Olin 1 Meg Olin Professor Flom WRD 104 January 28, 2013 Schizophrenia In a New Light For years,

mental disorders have been overlooked, pushed under the rug and believed to be less important compared to other worldly issues. With the recent and terribly tragic school shootings, America as a whole has realized just how extremely necessary it is to regulate these disorders and the people afflicted with them. In Paul Steinbergs New York Times article Our Failed Approach to Schizophrenia (December 2012) he explains the rising importance of understanding schizophrenia and other mental disorders, as well as the attached stigmas that the public has with them. This article is relevant because not only does it tie in with the tragedies our country is currently facing, but it makes a bold statement that if something is not done, history will continue to repeat itself. Unfortunately, Steinberg has an overabundance of examples to use to his advantage when setting the scene for what can go wrong when mental disorders are wrongly diagnosed or not diagnosed at all. In the past ten years, far too many horrifying public shootings have occurred, all that have shooters suspected to have a mental disorder, most likely schizophrenia. This article was published just 11 days after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which resulted in the death of 26 students and faculty. Steinberg most likely wrote this article as a plea for the public to begin to recognize

Olin 2 the dangers of mental disorders and how they can put literally anyone at risk. Although it was a difficult time for most Americans, this particular tragedy is one that helps Steinburg establish emotional appeal. Pointing out that undiagnosed schizophrenia possibly took a part in the death of 26 people, opens readers eyes to the seriousness of the situation. Steinberg wanted his readers to understand the pattern in all the shootings that have happened over the years and to start to talk about it openly, as opposed to acting like these things have not happened. If they began to talk about how these patterns, they may be able to better understand just what having a mental disorder means. It is true; the general public has a very loose grasp on what exactly mental health is and even a looser hold on schizophrenia. Steinberg remarks that schizophrenia has nothing to do with multiple personalities or split minds like many associate it with, but is actually a physiological disorder caused by changes in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that is essential for knowledge, abstract thinking and appropriate social behavior. This could come as a surprise to readers, who believed schizophrenia to be something they had seen in movies, read in fictional books or heard about one way or another. It is rhetorically effective because appeals to readers logic; this introduction of what schizophrenia really is makes readers realize that they have a very loose grip on what it means to be schizophrenic. This also reinforces one of the main claims of Steinbergs article which is that most people are misinformed when it comes to this disease. Another claim Steinbergs article emphasizes is the sworn to secrecy rule that psychiatrists are forced to deal with.

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The 2001 movie, "A Beautiful Mind showcases a schizophrenic man with split personalities An incongruous and binding law, the Goldwater Rule makes it illegal for psychiatrists to discuss their patients mental state if they have not gotten permission to do so. Because Steinberg himself is a psychiatrist, he knows the just how restricting and upsetting the rule is and could probably rattle off personal examples when this rule got in the way of a patients safety or well being. This

Olin 4 establishes credibility for his article because he is just as qualified to speak on this subject as anyone else. This rule- -adopted by the American Psychiatric Association in the 1970s--makes things more dangerous because psychiatrists, who know more about the subject of mental health than anyone else, are forced to remain silent in times when direction is needed the most. With all this being said, Steinberg does not intend for his readers to succumb to the false impression that schizophrenia and violence are synonyms. He makes a very interesting point when he says schizophrenics are actually less likely to commit violent crimes. He adds that many perpetrators, including Ronald Reagans wouldbe assassin and John Lennons killer expressed remorse for their actions later in life. Using allusions such as these the reader can become more connected with Steinbuirgs main claims. Readers of the New York Times are generally adults, people who probably vividly remember both these events making the allusions rhetorically effective. They will be able to picture the perpetrators and then connect them back to the fact that they recognized their actions were wrong. Real life examples that are very well known and discussed often, such as the shooting in Newtown, are great to spark an emotion from the reader, as well as establish credibility for the writer. When Steinbergs audience reads this section about the shooting and Adam Lanza, they will feel some sort of emotion. They will probably remember watching news reporters on T.V talk to the parents and children affected or possibly talking to their own children about it. Emotional connections are incredibly effective in terms of rhetoric because they provide an example for the readers to better connect and understand what is being discussed.

Olin 5 On top of emotional appeal, examples of school shootings in the recent past give Steinberg credibility because they show proof that without education of mental disorders, the unthinkable has happened time and time again. A world in which these sorts of things did not happen, seems to be somewhat of a fantasy but Steinberg points out that clues from past schizophrenics prove that these outburst do not have to continue. Steinberg explains, the vast majority of people with schizophrenia, treated or untreated, are not violent, though they are more likely than others to commit violent crimes. This means that when schizophrenia is diagnosed and correctly treated every time, these sort of killers can be stopped in their tracks and learn how to deal with their disorders in a safe way. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world and not every person is going to be able to be correctly diagnosed but if doctors, researchers, school counselors and parents of children with mental disorders come together and begin to talk and understand just what schizophrenia is, the world will be a safer place for everyone.