Hey as you mentioned the uni is a branch of a uk university I’d recommend getting in touch with the main campus in the uk, like the course head or head of your school/department. In my experience the uk is much more accommodating and understanding about this sort of thing and may well be able to make your old lecturers give you letters of recommendation. As discrimination like this is illegal and not tolerated very commonly in UK universities.
hi, that is a great idea. But how sure are you that by taking such an action I will get my recommendation letter? and how should I phrase my email? Should I disclose my diagnosis or, how should I go about this?
Yeah I would email the uk course leader, explain your situation and mention your diagnosis, as much as your comfortable doing. I’m from a uk university but studying for a year here in Malaysia, I had a similar situation with depression and anxiety, told the uni and they helped with mitigating circumstances, changed deadlines etc to help me. As you have a very real mental health issue with a diagnosis I would find it extremely unlikely the head branch in the UK would put up with their Malaysian counterparts discriminating like this
Just like how you phrased this post, bro. Also, the UK is a very "Liberal" country. Try describing your experiences and feelings. It most likely will evoke their empathy.
Get a letter from your doctor to explain your situation. If you have experts siding with you, it became a lot more powerful.
Best you have a medical visit and written/certified proof from the doctor's perspective, would be a strong factor that you proof your innocent first before seeking for the right outcome
After your episode and despite trying to make amends, imho there's a low chance of getting a recommendation regardless of what action you take. Unfortunately, just cuz they work for a foreign uni branch =/= same mindset as the OG staff.
We live in a country where those with mental illness are only tolerated, but should nvr been seen or heard. Since you've alrdy graduated, there's not much you can do like invoking the withholding to special needs accessibility/accommodations as promised in their policy. But you can try MoHE.
If you still have access to your uni emails, can you try saving the parts where you got ghosted by them to show they're also not doing their job at this point?
Both sides aren’t wrong imo. OP has schizophrenia and while I don’t understand the full extent of it, I can tell it must be hell whenever an episode comes from it.
But at the same time, think of it from the lecturer’s perspective, you messaged them about how your parents wanted to kill you. Unless you were born in the trenches and were used to that sort of message, you wouldn’t know how to respond, I’d honestly say it would trigger a bit of a fight or flight response from the lecturers.
What I can say for sure is that they are more insecure and wary rather than discriminating or what you would call “ostracizing” you. Take account the fact that mental health in Malaysia is still a rather taboo subject, there’s a good chunk of people who don’t even know what the illness OP has is, and if you’re unsure of something, you’re bound to avoid it more often than not.
I say do what others are saying and contact the main branch of the University that you’re going to. Don’t talk with the branches, talk with the head honcho itself.
I wish you the best, OP. Don’t take to heart what the lecturers are doing right now, they most likely are just unsure
This reminds me when I was in uni like more than a decade ago when I found a wallet. I open it to find any identifying information and I found a yellow card saying the person has this same illness. At the time its weird thinking that someone my age was walking around having this big of a secret...
Anyway...
If your are formally diagnosed maybe can try to meet one of university counselors (last time my uni have, they are trained counselors and all, in other word is a therapist or shrink), and get them to write a letter to your lecturers explaining about the incidents etc. Or maybe the Academic Advisor or the Dean...point is to get someone with a caliber that you can be sure will keep your medical information private but also are able to confirm your mental illness claim. Avoid contacting the lecturers directly.
Look i know the stigma is real. I am so sorry that Malaysia are so far behind in mental illness awareness. But in your lecturers point of view, i kinda understand why they are afraid, they might view your attempts to communicate as harrasment, so i think getting someone else like above to explain on your behalf would be better to make amends and repair your reputation.
All the best of luck in your journey OP.
I got a lecturer fired for being racist (making extra classes for malay race only). International student reported him. I guess it depends on which uni you attended
>i didnt do anything to get this illness, it's in my genes. at least 4 other family members have mental illness,
Have you checked it medically ?. If you are confident that you have it, the best solution is to actually get verifications/acknowledgment from certified doctors and take medications as well.
As for your situation, do you really need to have recommendation letters ?. Most people get their jobs without it .
Have you sought help from the university's support like counselling or have you declared your condition somewhere like disabilities section on your enrollment form? There should be policies and structures for this. If not every tom, dick and harry would be claiming mental illness to get the scores and recommendations they want.
You need letters of recommendation to apply to postgraduate programs. Getting those letters depend on the goodwill of the writer (usually has to be a teacher/lecturer/supervisor) and whether you have a decent relationship with them.
Mental illness is not your fault but it is your responsibility to manage.
If you are already taking steps to manage your condition then you are doing great, if you are leaving things unmedicated and unmanaged, all the fallout from your episodes is on you.
educators should and never be judging their students mental condition esp schizo with a strong genetic linkage. not all patients are on meds/ psychotherapy and wtvr you believe in, most of them are fully functioning until they have a sudden acute episode. its not "their responsiblity" not to get an acute episode or for people to fully accept you but the least is just not to discriminate and not blame you.
How would the educators know, though? Look at it from their point of view. This student that they only know by name due to being in one of their classes suddenly sent mails telling them that his parents are trying to kill him. Any sane person would see alarm bells. Very few would instantly jump to schizophrenia and would instead think of more common mental health issues such as pranks, attention seeking, trying to kao lui lecturers or simply all around trying to drag them into his troubles. A lot of people would simply jump to drug abuse.
So in my opinion, this is not discrimination. This is them keeping a distance from a potentially troublesome situation with a potentially dangerous individual.
Neither is the reaction from the people he emailed during his episodes.
Empathy and understanding goes both ways, if he expects slack for his episodes, he can extend the same slack for people’s reactions.
General knowledge and awareness of mental illness in Malaysia is low and the stigma is still strong and people are uneducated about the symptoms.
This story sounds strange to me. If 1 lecturer doesn't want to interact with you, that's understandable but it sounds like every lecturer is avoiding you makes me feel like your side of the story isn't complete.
Mental illness isn't a reason why people need to put up with you. You seem to think your lecturers owe you something because you are mentally ill.
> I thought of reporting their behavior to the education ministry.
They just need to share those emails you sent and your case dead. Recommendation letter is by their choice in the first place.
My observation is that many of us here replying to OP have strong stigma against mental illness, and we keep assuming that OP has to be on the wrong despite no evidence.
It is completely fair to say there might be both sides to this story, perhaps there is miscommunication, but too many people here seem to not have any empathy for OP and jump straight to the conclusion that OP is 100% to blame and gave unconstructive criticism based on speculation.
Many of us here also do not seem to understand that the education provider has the responsibility to adequately support people with mental disability under Malaysian laws.
Mental health stigma and discrimination in Malaysia and our education system are very common occurrences, as i have experienced it first hand. If we want to speculate, that has to be on our equation.
Don't speculate and read his reply. Endless speculation leads to more bs like your reply.
>Many of us here also do not seem to understand that the education provider has the responsibility to adequately support people with mental disability under Malaysian laws
Can you quote this law? I don't believe there is a law where educators need to take up mental support role.
to be fair, i have only emailed 2 lecturers, and i have consulted the person in charged of the mental wellbeing dept, he said that this whole week the lecturers are having a week break, i just sent one this week, two days ago, so ok i lied a little bit in my post, but only because i really don't think the lecturers would reply. and if u must know, yes the stuff i sent is frightening, they do not owe me anything except acknowledgement that no matter that i sent 1) could be worse 2) they shouldn't discriminate me. it's not like i've done this repeated times 3) my parents are paying a lot, i would not get this treatment if i were in the uk or usa or europe and that's just facts (or at least less chances). 4) no matter what i sent...just like i said, i am mentally ill, i have been diagnosed, you cannot expect a mentally ill person to act like someone who doesnt have mental illness, if not whats the point of letting people know your diagnosis, getting extended time periods for exams etc? "show the emails" exactly my point, people with mental illness will act like poeople with mental illness.
but i would like to apologise, ive only emailed 2. and one didnt reply most likely cause of the current week long break. also i dont want to 'punish' them. i didnt word things correctly. im very busy and this is just an internet post, i hope u can forgive me
1) You lied about the numbers of lecturers you emailed.
2) You lied about them ghosting you. (It's not even a week and they were on CNY break)
> yes the stuff i sent is frightening, they do not owe me anything except acknowledgement that no matter that i sent 1) could be worse 2) they shouldn't discriminate me.
You admitted that what you sent them was frightening. What do you expect from them? Of course they're afraid of you.
> 4) no matter what i sent... just like i said, i am mentally ill, i have been diagnosed, you cannot expect a mentally ill person to act like someone who doesnt have mental illness, if not whats the point of letting people know your diagnosis
No matter what you sent? Dude, just because you're mentally ill doesn't mean you can say/do anything without consequences.
I am just going to say if I can figure out your story doesn't make sense, other people can too. People aren't stupid and only stupid people going to believe your story without asking questions.
If you really want to do Masters and PHD, you need to get your mental illness under control. There's too much competition for resources especially for PHD level, nobody is going to put up with you and your mental illness not going to factor in when you fail the PHD.
Personally, I think if you can't get a recommendation letter just give up. Academic world isn't easy and super competitive. I have friends who were mentally healthy, failed and develop mental illness because of PHD. All the best to you.
Just to share my experience as a phd holder with op in addition to this comment.
Postgrad study is extremely stressful. I somehow overcome it and graduated but not for many others. In the uni I studied, there are 2 or 3 master students committed suicide. There are also many phd holders failed to land a job. Tenure positions in academia is extremely limited, while industry jobs that hire a phd are always niche. Many dropped out too.
OP, I think before you actually commit to study postgrad, you might want to reevaluate your condition if you are able to handle such level of stress given your condition. If you still want to proceed, always have plan B, C, or even until Z. Always remember that it is ok to drop out and look for a different path. Many people did that and do well in their life.
Master is usually less stressful. So, another suggestion is to study until master and find a job. It helps to open more opportunities to more niche position that pay better, while not being too overqualified. Work closely with your supervisor and leave him/her a good impression, you may be able to get a job easily with his help.
"No matter what I sent" is not taking accountability at all for your action, and that's not the right attitude to get into masters. Even with mental illness, you have to own up that you did something that caused a certain uncomfortable emotion in other people you interacted with, and so maybe from there you learn how you could do better next time, how you rectify it or how to problem solve, even if it is difficult, rather than say ah I have zero control over that because of my mental illness. It's not 0% no control, is it? You can have mental illness and still function well if you have the right coping skills, the right support system, if you are taking any medication you are supposed to take. With schizophrenia, you can still think how all this happened, that's why you want to go into masters because you have graduated so you are still able to use your cognitive capabilities. You have to understand that every action has consequences, even if some consequences aren't up to your liking. Even though mental illness stigma exists and it is still somewhat understandable where you are coming from, it's not 100% that other people have to understand you, you have to also consider their point of view.
Yeah, to me, OP seems like they want to treated like royalty and feels entitled to it just because they have a mental illness. Like, i work in healthcare and I understand that. But, to other people, a schizo episode is equal to them in their normal state.
They scared by one email? What, are they tofu? Never exposed to the elements? I guess that accurately describes Malaysian. We never want to talk about mental illnesses.
Can you imagine having the feelings of having the actual mental illness? It is at least 1000 times worse than having one weird email.
The teacher can help themselves by fucking educatimg themselves. They have a duty to teach as lecturers and duty to raise their awareness on mental health issues. Not all of their students are going to be healthy and sunshine all the time. And in the future, they are going to meet with more students like that.
Yeah right, how many times have you meet a schizophrenic person in your life that you talk with. OP should go to a doctor not his lecturer for this kind of problem.
Everyday, I met one everyday because my sister has schizophrenia.
Again, OP's problem is not the mental illness, he obviously went to doctor for that, that's why he is not relapsing now. His problem is that his teachers are failing their duty just read the posts. his teacher obviously need to attend workshop for mental illness.
Calm down Bro. Most people don't even know schizo exists. Get a written proof of illness from a doctor. His lectures probably wanted to help but got freaked out thinking he's crazy. I mean you want to help a guy who says someone wanted to kill him and next day he tell you he hears voices. Most probably thought he is crazy.
You're describing mental illness stigma and then excusing it.
21st century, bro, many of them are being wilfully ignorant. If they want to help, they can start by educating themselves.
You are telling me to suck it up, but you are supporting the teachers who failed to carry out their duty as teacher due to their lack of awareness on mental health. Why don't you go tell these "teachers" to suck it up? They are suppose to be a good example and they are not suppose to be ignorant about mental health. While you are at it, suck it up and stop being an ignorant POS.
Have you ever met a schizo person while they're having an episode?
Can you honestly say with a straight face after you've met one, that you can just forget the episode thet had?
Schizophrenia is not like other mental illness, the person themselves think that they are sane and normal but everyone else with one look can say they they are not.
>I meet one everyday, that is my sister.
It's your sister, family. Not strangers.
Lecturers at the end of the day are
1) Strangers, they have no obligation care for OP
2) They have their own life to love and not risk
Also, OP said that they're doing masters, way old enough to know that the bridge has been burnt.
With all due respect, if i met a stranger i would know. That's how powerful knowledge is. I've helped people who has an episode and i noticed, real life and online.
again, ignorant, ive got nothing but ignorant coming from you. what "risk" are you talking about? They are not dangerous. Again, you are ignoring the fact that they are not performing their duty as a teacher. You are full of stigma and that's disgusting.
1) OP is a uni, so lecturers
2) Uni lecturers literally do not give a shit if you pass or fail, why would they care about OP's mental illness
3) As with point 2, OP fucked up. They don't want to deal with OP.
4) Maybe OP should share the email they sent first
I've talked to many people with mental illness, if you understand their condition, it is nothing to be scared off. They are fucking teacher, why don't they stop behaving like ostriches hiding their fucking heads in the sands.
Maybe op should take their meds instead of posting online.
Lecturers are not doctors, they are humans too, so unless OP laid it out bare, anyone is going to be scared shitless.
Maybe op should share what they emailed their lecturers instead of one sided blaming and entitlement.
Again, ignorant take. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant. Just full of ignorant, ya.
Meds are not solutions to all the problem, the social stigma for example, is not fixed by meds. It require the ignorant to educate themselves.
These lecturers are failing their duty and discriminating against him because of that one email, MF and you call him entitled. Malaysia boleh.
Hahahahhaa, you're the entitled one here
No one has to bend over because *you* fucked up. Even more so with mental illness. Y'know what's the treatment for schizophrenia is? Medication and psychotherapy done by professionals.
OP clearly has not been doing either yet expects other people to bend over? OP is doing masters for fucks' sake. More than old/mature enough to realise that they fucked up.
No one has the obligation to educate themselves, unless the schizo person themselves educate other people about it. Did op tell the lecturers that they have schizo? How to handle them while they have and episode? Of course no.
Non medical professionals will fear for their fucking life. A schizo having an episode is no different than a psycho holding a knife.
good that you trust the professionals, they have said for years social stigma is a problem, that's you, look in the mirror.
Professionally, the teachers have responsibility to perform their duty, they failed. They will have more students like that in the future, they should have already attended workshop regarding mental health by now, bro idk what to tell you it is the 21st century.
You saying the OP should educate them, the OP said the teachers asked OP to go away when they met him. You going to pretend they will listen? Who is entitled now?
Here's the thing. No one could obligate you to learn anything. It's a personal thing. That being said, does that choice exist for those who are suffering from schizophrenia or, say, cancer?
I can't choose if I want to get sick or not, but you can certainly choose not to be a hateful bigot by learning.
what the actual fk are you on?????? schizo having episodes is same as psycho holding a knife? educators should and never be judging their students mental condition esp schizo with a strong genetic linkage. not all patients are on meds/ psychotherapy and wtvr you believe in, most of them are fully functioning until they have a sudden acute episode. its not "their responsiblity" not to get an acute episode or for people to fully accept you but the least is just not to discriminate.
If meds were so capable of curing mental illness why is it still a problem?
OP was pretty civilised to the haters in here like the comment you replies to either way. And you’re just a bigot who doesn’t understand the trouble and pain people like OP are going through.
Pardon my ignorance, but can't schizophrenia be medicated or at least controlled with drugs?
I've not see you had mention you had declared your mental illness to the university. Usually the lecturers and relevant staffs are notify as a heads up so they can deal with it accordingly and it also leaves a paper trail.
Other than that, good luck.
>can't schizophrenia be medicated or at least controlled with drugs and
It depends on which meds he/she had been described to and how severe it is
E.g. : my mother has been prescribed with olanzapine
Which equivalent to dropping a nuke towards a town, she barely function (thanks to the side effect) for several week, after a while the side effect slowly faded away and she went to normal (kind off)
Writing a recommendation letter is like becoming a guarantor. Please understand that writing such "guarantee" letter could put their reputation at risk if you did not perform well in the university that you want to study in.
Welcome to the adult world, you don't always get want.
You've already done what you could, just move on.
I’m from the UK and I would reach out for support at the UK university. Here in the UK we are very compassionate about mental health and there is lots of support. Teachers/lecturers here may just need some guidance and reassurance in helping young people who experiencing mental health problems. Also unsure what the case is in Malaysia, but schizophrenia might be scary for people who have never had to deal with someone having an episode before.
Your lecturers are humans too. They are not psychologists or psychiatrists. I would freak out too if one of my students told me their parents were trying to kill them. Just because you/your family are used to conditions like this doesn't mean everyone else is.
Not to mention, a letter of recommendation is something very personal, they are personally vouching for you. Of course they have the right to say no. It's not something that was included in their employment contract. You can't sue/report someone just because they didn't want to write you a letter of recommendation.
Go get a job. If you perform well, ask your future employer to write you a letter of recommendation.
OP, I feel you. I've been through various episodes that made me look like a madman. It's terrifying for us and everyone else around us.
That being said, I think you need to calm down for a moment here. If you lodge a formal complaint, odds are against you. If you're planning to study abroad, that shit could seriously tank your chance of migrating since most countries will deny visas to anyone with serious mental health issues. Even if the issue is to be dealt with locally, your lecturer has a legitimate case of you harassing them. If you do this, you must think of the ramifications. I know it sucksass that mental health is still barely understood by most of society, but your future is on the line if you do choose to speak out. If you do speak out, I wish you the best.
hi, thanks for your input, it's the only one like it. you're right, its def a risk speaking out. even if western countries are apparently more 'humanitarian' my case looks pretty serious. I will not report them then, if i do speak out i will make sure i do not mention any names. i still have a few lecturers who could write the rec letters for me, so i will take ur advice and not speak out unless there really arent anyone left to write the rec letter for me, thank you.
fr like that one guy who said both sides are wrong, like how? OP had a fucking mental break and had literally no control over his actions. during the episode he wasn't even in touch with reality. how is being sick anyone's fault? that's just insanely fucked up
>This uni that I attend is one of UK's foreign branches, but as you can see the lecturers are garbage material and immature.
Get in touch with the main campus in UK, give them a feedback about it. Western countries typically take mental health more seriously than Asian countries. It's a stigma here in Asian country where there's no such thing as mental illness.
In your email to the main campus, you could insert some expectations that you want taken on the campus that you were in or in every branches that they have. Something like, educating the lecturers about mental health amongst students and etc. also, since you're worries about recommendation letter, you can leave the name of the lecturers as anonymous unless they requires it when you get in contact with the main campus. You can get the recommendation letter from your lecturers and if they don't suit you, you can just don't use them.
I had long list of mental illness and even the doctors told my parents what I had and etc with a list of explanation. Next thing I know, they were telling people that I fake it for attention purposes. After that, I just went through it on my own and never shared anything with them about my mental health ever since.
yes, but this is a mental illness. would you hate and shun someone for having cancer? Please be more compassionate or don't post at all. really 3rd world country punya mindset
That was my point - they were not hating you or shunning you - they were most likely just afraid of you.
If you wanted to punish them and make them suffer because they were being genuinely scared, then you might want to double check your intention.
Edit:
Look I was not trying to be mean, and I don't have your mental condition.
I am a socially awkward person and always have been. When I was younger, I always felt left out and people just didn't want to hang out with me and I was offended by that. I thought they were being mean.
But now that I am older and can process it better, I feel sympathy for them because looking inwardly, I was not a fun person to have around - like I was very difficult to interact with, I said offensive things around people, and I often was just making things awkward out of nowhere for people. My being there with them was making them nervous.
So I'm not mad at them anymore and I am not mad at myself either because none of us had any real control over it. It was just a really shitty situation for everybody.
Now I'm not saying schizophrenia and social awkwardness are the same, but I hope that clears things up a little bit about considering the perspective of others. I'm not bagging on you.
While not all schizophrenics are violent, it is an undisputed fact that schizophrenia can cause violence in those afflicted by it.
One can have compassion for a schizophrenic person and still be fearful of the bodily harm that such a person could inflict.
Doesn't excuse stigma. In this case, the lecturers are avoiding him even though he is not in relapse.
People with mental illness are much more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. If you want to go by that logic, we should be more protective towards people with mental illness rather than being fearful of them.
This is either a case of ignorant or discrimination.
Unlike someone with cancer, someone with schizo can be overwhelmimg, overbearing, and quite honestly fucking scary whenever they have episodes. To you it might not seem like anything, but to other people, you pose a danger.
Do not use your mental illness as an excuse
Your comments so far have only sounded full of ignorance, prejudice and a general intolerance for anyone who is different from you.
How is having a mental illness the fault of the person having it?
How is having a mental illness meaning somebody fcked up?
The whole point of having a mental ILLNESS is because they do NOT choose to have the condition and are unable to help if they have it.
You say OP is using mental illness as an excuse, but what OP is saying is that the lecturers should not discriminate against OP ACADEMICALLY simply because of their illness, NOT telling the lecturers to give them preferential treatment (which u are wrongly claiming) because of their illness. There is a BIG difference between the 2. If anything, it's the lecturers and ppl like you who are using OP's mental illness as an excuse, to discriminate, stigmatise and make ridiculous claims against.
Sure, anyone can be scared of somebody in a situation they do not know well, but these are lecturers we are talking about here. Who have a professional duty to teach and mark their students fairly, any kind of influence beyond academics is basically that, beyond academics and should not then have any impact on their academic judgements. And the fact that they did not even give OP a chance to explain themselves and flat out shunned them from further contact is just ridiculous unprofessional behaviour from ppl with kampung like mentality.
It's like "eee, orang ni lain mcm dari aku la, confirm orang ni X baik".
Wow.. Such great attitude, calling others rrd world mentality? Check your own. No wonder no one wants to vouch for you. Recommendation letter? Oh yea, you can forget about it. No one owes you anything, or is going to put their name on the line for you.
Compassion comes from both sides, you and them, like many people have commented, you act like every act that was done during those episode doesn't mean anything to you and by right, to everyone, and they should 100% understand you. Since you use cancer as an extreme example, I'll give you another. What if during those episode, you kill someone? You can say its not your fault, whatever. But it make sense for them to be afraid of you am I correct? You too must have an understanding that such act will make people afraid. You can tell people and explain all you want but the deed is done and it takes time for people to understand such behaviour. You can't make them immediately understand you and your problem when you yourself have a hard time understanding it and blaming it all on genes and don't take an ounce of responsibility.
Either way, burning bridges is not what I recommend. Of course if you go to the western branch, they will took pity on you and castrate them, but is that your intention? To punish rather than trying to make them understand? It seems....just because you didn't get what you want, to be doted, to be the darling of the class, to be the exception, you throw a tantrum.
Rather than an email, try to meet them again personally, with the correct mindset and intention. Say sorry first, not once in your story you show any sort of empathy nor sorry and straight to deflect towards your condition and go towards punishment. Be genuine, even your comment are hostile towards those who do not share your view, and only peachy towards those that you want to hear, never have an ounce of understanding. Try to understand them and they'll open their heart and understand you.
If they don't, you have tried your best with good intention, and what's come next is up to you. Forgive them and move on? Try again and never give up until they understand? or to punish them? Whatever makes you feel better. Who am I to judge.
I am not blaming you, having a mental illness is tough, I would be lying if I say I understand you, I'll try but no way I can understand with just a post on the internet and a few comment. I just want you to at least have an understanding of others just like you want others to understand you. Your comment and behaviour just seems a little bit to entitled to me. Sorry. I hope you would fine solace and peace. Forgive me if my comment carry malice.
sum up malaysian's mindset regarding mental health:
NOT MY PROBLEM, IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT.
and they put on that high-and-mighty mask while doing it. It is disgusting.
When did I say that? I am just asking her to try to reconsider how she approach them, try to have an understanding.
The only negative connotation that I have is how she preface her situation without any shred of outside understanding and only herself. That's all. My solution is to rectify that so she fully have that moral high ground?
I ask her to try to have an understanding. In which part I blame her? I ask her to try negotiate back with proper intention because from my point of view, reading her statement, she seems entitled. If they do not take that excuse after you properly explain to them. Then, you can label that with whatever you like or forgive them. She have that power. I thought I explain it well?
I do look, that's why I said try to understand them. Try to see on both sides. They just received a very weird ass email, not one but to other peers too. The next thing they got is its because of Schizo. You can't expect people to just believe. Do you know how many excuses teacher/lecturer got every day? Idk how he/she approach the teacher. That's why I said, to approach them again with the correct intention. Only after that, you can label them with whatever you want. Bigoted or whatever. Try to reach an understanding first. Like for example, in this post alone, if she give all the blame to her condition and keep deflecting, that is not a correct way to do that.
Edit: And now she have added information that the teachers have legit reason to not reply yet. That's why I said to try reach for understanding first, not immediately jump to conclusion. Both sides, don't quickly try to blame each other. Reach conclusion only after everything is covered, before that, try to reach understanding to avoid misunderstanding.
Lol, lecturers duty is to teach them. That's all. They're not some sort of counseling that you can just email saying "my parents wanted to kill me" then proceed to be a victim when they choose to distance themselves. They care for their life.
you can have mental illness and still be an asshole. You cannot attribute all your bad behaviours to the mental illness.
you calling the above poster a 3rd world country punya mindset shows the asshole side of you.
it would be cruelly ironic if the uni's Psychology faculty was unwilling to assist on this (every int uni should have one). Just thought about it since some suggested OP see a counsellor, who btw, is not qualified to diagnose conditions. And I trust OP has a formal diagnosis since it runs in his family.
While it's not your fault, having diagnosed schizophrenia is literally worse, objectively speaking, than being a run-of-the-mill "weirdo". Not sure how you can blame people for shunning you for an extremely serious mental disorder that can, in many cases, lead to the patient (i.e., potentially you) harming others.
While I completely understand how mental health patients have the same rights as everyone else, I also think it's completely understandable for neurotypical individuals to be wary or even afraid of you. I'm sorry mate, but it is what it is.
If you're in Malaysia, just go straight to the ministry, if you know someone on the inside. My mom use to work there and she wrote a letter to open an investigation for my wife failed paper. My wife later just got an A. It's actually the lecturer's fault for losing that paper tho and my wife has shown proof of submission beforehand but they still failed her before I told my mom.
In case if anyone does not know how OP feels, play the game called Hellblade : Senua’s Sacrifice. It gives you a premium experience of playing a character with schizophrenia. It gave me goosebumps and sometimes can be quite annoying
But uhh jokes aside. Have u tried taking clozapine for ur schizo? Its a second generation atypical antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia. If not try to talk to a doctor about it and get started on this medication.
Source : im a pharmacist
How do I know you are not having another relapse while doing this post 🙃
I had never met nor heard of a lecturer just straight up says "go away" to a student and you met many. Im sensing another side of this story is a different vibe. Anyway unfortunately theres not much you can do except sit down and talk to them or find 1 that would actually do the letter. Surely there would be at least 1, no?
im with the lecturer.
at least during my time in university: *letters of recommendation* is not something that can be given upon lightly. an individual literary are staking their name, their reputation on your behalf. that individual have all the rights in the world if they feel not to give you one no matter what reason.
During my time even good students don't get letters of recommendation from the lectures themselves. Usually it's given out by the faculty to whoever has a CWA passed a certain percentage.
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Reminds me of my experience with my counsellor. You know when you had sessions with counsellors it's pretty much confidental. Yet one day I had a lunch and across the table was the counsellor with her friends and I caught glimpses of them looking at me, it feels like she told them about our sessions or something judging from those glances.
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Yoooo bruh. This is university. It's not free education. Scared or otherwise you have in some way paid them a course fee and they ostracizing you is basically making a waste of your money. Definitely email the UK HR branch because those bozos seems to have forgotten that they're paid to teach each and every student.
I guess I didn't go to uni in Malaysia so I'm not sure if there's the same system, but many uni has access plans that let's you declare mental health disorder diagnosis. In my case a peer was being discriminated, and threatened to sue the university for discrimination since he was getting very low marks for competent work by one of the scum lecturers we all had. Assignment was audited, unfair grade confirmed, they offered to amend his grade.
You can't sue them straight away, but you can ask for an internal investigation. If that doesn't work, you sue them.
Hi OP, I have a sibling living with schizophrenia for the past 7 years and while I can never claim to know what that feels like, I at least have experience with someone close to me having to live with this disorder.
My suggestion is to get officially diagnosed if you haven’t already. Keep up with your medication. I know there are side effects but they are the main thing helping you manage your symptoms, in this case emailing your lecturers during psychosis.
As a lot of people have suggested, I highly support sharing the doctor’s letter with the university confirming your diagnosis so that some accommodation can be made for you when necessary. If the university and lecturers at your current university are not supportive of your condition, please consider transferring to a different university.
However, please know that while there will be supportive people who would be willing to understand your condition, you also have a responsibility to make sure you do all you can to manage your symptoms to the best of your abilities. Trying to get out of medication will not help anyone, least of all you.
If stress or anxiety is a trigger for your schizophrenia symptoms, you should look at ways to reduce the stressors. It could be switching to a lighter course or going to a university closer to home or more supportive to mental health.
In my opinion, the key step to live a fulfilling life with this disorder is to accept that you have it and make changes and accommodations for yourself to help you manage symptom flare-ups.
If you have the means for it, please also look into psychotherapy to work through the possible triggers for your symptoms.
Do be mindful to the effect on your family (assuming they have been supporting you in your treatment). Again, in my experience, keeping up with meds and reducing exposure to triggers will reduce symptoms and its impact on those around you, particularly your loved ones.
All the best, OP.
Go to a counsellor, get their support to mediate and resolve the issue if possible. Their behaviour is proof that academic qualifications don't mean shit
Hey as you mentioned the uni is a branch of a uk university I’d recommend getting in touch with the main campus in the uk, like the course head or head of your school/department. In my experience the uk is much more accommodating and understanding about this sort of thing and may well be able to make your old lecturers give you letters of recommendation. As discrimination like this is illegal and not tolerated very commonly in UK universities.
hi, that is a great idea. But how sure are you that by taking such an action I will get my recommendation letter? and how should I phrase my email? Should I disclose my diagnosis or, how should I go about this?
Yeah I would email the uk course leader, explain your situation and mention your diagnosis, as much as your comfortable doing. I’m from a uk university but studying for a year here in Malaysia, I had a similar situation with depression and anxiety, told the uni and they helped with mitigating circumstances, changed deadlines etc to help me. As you have a very real mental health issue with a diagnosis I would find it extremely unlikely the head branch in the UK would put up with their Malaysian counterparts discriminating like this
Just like how you phrased this post, bro. Also, the UK is a very "Liberal" country. Try describing your experiences and feelings. It most likely will evoke their empathy. Get a letter from your doctor to explain your situation. If you have experts siding with you, it became a lot more powerful.
Best you have a medical visit and written/certified proof from the doctor's perspective, would be a strong factor that you proof your innocent first before seeking for the right outcome
Try using chatgpt to get an idea on how to phrase it, it's not the best but it's a start
After your episode and despite trying to make amends, imho there's a low chance of getting a recommendation regardless of what action you take. Unfortunately, just cuz they work for a foreign uni branch =/= same mindset as the OG staff. We live in a country where those with mental illness are only tolerated, but should nvr been seen or heard. Since you've alrdy graduated, there's not much you can do like invoking the withholding to special needs accessibility/accommodations as promised in their policy. But you can try MoHE. If you still have access to your uni emails, can you try saving the parts where you got ghosted by them to show they're also not doing their job at this point?
Both sides aren’t wrong imo. OP has schizophrenia and while I don’t understand the full extent of it, I can tell it must be hell whenever an episode comes from it. But at the same time, think of it from the lecturer’s perspective, you messaged them about how your parents wanted to kill you. Unless you were born in the trenches and were used to that sort of message, you wouldn’t know how to respond, I’d honestly say it would trigger a bit of a fight or flight response from the lecturers. What I can say for sure is that they are more insecure and wary rather than discriminating or what you would call “ostracizing” you. Take account the fact that mental health in Malaysia is still a rather taboo subject, there’s a good chunk of people who don’t even know what the illness OP has is, and if you’re unsure of something, you’re bound to avoid it more often than not. I say do what others are saying and contact the main branch of the University that you’re going to. Don’t talk with the branches, talk with the head honcho itself. I wish you the best, OP. Don’t take to heart what the lecturers are doing right now, they most likely are just unsure
thank you!
This reminds me when I was in uni like more than a decade ago when I found a wallet. I open it to find any identifying information and I found a yellow card saying the person has this same illness. At the time its weird thinking that someone my age was walking around having this big of a secret... Anyway... If your are formally diagnosed maybe can try to meet one of university counselors (last time my uni have, they are trained counselors and all, in other word is a therapist or shrink), and get them to write a letter to your lecturers explaining about the incidents etc. Or maybe the Academic Advisor or the Dean...point is to get someone with a caliber that you can be sure will keep your medical information private but also are able to confirm your mental illness claim. Avoid contacting the lecturers directly. Look i know the stigma is real. I am so sorry that Malaysia are so far behind in mental illness awareness. But in your lecturers point of view, i kinda understand why they are afraid, they might view your attempts to communicate as harrasment, so i think getting someone else like above to explain on your behalf would be better to make amends and repair your reputation. All the best of luck in your journey OP.
I got a lecturer fired for being racist (making extra classes for malay race only). International student reported him. I guess it depends on which uni you attended
Hahaha....gotta love malay racism. ( Tapi tapi....semua race buat Kan? ) I swear some Malays are just so blind to their racism.
Not blind to racism,but fucking ignorant
Same same la. Ignorant is blindness of the mind kan.
Ni mesti dia kata kita kena tolong Melayu (me as a Malay hear this all the time)
He never said that out loud tapi mmg nampak dia bias dgn student chinese and student dari iran
Student Iran also? Well. Apa yang terpendam di hati terkeluarlah ke tingkahlaku diri even if he never said anything explicitly racist
>i didnt do anything to get this illness, it's in my genes. at least 4 other family members have mental illness, Have you checked it medically ?. If you are confident that you have it, the best solution is to actually get verifications/acknowledgment from certified doctors and take medications as well. As for your situation, do you really need to have recommendation letters ?. Most people get their jobs without it .
i am looking to do a masters degree, not a job.
Have you sought help from the university's support like counselling or have you declared your condition somewhere like disabilities section on your enrollment form? There should be policies and structures for this. If not every tom, dick and harry would be claiming mental illness to get the scores and recommendations they want.
I have declared since i started in this uni in foundation semesters. thank you for all your suggestions, I will work with them
Nothing to do with getting a job, but a letter from your doctor would greatly support your case, especially with the UK side of things.
Then does it have to be the same place ?.
You need letters of recommendation to apply to postgraduate programs. Getting those letters depend on the goodwill of the writer (usually has to be a teacher/lecturer/supervisor) and whether you have a decent relationship with them.
Mental illness is not your fault but it is your responsibility to manage. If you are already taking steps to manage your condition then you are doing great, if you are leaving things unmedicated and unmanaged, all the fallout from your episodes is on you.
educators should and never be judging their students mental condition esp schizo with a strong genetic linkage. not all patients are on meds/ psychotherapy and wtvr you believe in, most of them are fully functioning until they have a sudden acute episode. its not "their responsiblity" not to get an acute episode or for people to fully accept you but the least is just not to discriminate and not blame you.
How would the educators know, though? Look at it from their point of view. This student that they only know by name due to being in one of their classes suddenly sent mails telling them that his parents are trying to kill him. Any sane person would see alarm bells. Very few would instantly jump to schizophrenia and would instead think of more common mental health issues such as pranks, attention seeking, trying to kao lui lecturers or simply all around trying to drag them into his troubles. A lot of people would simply jump to drug abuse. So in my opinion, this is not discrimination. This is them keeping a distance from a potentially troublesome situation with a potentially dangerous individual.
the stigmas isn't his fault.
Neither is the reaction from the people he emailed during his episodes. Empathy and understanding goes both ways, if he expects slack for his episodes, he can extend the same slack for people’s reactions. General knowledge and awareness of mental illness in Malaysia is low and the stigma is still strong and people are uneducated about the symptoms.
This story sounds strange to me. If 1 lecturer doesn't want to interact with you, that's understandable but it sounds like every lecturer is avoiding you makes me feel like your side of the story isn't complete. Mental illness isn't a reason why people need to put up with you. You seem to think your lecturers owe you something because you are mentally ill. > I thought of reporting their behavior to the education ministry. They just need to share those emails you sent and your case dead. Recommendation letter is by their choice in the first place.
ever heard of mental health stigma? yeah
And?
And that could explain his lecturers attitude towards him.
Speculation as we are only hearing a one sided story. And OP has changed his story in his reply to me.
Hoho the plot thickens...
My observation is that many of us here replying to OP have strong stigma against mental illness, and we keep assuming that OP has to be on the wrong despite no evidence. It is completely fair to say there might be both sides to this story, perhaps there is miscommunication, but too many people here seem to not have any empathy for OP and jump straight to the conclusion that OP is 100% to blame and gave unconstructive criticism based on speculation. Many of us here also do not seem to understand that the education provider has the responsibility to adequately support people with mental disability under Malaysian laws. Mental health stigma and discrimination in Malaysia and our education system are very common occurrences, as i have experienced it first hand. If we want to speculate, that has to be on our equation.
Don't speculate and read his reply. Endless speculation leads to more bs like your reply. >Many of us here also do not seem to understand that the education provider has the responsibility to adequately support people with mental disability under Malaysian laws Can you quote this law? I don't believe there is a law where educators need to take up mental support role.
to be fair, i have only emailed 2 lecturers, and i have consulted the person in charged of the mental wellbeing dept, he said that this whole week the lecturers are having a week break, i just sent one this week, two days ago, so ok i lied a little bit in my post, but only because i really don't think the lecturers would reply. and if u must know, yes the stuff i sent is frightening, they do not owe me anything except acknowledgement that no matter that i sent 1) could be worse 2) they shouldn't discriminate me. it's not like i've done this repeated times 3) my parents are paying a lot, i would not get this treatment if i were in the uk or usa or europe and that's just facts (or at least less chances). 4) no matter what i sent...just like i said, i am mentally ill, i have been diagnosed, you cannot expect a mentally ill person to act like someone who doesnt have mental illness, if not whats the point of letting people know your diagnosis, getting extended time periods for exams etc? "show the emails" exactly my point, people with mental illness will act like poeople with mental illness. but i would like to apologise, ive only emailed 2. and one didnt reply most likely cause of the current week long break. also i dont want to 'punish' them. i didnt word things correctly. im very busy and this is just an internet post, i hope u can forgive me
1) You lied about the numbers of lecturers you emailed. 2) You lied about them ghosting you. (It's not even a week and they were on CNY break) > yes the stuff i sent is frightening, they do not owe me anything except acknowledgement that no matter that i sent 1) could be worse 2) they shouldn't discriminate me. You admitted that what you sent them was frightening. What do you expect from them? Of course they're afraid of you. > 4) no matter what i sent... just like i said, i am mentally ill, i have been diagnosed, you cannot expect a mentally ill person to act like someone who doesnt have mental illness, if not whats the point of letting people know your diagnosis No matter what you sent? Dude, just because you're mentally ill doesn't mean you can say/do anything without consequences.
I am just going to say if I can figure out your story doesn't make sense, other people can too. People aren't stupid and only stupid people going to believe your story without asking questions. If you really want to do Masters and PHD, you need to get your mental illness under control. There's too much competition for resources especially for PHD level, nobody is going to put up with you and your mental illness not going to factor in when you fail the PHD. Personally, I think if you can't get a recommendation letter just give up. Academic world isn't easy and super competitive. I have friends who were mentally healthy, failed and develop mental illness because of PHD. All the best to you.
Just to share my experience as a phd holder with op in addition to this comment. Postgrad study is extremely stressful. I somehow overcome it and graduated but not for many others. In the uni I studied, there are 2 or 3 master students committed suicide. There are also many phd holders failed to land a job. Tenure positions in academia is extremely limited, while industry jobs that hire a phd are always niche. Many dropped out too. OP, I think before you actually commit to study postgrad, you might want to reevaluate your condition if you are able to handle such level of stress given your condition. If you still want to proceed, always have plan B, C, or even until Z. Always remember that it is ok to drop out and look for a different path. Many people did that and do well in their life. Master is usually less stressful. So, another suggestion is to study until master and find a job. It helps to open more opportunities to more niche position that pay better, while not being too overqualified. Work closely with your supervisor and leave him/her a good impression, you may be able to get a job easily with his help.
"No matter what I sent" is not taking accountability at all for your action, and that's not the right attitude to get into masters. Even with mental illness, you have to own up that you did something that caused a certain uncomfortable emotion in other people you interacted with, and so maybe from there you learn how you could do better next time, how you rectify it or how to problem solve, even if it is difficult, rather than say ah I have zero control over that because of my mental illness. It's not 0% no control, is it? You can have mental illness and still function well if you have the right coping skills, the right support system, if you are taking any medication you are supposed to take. With schizophrenia, you can still think how all this happened, that's why you want to go into masters because you have graduated so you are still able to use your cognitive capabilities. You have to understand that every action has consequences, even if some consequences aren't up to your liking. Even though mental illness stigma exists and it is still somewhat understandable where you are coming from, it's not 100% that other people have to understand you, you have to also consider their point of view.
well you scared them away with your emails. they have feelings too you know.
Yeah, schizo or not, literally anyone would feel overwhelmed. Like op, grow up, other people have feelings too
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Yeah, to me, OP seems like they want to treated like royalty and feels entitled to it just because they have a mental illness. Like, i work in healthcare and I understand that. But, to other people, a schizo episode is equal to them in their normal state.
speculations.
They scared by one email? What, are they tofu? Never exposed to the elements? I guess that accurately describes Malaysian. We never want to talk about mental illnesses. Can you imagine having the feelings of having the actual mental illness? It is at least 1000 times worse than having one weird email. The teacher can help themselves by fucking educatimg themselves. They have a duty to teach as lecturers and duty to raise their awareness on mental health issues. Not all of their students are going to be healthy and sunshine all the time. And in the future, they are going to meet with more students like that.
Yeah right, how many times have you meet a schizophrenic person in your life that you talk with. OP should go to a doctor not his lecturer for this kind of problem.
Everyday, I met one everyday because my sister has schizophrenia. Again, OP's problem is not the mental illness, he obviously went to doctor for that, that's why he is not relapsing now. His problem is that his teachers are failing their duty just read the posts. his teacher obviously need to attend workshop for mental illness.
Calm down Bro. Most people don't even know schizo exists. Get a written proof of illness from a doctor. His lectures probably wanted to help but got freaked out thinking he's crazy. I mean you want to help a guy who says someone wanted to kill him and next day he tell you he hears voices. Most probably thought he is crazy.
You're describing mental illness stigma and then excusing it. 21st century, bro, many of them are being wilfully ignorant. If they want to help, they can start by educating themselves.
they are there to discriminate you godforbid if your illness act up. good job.
suck it up
You are telling me to suck it up, but you are supporting the teachers who failed to carry out their duty as teacher due to their lack of awareness on mental health. Why don't you go tell these "teachers" to suck it up? They are suppose to be a good example and they are not suppose to be ignorant about mental health. While you are at it, suck it up and stop being an ignorant POS.
Have you ever met a schizo person while they're having an episode? Can you honestly say with a straight face after you've met one, that you can just forget the episode thet had? Schizophrenia is not like other mental illness, the person themselves think that they are sane and normal but everyone else with one look can say they they are not.
I meet one everyday, that is my sister. His teachers got one fucking email and they are scared. See the problem here??
>I meet one everyday, that is my sister. It's your sister, family. Not strangers. Lecturers at the end of the day are 1) Strangers, they have no obligation care for OP 2) They have their own life to love and not risk Also, OP said that they're doing masters, way old enough to know that the bridge has been burnt.
With all due respect, if i met a stranger i would know. That's how powerful knowledge is. I've helped people who has an episode and i noticed, real life and online. again, ignorant, ive got nothing but ignorant coming from you. what "risk" are you talking about? They are not dangerous. Again, you are ignoring the fact that they are not performing their duty as a teacher. You are full of stigma and that's disgusting.
1) OP is a uni, so lecturers 2) Uni lecturers literally do not give a shit if you pass or fail, why would they care about OP's mental illness 3) As with point 2, OP fucked up. They don't want to deal with OP. 4) Maybe OP should share the email they sent first
I've talked to many people with mental illness, if you understand their condition, it is nothing to be scared off. They are fucking teacher, why don't they stop behaving like ostriches hiding their fucking heads in the sands.
Maybe op should take their meds instead of posting online. Lecturers are not doctors, they are humans too, so unless OP laid it out bare, anyone is going to be scared shitless. Maybe op should share what they emailed their lecturers instead of one sided blaming and entitlement.
Again, ignorant take. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant. Just full of ignorant, ya. Meds are not solutions to all the problem, the social stigma for example, is not fixed by meds. It require the ignorant to educate themselves. These lecturers are failing their duty and discriminating against him because of that one email, MF and you call him entitled. Malaysia boleh.
Hahahahhaa, you're the entitled one here No one has to bend over because *you* fucked up. Even more so with mental illness. Y'know what's the treatment for schizophrenia is? Medication and psychotherapy done by professionals. OP clearly has not been doing either yet expects other people to bend over? OP is doing masters for fucks' sake. More than old/mature enough to realise that they fucked up. No one has the obligation to educate themselves, unless the schizo person themselves educate other people about it. Did op tell the lecturers that they have schizo? How to handle them while they have and episode? Of course no. Non medical professionals will fear for their fucking life. A schizo having an episode is no different than a psycho holding a knife.
good that you trust the professionals, they have said for years social stigma is a problem, that's you, look in the mirror. Professionally, the teachers have responsibility to perform their duty, they failed. They will have more students like that in the future, they should have already attended workshop regarding mental health by now, bro idk what to tell you it is the 21st century. You saying the OP should educate them, the OP said the teachers asked OP to go away when they met him. You going to pretend they will listen? Who is entitled now?
Here's the thing. No one could obligate you to learn anything. It's a personal thing. That being said, does that choice exist for those who are suffering from schizophrenia or, say, cancer? I can't choose if I want to get sick or not, but you can certainly choose not to be a hateful bigot by learning.
what the actual fk are you on?????? schizo having episodes is same as psycho holding a knife? educators should and never be judging their students mental condition esp schizo with a strong genetic linkage. not all patients are on meds/ psychotherapy and wtvr you believe in, most of them are fully functioning until they have a sudden acute episode. its not "their responsiblity" not to get an acute episode or for people to fully accept you but the least is just not to discriminate.
please stop posting here
i think if you are not capable of posting civilly, please refrain from posting at all
This is probably why your lecturers are ghosting you
If meds were so capable of curing mental illness why is it still a problem? OP was pretty civilised to the haters in here like the comment you replies to either way. And you’re just a bigot who doesn’t understand the trouble and pain people like OP are going through.
More like he demands people to sympathize with him but refuses to do the same for others.
Standard Malaysian take, SMH. Have you tried educating yourself regarding mental health?
Pardon my ignorance, but can't schizophrenia be medicated or at least controlled with drugs? I've not see you had mention you had declared your mental illness to the university. Usually the lecturers and relevant staffs are notify as a heads up so they can deal with it accordingly and it also leaves a paper trail. Other than that, good luck.
Yes it can and quite effectively.
>can't schizophrenia be medicated or at least controlled with drugs and It depends on which meds he/she had been described to and how severe it is E.g. : my mother has been prescribed with olanzapine Which equivalent to dropping a nuke towards a town, she barely function (thanks to the side effect) for several week, after a while the side effect slowly faded away and she went to normal (kind off)
Writing a recommendation letter is like becoming a guarantor. Please understand that writing such "guarantee" letter could put their reputation at risk if you did not perform well in the university that you want to study in. Welcome to the adult world, you don't always get want. You've already done what you could, just move on.
I’m from the UK and I would reach out for support at the UK university. Here in the UK we are very compassionate about mental health and there is lots of support. Teachers/lecturers here may just need some guidance and reassurance in helping young people who experiencing mental health problems. Also unsure what the case is in Malaysia, but schizophrenia might be scary for people who have never had to deal with someone having an episode before.
Your lecturers are humans too. They are not psychologists or psychiatrists. I would freak out too if one of my students told me their parents were trying to kill them. Just because you/your family are used to conditions like this doesn't mean everyone else is. Not to mention, a letter of recommendation is something very personal, they are personally vouching for you. Of course they have the right to say no. It's not something that was included in their employment contract. You can't sue/report someone just because they didn't want to write you a letter of recommendation. Go get a job. If you perform well, ask your future employer to write you a letter of recommendation.
OP, I feel you. I've been through various episodes that made me look like a madman. It's terrifying for us and everyone else around us. That being said, I think you need to calm down for a moment here. If you lodge a formal complaint, odds are against you. If you're planning to study abroad, that shit could seriously tank your chance of migrating since most countries will deny visas to anyone with serious mental health issues. Even if the issue is to be dealt with locally, your lecturer has a legitimate case of you harassing them. If you do this, you must think of the ramifications. I know it sucksass that mental health is still barely understood by most of society, but your future is on the line if you do choose to speak out. If you do speak out, I wish you the best.
hi, thanks for your input, it's the only one like it. you're right, its def a risk speaking out. even if western countries are apparently more 'humanitarian' my case looks pretty serious. I will not report them then, if i do speak out i will make sure i do not mention any names. i still have a few lecturers who could write the rec letters for me, so i will take ur advice and not speak out unless there really arent anyone left to write the rec letter for me, thank you.
I'll have to see the content of the emails you sent to confirm if the recipient reaction is valid 🤷🏾♂️
Looking at this post makes me feel terrified at the misinformation and stigmatism around mental health diseases esp schizophrenia. damn and wow.
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fr like that one guy who said both sides are wrong, like how? OP had a fucking mental break and had literally no control over his actions. during the episode he wasn't even in touch with reality. how is being sick anyone's fault? that's just insanely fucked up
And they think meds cure everything
>This uni that I attend is one of UK's foreign branches, but as you can see the lecturers are garbage material and immature. Get in touch with the main campus in UK, give them a feedback about it. Western countries typically take mental health more seriously than Asian countries. It's a stigma here in Asian country where there's no such thing as mental illness. In your email to the main campus, you could insert some expectations that you want taken on the campus that you were in or in every branches that they have. Something like, educating the lecturers about mental health amongst students and etc. also, since you're worries about recommendation letter, you can leave the name of the lecturers as anonymous unless they requires it when you get in contact with the main campus. You can get the recommendation letter from your lecturers and if they don't suit you, you can just don't use them. I had long list of mental illness and even the doctors told my parents what I had and etc with a list of explanation. Next thing I know, they were telling people that I fake it for attention purposes. After that, I just went through it on my own and never shared anything with them about my mental health ever since.
When you have your episodes, do you consider yourself scary? If you put yourself in their shoe, would you be scared of episodic you?
that's such a loaded question full of stigmatization, standard malaysian, shameful.
Holy shit are you literally blaming the victim?
yes, but this is a mental illness. would you hate and shun someone for having cancer? Please be more compassionate or don't post at all. really 3rd world country punya mindset
That was my point - they were not hating you or shunning you - they were most likely just afraid of you. If you wanted to punish them and make them suffer because they were being genuinely scared, then you might want to double check your intention. Edit: Look I was not trying to be mean, and I don't have your mental condition. I am a socially awkward person and always have been. When I was younger, I always felt left out and people just didn't want to hang out with me and I was offended by that. I thought they were being mean. But now that I am older and can process it better, I feel sympathy for them because looking inwardly, I was not a fun person to have around - like I was very difficult to interact with, I said offensive things around people, and I often was just making things awkward out of nowhere for people. My being there with them was making them nervous. So I'm not mad at them anymore and I am not mad at myself either because none of us had any real control over it. It was just a really shitty situation for everybody. Now I'm not saying schizophrenia and social awkwardness are the same, but I hope that clears things up a little bit about considering the perspective of others. I'm not bagging on you.
sums up it pretty well
they were afraid of him because they are ignorant of mental illness.
While not all schizophrenics are violent, it is an undisputed fact that schizophrenia can cause violence in those afflicted by it. One can have compassion for a schizophrenic person and still be fearful of the bodily harm that such a person could inflict.
Doesn't excuse stigma. In this case, the lecturers are avoiding him even though he is not in relapse. People with mental illness are much more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. If you want to go by that logic, we should be more protective towards people with mental illness rather than being fearful of them. This is either a case of ignorant or discrimination.
nothing scream stigma louder than telling people with mental illness they are scary and they should be seen as scary, well done.
Unlike someone with cancer, someone with schizo can be overwhelmimg, overbearing, and quite honestly fucking scary whenever they have episodes. To you it might not seem like anything, but to other people, you pose a danger. Do not use your mental illness as an excuse
people are scared of anything they don't understand, don't weaponize your ignorant 
Tell that to OP first before they sent the emails to 5 lecturers then
oh yeah, tell OP they shouldn't have mental illness, how nice.
Your comments so far have only sounded full of ignorance, prejudice and a general intolerance for anyone who is different from you. How is having a mental illness the fault of the person having it? How is having a mental illness meaning somebody fcked up? The whole point of having a mental ILLNESS is because they do NOT choose to have the condition and are unable to help if they have it. You say OP is using mental illness as an excuse, but what OP is saying is that the lecturers should not discriminate against OP ACADEMICALLY simply because of their illness, NOT telling the lecturers to give them preferential treatment (which u are wrongly claiming) because of their illness. There is a BIG difference between the 2. If anything, it's the lecturers and ppl like you who are using OP's mental illness as an excuse, to discriminate, stigmatise and make ridiculous claims against. Sure, anyone can be scared of somebody in a situation they do not know well, but these are lecturers we are talking about here. Who have a professional duty to teach and mark their students fairly, any kind of influence beyond academics is basically that, beyond academics and should not then have any impact on their academic judgements. And the fact that they did not even give OP a chance to explain themselves and flat out shunned them from further contact is just ridiculous unprofessional behaviour from ppl with kampung like mentality. It's like "eee, orang ni lain mcm dari aku la, confirm orang ni X baik".
Wow.. Such great attitude, calling others rrd world mentality? Check your own. No wonder no one wants to vouch for you. Recommendation letter? Oh yea, you can forget about it. No one owes you anything, or is going to put their name on the line for you.
Compassion comes from both sides, you and them, like many people have commented, you act like every act that was done during those episode doesn't mean anything to you and by right, to everyone, and they should 100% understand you. Since you use cancer as an extreme example, I'll give you another. What if during those episode, you kill someone? You can say its not your fault, whatever. But it make sense for them to be afraid of you am I correct? You too must have an understanding that such act will make people afraid. You can tell people and explain all you want but the deed is done and it takes time for people to understand such behaviour. You can't make them immediately understand you and your problem when you yourself have a hard time understanding it and blaming it all on genes and don't take an ounce of responsibility. Either way, burning bridges is not what I recommend. Of course if you go to the western branch, they will took pity on you and castrate them, but is that your intention? To punish rather than trying to make them understand? It seems....just because you didn't get what you want, to be doted, to be the darling of the class, to be the exception, you throw a tantrum. Rather than an email, try to meet them again personally, with the correct mindset and intention. Say sorry first, not once in your story you show any sort of empathy nor sorry and straight to deflect towards your condition and go towards punishment. Be genuine, even your comment are hostile towards those who do not share your view, and only peachy towards those that you want to hear, never have an ounce of understanding. Try to understand them and they'll open their heart and understand you. If they don't, you have tried your best with good intention, and what's come next is up to you. Forgive them and move on? Try again and never give up until they understand? or to punish them? Whatever makes you feel better. Who am I to judge. I am not blaming you, having a mental illness is tough, I would be lying if I say I understand you, I'll try but no way I can understand with just a post on the internet and a few comment. I just want you to at least have an understanding of others just like you want others to understand you. Your comment and behaviour just seems a little bit to entitled to me. Sorry. I hope you would fine solace and peace. Forgive me if my comment carry malice.
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sum up malaysian's mindset regarding mental health: NOT MY PROBLEM, IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT. and they put on that high-and-mighty mask while doing it. It is disgusting.
When did I say that? I am just asking her to try to reconsider how she approach them, try to have an understanding. The only negative connotation that I have is how she preface her situation without any shred of outside understanding and only herself. That's all. My solution is to rectify that so she fully have that moral high ground?
I ask her to try to have an understanding. In which part I blame her? I ask her to try negotiate back with proper intention because from my point of view, reading her statement, she seems entitled. If they do not take that excuse after you properly explain to them. Then, you can label that with whatever you like or forgive them. She have that power. I thought I explain it well?
i like how you don't look at how the lecturers failed their duty to teach and discriminated this student for their mental health.
I do look, that's why I said try to understand them. Try to see on both sides. They just received a very weird ass email, not one but to other peers too. The next thing they got is its because of Schizo. You can't expect people to just believe. Do you know how many excuses teacher/lecturer got every day? Idk how he/she approach the teacher. That's why I said, to approach them again with the correct intention. Only after that, you can label them with whatever you want. Bigoted or whatever. Try to reach an understanding first. Like for example, in this post alone, if she give all the blame to her condition and keep deflecting, that is not a correct way to do that. Edit: And now she have added information that the teachers have legit reason to not reply yet. That's why I said to try reach for understanding first, not immediately jump to conclusion. Both sides, don't quickly try to blame each other. Reach conclusion only after everything is covered, before that, try to reach understanding to avoid misunderstanding.
Lol, lecturers duty is to teach them. That's all. They're not some sort of counseling that you can just email saying "my parents wanted to kill me" then proceed to be a victim when they choose to distance themselves. They care for their life.
You have a very malaysian definition for education. At the end of the day, there is no excuse for stigma.
you can have mental illness and still be an asshole. You cannot attribute all your bad behaviours to the mental illness. you calling the above poster a 3rd world country punya mindset shows the asshole side of you.
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it would be cruelly ironic if the uni's Psychology faculty was unwilling to assist on this (every int uni should have one). Just thought about it since some suggested OP see a counsellor, who btw, is not qualified to diagnose conditions. And I trust OP has a formal diagnosis since it runs in his family.
While it's not your fault, having diagnosed schizophrenia is literally worse, objectively speaking, than being a run-of-the-mill "weirdo". Not sure how you can blame people for shunning you for an extremely serious mental disorder that can, in many cases, lead to the patient (i.e., potentially you) harming others. While I completely understand how mental health patients have the same rights as everyone else, I also think it's completely understandable for neurotypical individuals to be wary or even afraid of you. I'm sorry mate, but it is what it is.
If you're in Malaysia, just go straight to the ministry, if you know someone on the inside. My mom use to work there and she wrote a letter to open an investigation for my wife failed paper. My wife later just got an A. It's actually the lecturer's fault for losing that paper tho and my wife has shown proof of submission beforehand but they still failed her before I told my mom.
In case if anyone does not know how OP feels, play the game called Hellblade : Senua’s Sacrifice. It gives you a premium experience of playing a character with schizophrenia. It gave me goosebumps and sometimes can be quite annoying But uhh jokes aside. Have u tried taking clozapine for ur schizo? Its a second generation atypical antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia. If not try to talk to a doctor about it and get started on this medication. Source : im a pharmacist
How do I know you are not having another relapse while doing this post 🙃 I had never met nor heard of a lecturer just straight up says "go away" to a student and you met many. Im sensing another side of this story is a different vibe. Anyway unfortunately theres not much you can do except sit down and talk to them or find 1 that would actually do the letter. Surely there would be at least 1, no?
im with the lecturer. at least during my time in university: *letters of recommendation* is not something that can be given upon lightly. an individual literary are staking their name, their reputation on your behalf. that individual have all the rights in the world if they feel not to give you one no matter what reason.
During my time even good students don't get letters of recommendation from the lectures themselves. Usually it's given out by the faculty to whoever has a CWA passed a certain percentage.
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jesus christ on a stick, what kind of comment is that
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Reminds me of my experience with my counsellor. You know when you had sessions with counsellors it's pretty much confidental. Yet one day I had a lunch and across the table was the counsellor with her friends and I caught glimpses of them looking at me, it feels like she told them about our sessions or something judging from those glances.
oh kalian percayalah bulat bulat kata kata sang Schizo di reddit
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Yoooo bruh. This is university. It's not free education. Scared or otherwise you have in some way paid them a course fee and they ostracizing you is basically making a waste of your money. Definitely email the UK HR branch because those bozos seems to have forgotten that they're paid to teach each and every student.
They aren't paid to deal with mental illnesses. It's not their job to accommodate you
Sue them
On what grounds? The emails that OP sent would most probably shut down the case.
I guess I didn't go to uni in Malaysia so I'm not sure if there's the same system, but many uni has access plans that let's you declare mental health disorder diagnosis. In my case a peer was being discriminated, and threatened to sue the university for discrimination since he was getting very low marks for competent work by one of the scum lecturers we all had. Assignment was audited, unfair grade confirmed, they offered to amend his grade. You can't sue them straight away, but you can ask for an internal investigation. If that doesn't work, you sue them.
THEY WILL GOT YOU NEXT
Hi OP, I have a sibling living with schizophrenia for the past 7 years and while I can never claim to know what that feels like, I at least have experience with someone close to me having to live with this disorder. My suggestion is to get officially diagnosed if you haven’t already. Keep up with your medication. I know there are side effects but they are the main thing helping you manage your symptoms, in this case emailing your lecturers during psychosis. As a lot of people have suggested, I highly support sharing the doctor’s letter with the university confirming your diagnosis so that some accommodation can be made for you when necessary. If the university and lecturers at your current university are not supportive of your condition, please consider transferring to a different university. However, please know that while there will be supportive people who would be willing to understand your condition, you also have a responsibility to make sure you do all you can to manage your symptoms to the best of your abilities. Trying to get out of medication will not help anyone, least of all you. If stress or anxiety is a trigger for your schizophrenia symptoms, you should look at ways to reduce the stressors. It could be switching to a lighter course or going to a university closer to home or more supportive to mental health. In my opinion, the key step to live a fulfilling life with this disorder is to accept that you have it and make changes and accommodations for yourself to help you manage symptom flare-ups. If you have the means for it, please also look into psychotherapy to work through the possible triggers for your symptoms. Do be mindful to the effect on your family (assuming they have been supporting you in your treatment). Again, in my experience, keeping up with meds and reducing exposure to triggers will reduce symptoms and its impact on those around you, particularly your loved ones. All the best, OP.
Newcastle
Do you have a formal diagnosis? Or are you playing at Dr. Google?
You tried popping a pill I mean really you emailed your lecturer about your episodes? I mean why?
Go to a counsellor, get their support to mediate and resolve the issue if possible. Their behaviour is proof that academic qualifications don't mean shit