When I was doing theatre in college, I once played a character with schizophrenia. In preparing for the show, I did a fair amount of research. Since I was approaching it as someone portraying the condition rather than someone studying it, I wanted to hear about personal experiences.
I read stories written by schizophrenics, I met a man living in a group support home who’d dealt with it literally since birth. It was all very eye-opening. Basically, Schizophrenia is what happens when your brain gets into such a state that it can’t really tell reality from imagination anymore. It’s treatable, and medications and therapies are getting better all the time. But it’s a heavy reminder that we’re made of some fairly fragile stuff, and we need to treat ourselves with care.
Here are a few anonymous contributions from people who live with those dealing with the disorder.
13. “I love him, but…”
Man, how do you lose a therapist?
Source: Whisper
12. “He’s good people”
The two things are definitely not mutually exclusive.
Source: Whisper
11. “I hope you die”
What a horrible thing to hear.
Source: Whisper
10. “Because my grandma asked me”
That’s quite a responsibility to take on.
Source: Whisper
9. “Things are getting out of hand”
You’re not gonna see that money for long.
Source: Whisper
8. “Wow.”
You take after them, huh?
Source: Whisper
7. “I will never have a child”
That is one of the heaviest things I’ve ever heard.
Source: Whisper
6. “For the first time”
How can you handle that sort of thing?
Source: Whisper
5. “I cry every time”
“He already asked me what my favorite ice cream was like 5 secs ago. So sad.”
Source: Whisper
4. “I worry”
That’s understandable.
Source: Whisper
3. “Too many tales”
Strange how we all find a way to survive.
Source: Whisper
2. “I’d call the cops, but…”
Yiiiiikes.
Source: Whisper
1. “I hate how mean society can be”
We’re all only human.
Source: Whisper
It’s pretty sobering stuff.
Do you have experience with this sort of thing?
Tell us about it in the comments.