Latesha Udy

Marci Campbell
PSY-1010-Sp16-Campbell
February 14, 2016
A Look In to a Schizophrenic Mind
Schizophrenia is a highly misunderstood mental illness, the word schizophrenia itself
carries with it an extremely negative connotation and this is because very little is known about
what it actually means to be a schizophrenic, and how differently one person can vary from
another with the same diagnosis. I have devoted much of my time to studying this illness after
my twin brother was diagnosed with it when we were 22 (we are 25 now.) I will share with you
the clinical definition, some common symptoms, my personal experiences with this illness and
also share research and some other voices that can speak to every angle of this illness to provide
you with a more complete picture and hopefully spread awareness about the truth behind the
ugly name that is schizophrenia.
In the textbook Psychology (Schacter, 2014) it states that Schizophrenia is a psychotic
disorder (psychosis is a break from reality) characterized by the profound disruption of basic
psychological processes; a distorted perception of reality; altered or blunted emotion; and
disturbances in thought, motivation or behavior. The book also separates the symptoms of
schizophrenia in to Positive, Negative and Cognitive Symptoms. Symptoms classified as positive
affect behavior and thought and include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and
grossly disorganized behavior. Hallucinations are commonly auditory and can be described as

hearing voices separate from your own private thoughts. They can also be experienced through
any of the other 5 senses. Delusions can be described as false beliefs. Disorganized speech is
self-explanatory, you cant follow their thoughts and their responses to questions dont make
sense. Grossly disorganized behavior can present in a number of ways such as childlike
mannerisms, inappropriate sexual behavior, not keeping up on personal hygiene, or loud and
crude speech. Negative symptoms characterize emotional and social behaviors and cognitive
symptoms characterize an inability to retain information and keep your attention on one thing for
an extended period of time.
I want to point out that not all schizophrenics suffer from all of these symptoms. I also
want to point out that there are different levels at which a person can be affected. It is also true
that although a person may be hearing voices or suffering with one or more of these symptoms it
does not mean they are schizophrenic. If someone is diagnosed with schizophrenia one thing is
certain, the prognosis told to them is always grim: they wont be able to hold a job, have a
family, or have any success in any other types of personal relationships, education or careers.
Common clinical treatments include medication and therapy. Though there are those who suffer
from Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia (TRS) and unfortunately this only adds to the pile of
things that we cannot understand about this illness and the diversity of how it affects those
afflicted. (Jimmy, 2015)
Now that we have heard what schizophrenia is from a medical/psychological standpoint,
I would like to share my personal experiences with this illness. As I stated above, my twin
brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia a little over 3 years ago. It runs on the paternal side of
my family, my great uncle and great grandfather were the last to be diagnosed before my brother.
All 3 of these men also had significant drug and/or alcohol abuse histories, and the doctors tell us

that is what brought it out. Though there have been numerous other addicts/alcoholics in my
family, myself and my father included, who never got it, so it is a mystery to me how it
happened to him.
When my brother was first diagnosed he was in the throes of a severe addiction to
methamphetamine, the drugs intensified his symptoms considerably and it was clear to see he
was truly suffering. I had never encountered such a devastating illness. He had hallucinations
constantly, tormented by feelings of being touched and scratched, hearing other peoples voices
in his head, believing that the devil was speaking to him and commanding him to do terrible
things to hurt himself and so, so much more. I cant put in to words all of his agonizing
experiences, Im sure I am not even aware of a quarter of all of it. But I can honestly say it was a
living hell for him. Imagine living in your worst nightmare every single day, not even being able
to escape from it in your dreams, and the only way out you can see is suicide- this was his reality.
He did try to kill himself a few times, and when that kept failing he thought he would make the
police do it for him. So one day he stole a bunch of stuff to get money to buy drugs, he then got
really high and made a plan to get a gun. After he had the gun he was planning to get the police
on a high-speed chase that he hoped would end with a cop shooting him. While on this drugfueled insane journey he was eventually apprehended by the police, though luckily he was not
armed at the time and he was not hurt. After 6 months in jail he was sentenced to up to 5 years in
prison. At this time I thought my brother was gone, that I would never see him again. I thought
schizophrenia had taken him from me and it was as if he had died and been replaced by a
Martian. I never thought I would be sitting here saying that I was wrong to believe that. This all
happened 19 months ago and I can tell you that today he is extremely high-functioning, wellbehaved, respectful, smart, talented, recovering and spiritual young man who has completely

turned his life around and proved his prognosis wrong. I talk to my brother and I know it is him,
he is familiar and I no longer feel he has been replaced by his illness. He still hears voices though
he has found his own ways to cope with them and live with his illness. He is now in control of it;
it is not in control of him. I know this has a lot to do with the time he has been off of drugs as
well, but it is also in a large part due to the endless work he has done to improve and never
giving up hope of a good life.
There are others like my brother out there. One is a woman named Elyn R. Saks who was
diagnosed with schizophrenia 30 years ago. (Saks, 2013) Since receiving her diagnosis she has
become a chaired law professor at the University Of Southern California Gould School Of Law,
she also has an adjunct position in the department of psychiatry at the medical school of the
University of California, and is the recipient of a Genius Grant from the MacArthur Foundation.
She bravely shares the story of how she struggled to accept her diagnosis though refused to
accept her prognosis. She also shares with us a research study she has been working on that
includes 20 subjects. All of them have a diagnosis of schizophrenia and all of them have risen
above the restraints of their prognosis and shown they are able to do whatever they put their
minds to. Among them there are a doctor, lawyer, psychologist, CEO, and other high-reaching
professionals. She and many others like them have become diagnostic anomalies, in a medical
book or DSM people like them simply do not exist. In the eyes of the traditionalists, they either
dont have schizophrenia or havent accomplished all they say they have. But they do have
schizophrenia and they have accomplished all of those things- and much more. So why have
these people succeeded in the face of overwhelming odds and a doctor telling them it is
impossible? The key to it all is that in conjunction with medication and therapy they all found
their own way to cope with their illness, much like what my brother has done. That is it. It seems

far too simple to have triggered such enormous results, but that is it. They regained control of
their lives and their illness. It is also noted in another article that employment directly correlates
to a better quality of life, though the results are inconclusive on how that happens. (Charzynska,
2015) But it is conclusive that schizophrenics who are able to hold down a job are much happier,
have fulfilling lives outside of work, and in some cases have spouses and children. Whatever the
cause, however they get there, many people are able to prove they are more than a statistic and
they are helping spread hope to others that they too can find a way back to happiness and sanity.
I would like you all to keep in mind that there is not a one-size-fits-all description of a
schizophrenic, just like there is no one-size-fits-all description for any other category of people.
There is always a chance of recovery, which has been defined as the absence of symptoms or
the ability to live without them affecting behaviors. (Charzynska, 2015) I am proud to know my
brother, he has lived through things I can barely begin to imagine and come out on the other side
with a positive attitude, gratitude, and faith that he can live a normal life. There are many like
him who have proved to the world that schizophrenia is a fluid idea, each person bringing to it a
new form of the meaning. This is not to say that the clinical definition does not fit some men and
women and describe them accurately, there are those who suffer so extremely that they end up
living the rest of their lives in state mental hospitals, and although schizophrenia accounts for
only about 1% of the populations diagnoses, it makes up about 40% of all mental hospital
admissions diagnoses. This speaks directly to the devastation and ruin schizophrenia causes in
peoples lives. Everyone is different; do not make hasty opinions about someone with this
diagnosis for good or for bad. Always treat everyone with respect; you have no idea what it is
like to walk in anothers shoes. Do not judge a book by its diagnosis.

Bibliography
Schacter D., Gilbert, D., Wegner D., Nock M. (2014). Psychology. New York, NY: Worth
Publishers
Saks, E. (2013). Successful and Schizophrenic. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/27/opinion/sunday/schizophrenic-not-stupid.html?_r=0
Jimmy, L., Takeuchi, H., Fervaha, G., Sin, G. L., Foussias, G., Agid, O., & Remington, G.
(2015). Subtyping Schizophrenia by Treatment Response: Antipsychotic Development and the
Central Role of Positive Symptoms. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 60(11), 515-522.
Charzynska, K., Kucharska, K., & Mortimer, A. (2015). DOES EMPLOYMENT PROMOTE
THE PROCESS OF RECOVERY FROM SCHIZOPHRENIA? A REVIEW OF THE EXISTING
EVIDENCE. International Journal of Occupational Medicine & Environmental Health, 28(3),
407-418. doi:10.13075/ijomeh.1896.00341