Schizophrenia

To have a reason for these frightening things to happen, I did not want to resort to the supernatural; I want to make my character mentally ill. More specifically, I wanted to make him schizophrenic. This is because Schizophrenia is a disease that can cause hallucinations, false perceptions of reality, and disordered thinking. But, like my last post about fear, I wanted to be able to understand schizophrenia and its symptoms before diving any deeper with the idea.

Reading an article in Mental Health America, I was able to learn many things about the disease. Firstly, you are born with it. It tends to surface from ages 13 to 25; this can happen naturally or it can be triggered by a stressful event or viral infection. Before it completely surfaces, one can look for symptoms such as a change in personality, a withdrawal from social situations, the inability to sleep or concentrate, a constant feeling of being watched, and an irrational anger or fear towards loved ones. But don’t worry, just because you may be experiencing one of these does not mean that they are exclusive to schizophrenia.

Now, all these symptoms are parts of the five different types of schizophrenia which include paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, residual, and schizoaffective schizophrenia. When one has Paranoid schizophrenia, they generally feel very suspicious and feel as if they are being persecuted. SPOILER ALERT: A well-known case of paranoid schizophrenia is John Nash, in A Beautiful Mind, which is based on a true story. Disorganized schizophrenia is when a person has incoherent thought or speech and can experience delusions. When a person has catatonic schizophrenia, they are very quiet and withdrawn and tend to assume very abnormal body positions. 

A person with residual schizophrenia no longer has hallucinations or delusions, he or she simply does not have any interest in life. Finally, schizoaffective disorder is when someone has the symptoms of schizophrenia mixed with a major mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder.

In terms of creating a character, the different types of the disorder allow for many different possibilities when looking to establish a personality and a plotline. Thinking of my character, I think he will most likely be paranoid because it gives him, and the audience, a reason to be afraid.

Now, many people believe that once you are diagnosed with schizophrenia, you are bound to live in a mental institution for the rest of your life. However, with proper treatment and medication, schizophrenics can actually live normal and fulfilling lives (our character’s problems would most likely arise from him no longer taking his medication). There are actually many schizophrenic artists in the world, most famously, Louis Wain. He originally became popular due to his drawings of cats for satirical magazines in the 1860’s. However, the cats he drew once he was diagnosed with schizophrenia are what have given his name a lasting legacy.


In terms of my character, I want his story to be about the dichotomy between his actions as a normal-acting medicated patient, and a delusional schizophrenic who is used to living a normal life and now does not know how to deal with his surroundings. 

Thanks for reading, and check out some more schizophrenic art, it can be quite beautiful.

 Mental Health America. "Schizophrenia." Mental Health America. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. <http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/schizophrenia>. 

Images:

A woman with catatonic schizophrenia. Digital image. Mind Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. <http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-.    .  .  .     ,  ncncncnccncDel/Catatonic-disorders.html>

Louis Wain’s cats. Digital image. Schizophrenia. N.p., 18 Nov. 2016. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. ..........nnnn<http://www.schizophrenia.com/pam/archives/004232.html>..