will lose gray matter in their brains, and their cognitive function may decline,” she told Fox News Digital.
“But that does not mean they’re not intelligent.”
One expert said she’s worked with a multitude of “very successful individuals who also happen to live with schizophrenia.” (iStock)
Some patients may experience cognitive decline in the early stages of the disease — referred to as the “prodromal phase,” Kempf said — but early diagnosis and intervention can help prevent that.
Kempf said she has worked with a multitude of “very successful individuals who also happen to live with schizophrenia.”
“People with schizophrenia do not have split personalities.”
In many cases, she noted, people can no longer see the “highly intelligent individual” behind the disease.
“As long as individuals with schizophrenia get the proper treatment — ideally with a long-acting injectable (LAI) medication — they can keep their symptoms controlled and function very well,” Kempf said.
Myth No. 4: Symptoms of schizophrenia only involve hallucinations and delusions
Schizophrenia consists of what is clinically termed “positive” and “negative” symptoms, Kempf noted.
“Delusions and hallucinations, as well as changes in behavior and thoughts, are considered positive symptoms,” she said.
“Delusions and hallucinations, as well as changes in behavior and thoughts, are considered positive symptoms” of schizophrenia, the expert said. (iStock)
Patients experiencing these symptoms may hear voices or have extra thoughts, delusions or fixed false beliefs, the expert explained.
“Hallucinations are not just hearing voices,” Kempf said. “They can occur in multiple ways based on our senses — seeing, hearing, smelling or feeling things.”
Negative symptoms are when people lose interest in the world around them, withdraw or don’t take an interest in everyday social interactions, according to Kempf.
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“Patients with schizophrenia may get labeled as ‘lazy,’ or they don’t seem as put together,” she said. “But it’s not about laziness. The person’s brain doesn’t connect these things as being important.”
People with schizophrenia may also experience what are referred to as “psychomotor” symptoms, Kempf said — they might seem abnormally slow, and their speech and thought processes can be somewhat delayed or disorganized.
“Unfortunately, if these negative symptoms continue and there isn’t treatment, they can impact cognitive functioning.”
Myth No. 5: People with schizophrenia require long-term or lifelong hospitalization
Hospitalization for a person experiencing acute schizophrenia symptoms is usually very short, according to Kempf.
“For someone having an episode of schizophrenia, the average length of stay may be about five days.”
“In an inpatient setting, for someone having an episode of schizophrenia, the average length of stay may be about five days,” she said.
“If a patient doesn’t respond to medication and can’t function safely on their own, they might have to go to a longer-term, higher-level setting.”
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Today, health care providers aim to give people with schizophrenia community-based services so that they’re able to function on their own, Kempf noted.
This might mean supporting them with employment services and housing opportunities to ensure that they have an affordable and safe place to live.
“Some patients continue to live with their family members; some might live in a group home,” Kempf said.
“People living with this disease deserve to be treated like human beings and with the same care we would provide someone diagnosed with a physical illness.”
From a medical perspective, schizophrenia has different levels of severity, the expert noted.
“But, again, if managed well, with early intervention, an individual can remain high-functioning and live independently,” she said.
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“Our goal is the least structured environment possible, enabling the person to live a normal life where they can work, grocery shop and drive on a day-to-day basis.”
Ultimately, Kempf said, schizophrenia should be viewed as a disease, not a choice.
“While schizophrenia is a mental health diagnosis, it should be thought of no differently than a physical health diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease,” an expert said. (iStock)
“While schizophrenia is a mental health diagnosis, it should be thought of no differently than a physical health diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease,” she said.
“It just impacts a different organ: the brain.”
Other brain disorders, such as epilepsy, tend to be more accepted by society, she said — but there is still a “huge stigma” surrounding diseases like schizophrenia, “probably because of the fear of the unknown.”
“It is treatable, and both medication and support services are available,” she told Fox News Digital.
“We all have a role to play in helping to dispel myths, foster understanding and reduce stigma,” she continued.
“People living with this disease deserve to be treated like human beings and with the same care we would provide someone diagnosed with a physical illness.”
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As GLP-1 weight-loss medications gain traction, the peptide market is experiencing a surge in interest.
A variety of peptides — commonly marketed for weight loss, muscle building, injury recovery and other uses — have emerged as largely unregulated drugs sold through both licensed compounding pharmacies and unverified vendors.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to evaluate whether to loosen regulations on several peptides during a meeting this summer.
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Peptides are short chains of amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — that play key roles in biological functions, according to the National Institutes of Health. Peptide drugs are lab-made versions of natural molecules in the body that are designed to mimic or influence biological signals to treat disease, experts say.
GLP-1s are “incredibly effective at what they do when it comes to changing body composition, benefiting metabolic health, cardiovascular health [and] neurologic health,” the expert said. (iStock)
Though the peptide market has been described as the “Wild West,” demand remains strong, potentially challenging pharmaceutical giants that dominate the GLP-1 market.
Dr. Alex Tatem, an Indiana-based board-certified urologist with expertise in men’s health and peptides, discussed how “life-changing” GLP-1s kicked off the rise of peptides.
“These were all medications that were designed to help people live well and live as healthy as possible.”
“They are incredibly effective at what they do when it comes to changing body composition, benefiting metabolic health, cardiovascular health [and] neurologic health,” he said. “These are truly miracle compounds, and as a result we’ve seen an explosion of interest – not just on the pharmaceutical side or the doctor’s side, but from the general public.”
According to Tatem, the challenge is that nearly all commercial GLP-1 products are administered in a single-dose weekly pen, which works for the “overwhelmingly majority” of patients, but not for everyone.
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“There are patients I can prescribe tirzepatide to and they can do OK with a once-a-week [dose], but they end up developing nausea with that initial injection – and then by the end of the week, they’re hungry again.”
Because some patients respond better to smaller, more frequent doses — an option not offered by commercial drugs — compounding, or the customization of medications, has grown in popularity, Tatem said.
Several GLP-1 weight loss medications have been approved by the FDA with positive results from consumers. (iStock)
“We’ve had compounding pharmacies that have now developed compounded versions of semaglutide and tirzepatide that allow that sort of dosing flexibility,” he said.
“The reason compounders had to do this was because there was so much demand for GLP-1s that there was actually a national shortage.”
Current legislation allows compounders to step in during widespread national shortages, according to Tatem, prompting the industry to invest millions of dollars into developing and manufacturing these drugs.
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Once commercial pharmaceutical companies could catch back up, compounders continued making these medications in smaller batches for custom doses, allowing for more patient accessibility.
“That creates a huge clash between commercial pharmaceutical companies and compounders, because commercial pharmaceutical companies view that as an infringement of their property,” Tatem noted.
The expert noted a “huge clash” between pharmaceutical companies and compounding pharmacies in peptide production. (iStock)
Tatem raised concerns about the FDA’s regulation of compounding pharmacies, warning that it could limit patients’ access to customized medications.
“That is a real concern for clinicians like me who really care more about patient access, making sure we can get the right medication to the right patients at the right time,” he said.
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Some peptides have been widely administered for more than a decade without major health complications like toxicity or cancer, according to Tatem.
“These are compounds that haven’t gone through the full FDA approval process that you would normally see for a commercial drug, [yet] we didn’t see anything adverse,” he said.
The FDA plans to consider loosening restrictions on several peptides during a summer 2026 meeting. (Issam Ahmed/AFP)
In September 2023, the FDA “quietly” tightened regulation of 19 peptides, making them illegal to manufacture and cutting off patient access.
“They seemed to be working and seemed to be efficacious for patients, and all of a sudden they were banned, which inadvertently ended up contributing to this surge in interest,” Tatem said. “We kind of saw the same thing happen with peptides that we saw with prohibition.”
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While the rising popularity of GLP-1 drugs has fueled growing public and regulatory interest in peptides, most of the so-called “trendy” peptides still are not available by prescription, according to Tatem.
They may help with injury recovery, skin rejuvenation, sleep improvements and boosting of natural growth hormones, he said.
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“These were all medications that were designed to help people live well and live as healthy as possible,” the doctor told Fox News Digital. “And in reality, that was also their downfall in the American healthcare system, because if you are going to get a drug approved and to market, it has to treat a disease state.”
“These were all medications that were designed to help people live well and live as healthy as possible,” Tatem told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Tatem confirmed that he’s seen a shift in patients confronting more than just baseline ailments, seeking advice on how to feel their best through new modes like testosterone therapy.
“The desire to function at our highest level is something that we all feel,” he said.
While nothing replaces the fundamentals — getting eight hours of sleep, eating a high-protein diet and maintaining a fitness routine that blends resistance training and cardio — Tatem said individualized treatments such as peptides may help support those healthy habits.
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“If you end up pulling a tendon or pulling a hamstring, and you’re just now starting to get some momentum in the gym, that’s really where peptides start to step in,” he added.
Experts advise consumers to avoid gray-market products, to work only with qualified physicians and reputable pharmacies, and to treat peptides as part of a broader health plan — not a shortcut or risk-free supplement.
Semaglutide (GLP-1) weight-loss drug Wegovy, made by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, is designed to treat type 2 diabetes, but is widely known for its effect on weight loss. Picture date: Wednesday, October 16, 2024. (James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said the drugmaker is committed to working with regulators, law enforcement and “other key stakeholders” to ensure “affordable access to safe, effective and FDA-approved GLP-1 obesity medication like Wegovy and to protect patients from unapproved and untested knockoff drugs.”
“The desire to function at our highest level is something that we all feel.”
“Novo Nordisk supports FDA’s recent thorough scientific analysis and conclusion that there is no medical basis or clinical need for the continued mass compounding of unapproved semaglutide and liraglutide drugs,” they went on.
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“The agency’s decision reaffirms that compounding is meant to be a rare and limited exception to FDA’s gold-standard drug approval framework that ensures that medicines in the U.S. are safe and effective.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA and Eli Lilly for comment.
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During a recent episode of her podcast, Gwyneth Paltrow spoke with neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman about retatrutide, a new advancement in GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) therapies.
In recent years, GLP-1 receptor agonists have become a major focus in discussions around biohacking, longevity and wellness – but they’re not without a multitude of side effects.
Huberman noted that while first-generation weight-loss drugs curbed users’ appetites, they frequently plunged them into massive, rapid caloric deficits.
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Without aggressive resistance training, a high percentage of that lost weight came directly from lean muscle. “People would lose a ton of weight, but they would also lose muscle mass,” Huberman told Paltrow.
In clinical trials, retatrutide is administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection. (iStock)
That is where retatrutide comes in, he said. Unlike older single- or dual-action medications, retatrutide is a triple agonist.
That means it activates the body’s receptors for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon – three hormones involved in regulating blood sugar, appetite and metabolism.
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“Retatrutide is a more mild agonist of GLP-1,” said Huberman. “It also increases glucagon and … GIP. So, it hits three different pathways, each a bit more subtly.”
In clinical trials, retatrutide is administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection.
Without aggressive resistance training, a high percentage of lost weight can come directly from lean muscle mass, said Andrew Huberman. (iStock)
Because of its balanced, multi-receptor approach, Huberman said the drug has a “lower side effect profile” while still allowing people to lose up to a third of their body weight “across a year or so.”
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Most importantly for fitness and longevity advocates, the doctor pointed out that retatrutide seems to have “some muscle sparing effect.”
Because the drug is still moving through official pipelines, a massive gray market of compounding pharmacies and online peptide suppliers has cropped up to meet the growing demand.
Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that is legally available only to participants in Lilly’s clinical trials, according to Lilly’s website, and the company is currently “evaluating its safety and efficacy” in these clinical studies. (iStock)
Huberman issued a strict warning regarding these unregulated online sources, noting that these options “can say 99% purity, but that 1% means there could be some LPS,” referring to lipopolysaccharides, a type of bacterial toxin.
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“LPS will cause inflammation,” he cautioned. “One injection isn’t gonna do it, but multiple injections over time, I could see where that could become problematic.”
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Paltrow echoed the safety concerns, comparing the current “wild-west” peptide craze to the landscape of supplements in the 90s, “where there’s really no third-party testing and it’s kind of word of mouth.”
“Multiple injections over time, I could see where that could become problematic.”
Both agreed that anyone exploring these therapies should avoid unverified online sources and prioritize working with a medical doctor.
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Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that is legally available only to participants in Lilly’s clinical trials, according to the manufacturer’s website. The company is currently “evaluating its safety and efficacy.”
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The drug has not been reviewed or approved by any regulatory agency, and no one should consider taking anything claiming to be retatrutide outside of a Lilly-sponsored clinical trial, experts advise.
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