A timebomb: Germany’s new psychotic arrivals

Many German citizens have become suspicious of this oft-cited diagnosis by the authorities, suspecting that the increasing resentment of the population against asylum seekers and migrants will somehow thus be assuaged with every new knife attack.

Why does mental illnesses invariably lead to the person becoming a danger to the general public?

These disorders of the mind are associated with delusions, hallucinations, loss of reality, lack of insight or severe agitation. The most well-known form of a psychosis is schizophrenia. The patients often hear non-existing voices and suffer from the delusion of being persecuted, spied on, controlled or controlled by others. Persistent hallucinations are also possible.

Given these symptoms, it becomes clear why many sufferers pose a threat to their environment. In most geographic cultures studied so far, depending on the study, around 0.5 to 1 percent of the population has been diagnosed with schizophrenia at least once during their lifetime.

An epidemiological study done by the German medical fraternity has revealed an interesting finding: migrants are 2.9 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than the native population. In dark-skinned migrants the risk is even increased 4.8-fold.

Not only migrants are affected, but also their children. Researchers associate this with the stress faced by immigrants in their new homelands, where they initially constitute a marginalized group. The researchers explains the risk of psychosis citing a “social defeat” hypothesis.

No one can say exactly how many immigrants arrived since 2014 in the country. At the BAMF, a total of 1 647 343 asylum applications were registered from 2014 to the first half of 2018.

In addition, it is known that since 2015, a total of 110 000 Syrians have received a visa for family reunification as part of family reunification, while the numbers of those immigrants who did not register and live illegally in Germany, are unknown.

The influx continues, as most border crossings are still open and in addition there are the civil war refugees, who have received residence status according to the Geneva Refugee Convention. They did not have to apply for asylum because they were recognized as “convention refugees” by the federal government.

Since 2014, Merkel’s refugee policy has invited about 1.75 million foreigners into the country, and hundreds of thousands are added annually. Based on the results of the epidemiological study on the incidence of schizophrenic disorders in migrants described in the introduction and described in the Ärzteblatt, among the 1.75 million refugees there are about 50 750 people present in Germany today who are or will develop schizophrenia in the future.

Here, only the average value was used as the basis for calculation, but the significantly higher factor of 4.8 for dark-skinned migrants was not taken into account. According to the study, 4 800 schizophrenics are to be expected per 100 000 black African migrants.

It is also known generally from criminology that most serious crimes are committed by men between the ages of 18 and 40 years. A lack of education and low income are other contributing risk factors.

Migrants are mostly young men, mostly with little education and mostly without their own income. In addition they are mostly without a wife and come from a culture of violence.

Examining tables from the meta-study on this topic, it is noticeable that immigrants from certain regions are even more vulnerable than the average. Some examples are: Morocco 3,3 | Africa 4,2 | West Africa 24.5. It is therefore no wonder that the erosion of internal security or feelings of anxiety in the population have increased.

In addition, there is the example of Somalia: According to yet another epidemiological study, probably more than eight percent of adult men are severely mentally disturbed. In addition, schizophrenia also has also been noted for having a genetic component.

If this disease has already occurred in close relatives, there is an increased risk for the relatives of becoming ill as well.

Schizophrenia is considered to be incurable, but in patients with so-called neuroleptics and complementary psychotherapy, a largely normal life can be made possible.

Unfortunately, the sufferers have a high tendency, due to the unpleasant side effects of antipsychotics, but also the often lack of insight into the disease, to discontinue their medication.

Relapses are inevitable, and in the case of patients presenting a public danger – as unfortunately happens frequently – only compulsory placement in the closed ward of a psychiatric clinic permanently or over a long period of time is advised. The cost: about 100,000 euros a year.