For many years, catatonia was classified as a subtype of schizophrenia. That historical framing has had a long afterlife—and it continues to shape how catatonia is understood today. When The Catatonia Foundation attended the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, a number of senior clinicians told us, with confidence, “We know catatonia—it’s schizophrenia.” Their response reflects how deeply this earlier classification was embedded in medical training. But catatonia is not schizophrenia. Through decades of careful clinical observation and research, Dr. Max Fink and Dr. Michael Taylor demonstrated that catatonia is a distinct neuropsychiatric syndrome—one that can occur across many diagnoses, including mood disorders, medical conditions, neurologic illness, autism, and more. This distinction is not academic. It directly affects treatment and outcomes. The standard treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication—which can worsen catatonia and, in some cases, precipitate life-threatening complications if catatonia is not recognized. When catatonia is misclassified as schizophrenia, patients may receive the wrong treatment, delaying care that is specific, effective, and often life-saving. Catatonia is treatable. But only if it is correctly diagnosed. January 16 is Catatonia Awareness Day—a day to correct outdated assumptions, improve understanding, and ensure catatonia is recognized and treated as the distinct condition it is, so no one suffers or dies because of a misconception. #catatonia #catatoniaawareness #catatoniaawarenessday #maxfink