By: Petra Chase, Features Editor
Content warning: references to ableism and ableist slurs.
I recently came across a jarring Instagram reel that said, “All my friends are lowkey schizo.” Surprisingly, the comments were nothing but positive, tagging friends and feeding into the idea that schizophrenia is relatable and quirky. While it seems lighthearted, in reality, it is reductive to suggest a chronic mental disorder can be a “lowkey” personality trait anyone can identify with. This type of content, which appropriates mental health conditions for punchlines and views, has become trendy. It goes to show how “delulu,” a term popularized in 2023, has become a gateway into further trivializing disorders for brownie points. It points to the need for greater awareness and support for people living with schizophrenia and those who experience delusions.
Schizophrenia is a complex chronic brain disorder that affects less than 1% of the population. It’s also one of the most stigmatized mental disorders. It affects one’s perception of reality, behaviour, and mood. Studies show that stigma delays treatment, increases isolation and social withdrawal, and worsens mental health outcomes. One of the symptoms of schizophrenia is psychosis, a condition in which delusions occur. People with psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia, are also at higher risk of experiencing social issues, such as houselessness, due to disabling conditions and a lack of support.
Similar to the way “OCD” and “bipolar” are often misused as adjectives, “delulu,” which is a shorthand for “delusional,” has been misappropriated in harmful ways. Delusions are assumptions that are accepted as objective truths, despite evidence suggesting otherwise. For example, thinking you can finish an essay in a two-hour time frame, or that your celebrity crush noticed you at a concert, is not delusion. It’s optimism, or often exaggeration. “Delulu is the solulu” may sound catchy and cute, but experiencing delusions is anything but.
Furthermore, a person experiencing delusions also does not realize or believe so. These beliefs feel real to them and can be extremely distressing. For instance, paranoid delusions can make someone feel like everyone is plotting against them or has harmed them in some way, without reasonable evidence. It often leads to social isolation and withdrawal, further contributing to stigma. The catchphrase perpetuates the myth that people can choose to be delusional. Without knowledge of these complexities, a careless attitude and internet virality make people inclined to take it further, with sayings like “that schizophrenic friend.”
It’s important to acknowledge that ableism is embedded in everyday language, to the point that people do not often notice it.
The shorthand “schizo,” similar to “crazy” or “psychotic,” has been adopted as a pejorative that dehumanizes and demoralizes people with mental disorders. “In the eyes of society, schizophrenia is awful,” writes Allie Burke, who lives with schizophrenia, for Psychology Today. Burke says people with schizophrenia become ashamed of the label because of its connotations. Burke also explains how negative connotations exist because “people fear what they don’t understand,” as there is a lack of awareness and public education around complex mental disorders. The multifaceted stories of people who live with them are often sidelined and misrepresented in the media.
There is no shortage of words to replace harmful and ableist ones — “imaginative” or “escaping into a fantasy,” instead of delulu; “particular” instead of OCD. It doesn’t take much to expand your vocabulary and make an effort not to contribute to harmful stigma about disabled people.
We need more understanding around the complexities of schizophrenia, and more opportunities to listen and empathize with the lived experience of disabled people.
