Posted by Mark H. on April 19, 2000, at 15:18:48
In reply to Re: THE MIDDLE AGES/REMOVING THE DEMONS, posted by Lunatic on April 19, 2000, at 2:26:27
Thank you for your interesting and informative post. I have hoped that we could open more dialog with schizophrenics (as you've self-identified in your other post, "Schizophrenics Corner") on this forum, because (I think) we all have so much to learn.
One problem in discussing schizophrenia, it seems, is that schizophrenics often want to write about external phenomena rather than about their own experiences. Although not schizophrenic, I still have to watch every time I post here that I don't talk only about "outside things" and forget that a lot of what I have to contribute involves how those outside things affect me. I know I don't always succeed!
I remember a very brilliant schizophrenic college professor speaking on public television a few years ago, explaining what his first psychotic break was like, and what he did about it. He said that when he was a young officer in the US military in Korea, he was badly sleep-deprived. When he had his "break," he said he became convinced that the North Koreans were slipping over the lines at night and putting small amounts of poison in the food served to US servicemen. He said, "I didn't think, 'Oh, I'm having a psychotic break.' I thought, 'I've figured out something extremely important and urgent, and I'm apparently the only one who sees what the real problem is here.'"
In other words, he was unable to determine, internally, that he was delusional -- in fact, quite the opposite: his internal perceptions seemed MORE real than what everyone else there was experiencing.
He was sent home from Korea and put on medication, and by maintaining his medication regimen he was able to complete his education and go on to teach. Today he has enough self-knowledge to recognize the symptoms of delusional thinking and to seek assistance when it happens. But I suspect he's exceptional in many ways, and that people with even more severe forms of the disease have a difficult time reconciling their experience of reality with the majority opinion of "reality."
I would find it useful and informative to read more about your internal experiences with schizophrenia, if you're willing to share them. Most of the people on this forum are good about stating their honest opinions without being too judgmental.
Sincerely,
Mark H.
poster:Mark H.
thread:30376
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/30598.html