Is the figurative sense of "schizophrenia" pejorative towards people with the mental condition?

"Schizophrenia" has two definitions. The one I am concerned with is as follows:

contradictory or antagonistic qualities or attitudes
-- "schizophrenia," Merriam-Webster

This is a very useful word, but I'm concerned that it might be perceived as pejorative towards individuals with the mental condition, or as inaccurately stereotyping them. I don't actually know whether this is the case, but I could imagine it being so.

On the other hand, I'm not sure what words I could use instead. "Inconsistent" and "contradictory" are close, but they do not connote the same level of agency as "schizophrenic." For example, if an organization is described as "schizophrenic," I imagine a number of departments locked in some kind of bureaucratic war with one another. A "contradictory organization" doesn't make sense, and an "inconsistent organization" is a much less vivid image for me (maybe it's just incompetently run). Meanwhile, the word "antagonistic" has agency but lacks direction; it does not denote that the antagonism is inward-facing.

On the third hand, this meaning seems entirely compatible with the Greek etymology of "schizophrenia" ("split" + "mind"), which makes it seem less like a twisting of the medical definition and more of a figurative allusion to it. I'm not sure that makes a practical difference (people will or won't take offense either way), but it's worth noting all the same.

• Is the word "schizophrenic" likely to be taken as pejorative or stereotypical of this group of people?
• If so, what word or phrase should I use instead to convey the same meaning without the pejorative connotations?

Solution 1:

If we follow the OED definition:

A word or expression which by its form or context expresses or implies contempt for the thing named

Then it's not pejorative to people with schizophrenia, as they are not "the thing named" in the use.

But that's a matter of the word pejorative. It's still insulting to them to use their condition as a term for a negative condition about something else, which is probably more to the point.

If your intention is to avoid ableist language, then such uses are best avoided.