Tom King has been brutally gaslighting wife Belle Dingle by referencing her schizophrenia diagnosis, but what exactly are the symptoms?
After months of tense viewing for soap fans around the country, Emmerdale’s ongoing domestic abuse storyline took a surprising turn on Thursday evening when Belle Dingle bravely made the decision to end her marriage to Tom King after a harrowing campaign of physical, mental and financial abuse.
As regular viewers will know, ever since Belle and Tom tied the knot earlier this year, the couple’s relationship has steadily worsened, with Tom trying to control every one of his wife’s moves, to the point he even installed cameras in their home, restricted her spending and installed a tracker on her phone to keep tabs on her 24/7.
Initially, Belle appeared to accept many of these restrictions, but when challenged soon discovered that Tom had a violent temper, with the young Dingle suffering several violent beatings at his hands.
Emmerdale’s Tom King has repeatedly tried to use Belle’s diagnosis of Schizophrenia against her ( Image: ITV)
As the campaign of terror steadily worsened, Belle recently discovered she was pregnant and chose to have an abortion rather than bring a baby into the world with her husband – all while Tom was planning on unrooting their home to go and live in Wales, without even having consulted her.
Things came to a head this week, when Belle discovered Tom’s plans and while challenging him about them, found her own history of mental health problems thrown back in her face, with Tom gaslighting his wife and falsely accusing Belle of behaving irrationally, erratically and with poor memory as a result of her schizophrenia.
Thankfully, even despite his insistence that she was the villain and he was the aggrieved party – Belle was able to muster the courage to flee and find sanctuary with the rest of her family after asking for a divorce – but not before her own relatives began to believe Tom’s lies and question whether or not she was suffering from a relapse.
So what are the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia?
As a long term mental health condition, schizophrenia causes a range of different psychological symptoms, with sufferers not always able to distinguish between their own thoughts and ideas and the actual reality.
According to the NHS, Symptoms of schizophrenia can include:
- hallucinations– hearing or seeing things that do not exist outside of the mind
- delusions – unusual beliefs not based on reality
- muddled thoughts and speech based on hallucinations or delusions
- losing interest in everyday activities
- not wanting to look after yourself and your needs, such as not caring about your personal hygiene
- wanting to avoid people, including friends
- feeling disconnected from your feelings or emotions
Crucially it is important to note that Schizophrenia is not a ‘split personality’ and the condition doesn’t usually cause anyone to be violent.
How is it diagnosed?
If you believe you are experiencing the symptoms of schizophrenia, it’s important to see a GP as soon as possible. The earlier schizophrenia is treated, the better.
There’s no single test for the condition, but it’s usually only diagnosed after an assessment by a mental health care professional, such as a psychiatrist.
What causes the condition?
The exact cause of schizophrenia is currently unknown, but most experts believe the condition is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
It’s thought that some people are more vulnerable to developing schizophrenia, and certain situations can trigger the condition such as a stressful life event or drug misuse.
How is it treated?
As schizophrenia is such a complicated condition, it is usually treated in a variety of different ways, with both medication and talking therapies such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) being used to help keep symptoms in check.
Antipsychotic medication is one of the most commonly used categories of medicine for sufferers, and people with schizophrenia usually receive help from a community mental health team, which can offer day-to-day support and treatment, depending on the needs of each individual.
When properly managed, most people recover from the condition, although they may have periods when symptoms return (relapses).
