h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been open on h2g2 about having schizophrenia, but I haven't yet said much about it here. I thought it might be helpful if I did talk about it a bit. It might help me, because I'm still trying to figure it all out. But it could help other people as well. I'm not sure exactly what percentage of people in the world are afflicted by schizophrenia of one form or another, but even if it's a small percentage, there are so many people in the world that the total number would be very large. And, because of the way we are all interconnected, in the end it is something that touches the lives of many more people apart from the actual sufferers. I know there are other people on this site who either have it themselves or have a loved one who has it. On other websites I've also come across schizophrenics who've been open about it. Who knows how many there are who either are not mentioning it, or don't know it since they've not yet been diagnosed. Many of you, perhaps most of you reading this, would probably know at least one person with schizophrenia (apart from me).

Schizophrenia is one of the worst mental health problems, and it cannot really be cured. About one in ten paranoid schizophrenics commit suicide (I don't know so much about other forms of schizophrenia). Of those who don't, a large percentage end up homeless, or in prison. Some are permanently institutionalized. Of those fates, I would say, homelessness is worst, prison second worst. Institutionalisation could be all right, or horrific, depending on the institution. The lucky ones are those who are helped out by family or friends. The luckiest ones are those who can find meaningful employment, become an accepted part of a community, and live fairly happy and productive lives. I would say I'm one of the luckiest ones. But the ones not so lucky, are the ones we should think of.

My observation is that schizophrenic people generally can reach a point where their illness is under control to the point where they can have fulfilling lives. This to some degree depends on medication, since the right kind of antipsychotics can do much against the most disturbing and disruptive of the symptoms. The problem is that many people with schizophrenia do not get this medical help. There might in their society be no, or very little, awareness of the illness or of the ways of treating it; or their society might be one in which only people with enough money can get proper medical care. In the world as a whole, these two problems are huge.

The next aspect is social and psychological. Even with the best treatment, many if not most schizophrenics will never be 'normal'. Perhaps that's not so bad since I think there might actually be positive aspects to the condition – I'll speak about that later. But: beyond medication, there is MUCH that society itself can do to make things easier for schizophrenics. Proper social support could make the difference between a person who is rejected and isolated and unable to function at all, and a person who's integrated and accepted in a community and able to make valuable contributions to his or her society.

And this is the thing I really want to emphasize. People with schizophrenia can have MUCH to contribute. Speaking of myself: as an artist I can make people happy by showing them beauty. With my art and writing together, I can inform them about the world we're living in. I've an unusual artistic talent and I'm also very intelligent, and I can develop these gifts very much further yet. My illness puts some constraints on me, but within those constraints I can find a point where I can function at a very high level. My medication, and my daily routine, helps keep me stable.

And I've known other people with schizophrenia or other mental health problems who have had as much or more that they could contribute. Just looking at history, there have been people who've made their mark despite their personal problems. One person I relate to a lot is the artist Vincent Van Gogh. No-one is quite sure what exactly his problem was, but he was tormented in many ways (which in ways I can identify with). Despite that, he has blessed the world with some of the most wonderful art ever made. Now, if he was 'normal' … would he have been so creative, so unique as an artist? Perhaps not. But at the same time: his mental problems ultimately might have contributed to his early death. Maybe he could have found a balance where he still could have been as remarkably unique and creative, while also in better control of his personal life. Maybe an artist has to suffer, but maybe not quite so much. Maybe Vincent, if he had lived in a different age and situation, might have done better … not only been happier, but also able to create even more art, over a much longer lifetime, and actually able to enjoy his own success. Who knows? But as it is, in his lifetime he sold only a single painting and never knew that his art was destined to become some of the best appreciated and sought after in the world.

And then there's the mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., who's been the subject of the movie 'A Beautiful Mind'. He's made many contributions to mathematical theory, but his illness did cost him dearly in terms of happiness and human relationships.

At this very moment there might be thousands of people in the world with their own unique talents, like Van Gogh or Nash or even better … who are sleeping in cardboard boxes on street corners, or are in prison or locked away in mental institutions. But with just a little bit of the right kind of help and support, those very people might instead be using their talents and making contributions to human culture and knowledge, and be recognized and appreciated for that. Schizophrenic people's minds work differently from those of other people … and in this they can potentially contribute unique visions or insights … but only if the negative aspects of the disease are not overwhelming. So obviously (to me at least) the world could, indeed would, benefit enormously from better understanding of schizophrenia and other mental problems.

And it is indeed perfectly possible that people (sufferers as well as the people around them) could learn to manage this illness, allowing schizophrenics to become successful, balanced people with full lives. This is why I'm writing this on this site. Even just a little bit more awareness could end up helping someone.

Next installment will be about what paranoid schizophrenia is, with some of my own experiences of it.

(You know you're preaching to the choir in my case.)

Keep going. This is just to let you know I'm here.

Me too, Willem, I'm reading, and ever interested in your story, an artist of great courage ..

I have been round the block a bit with the schizophrenic cause. My brother-in-law is very ill indeed .. and there have been various others ...

Ah Vincent, I often think about him, and his life. I also think about Theo Van Gogh, his younger brother, who supported him financially and emotionally, so that he could concentrate on his painting. That was amazing support I think.

Theo also died very young, I think, not long after Vincent died. Interesting. Inseparable souls perhaps.



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What can I say? I'm glad you're here and talking about it so openly. I hope it will help all of us. Personally, I can't say I know a lot about schizophrenia. I'm not aware of knowing somebody with that condition irl.

There is plenty to read about schizophrenia but hearing about it from a sufferer it comes from a different perspective altogether and I think it will be both interesting and valuable.

You have great courage my friend, and I hope it does help you too.

Websailor

Hello Everyone! Yes Cactuscafé, without the emotional and financial support of Theo, Vincent wouldn't have been able to do what he did. As such the world owes an immense debt to Theo van Gogh. He died about six months after his brother, at the age of only 33 (Vincent was 37).

Bel, I'm sure you know schizophrenic people without knowing it. It's a hard thing to be open about depending on the society. Over here in South Africa it's not so hard since most people don't even know what schizophrenia is. In Germany it might be better known with people understanding it's a kind of insanity, and therefore, people would not be so willing to come out saying they have it. There's still a lot of negative perceptions around schizophrenia. Over here, for instance, journalists often use 'schizophrenic' as a term of criticism or insult. Those people same people would never dream of using homophobic slurs.

Websailor, yes I will speak of my own personal experience. I think I am in the position to speak honestly and critically where my own self is concerned. I've gone through tremendous changes in my life, so I've a bunch of different perspectives on the same situation.

Even movies like 'A Beautiful Mind' give a fictionalised version of schizophrenic delusions. What I've read about John Forbes Nash Jr. seems to confirm my own suspicions, that schizophrenic delusions feed on widespread ideas or trends or delusions in society. The tinfoil brigade for instance mostly get their ideas from the huge mass of conspiracy literature that's been out there for centuries now. Nash's paranoid ideas were in keeping with the Cold War days through which he lived. My own paranoid ideas came from what we were told during Apartheid times and also from a kind of religion that was very restrictive and fearful and condemnatory. I think paranoid people are extremely imaginative and impressionable and their imaginings can become so vivid as to crowd things that could moderate their views out. Even very smart people can fall prey to delusions. The thing is you can use all your intelligence and wit to justify what you want to believe or what you are obsessed by.

OK, I'll try and work out and have the next 'installment' written by tomorrow.

You may well be right, Willem. But then I'd probably only know them from sight, not personally.

You might be surprised Bel! I think most of my own fairly-close friends have no idea. Just like they have no idea about some other aspects ... if it comes up I'll say it but if it doesn't come up I keep quiet about it.

A lot of times, people just accuse you of something else...

As with prosopagnosia, 'oh, he's just too stuck up to remember me.' Er, no. I (and two other Guide Editors) can't remember faces. We're reading off other clues as to your identity.

'That person talks funny. He's trying to confuse me or show off.' Er, no...this conversation may not be going where it was supposed to.

Besides, you don't tell people, 'I stopped riding the bus because I had the overwhelming feeling that I could read everybody's thoughts, and they were extremely unpleasant.'

You KNOW what that sounds like, so you say, 'Oh, I just decided to walk for the exercise.'

There was an old joke the preacher told when I was small, that I liked very much. The punchline was, 'I'm crazy. I'm not stupid.'

I find this very interesting Dmitri, since in my work as artist I have to have an understanding of how people process visual images. It interests me that you said, just to name one, that you find Alice Krige pretty! How do you know it's her ?

Now me, being an artist, it might seem strange but I often have difficulty processing visual images. I get sensory overload easily. Looking at a scene the things I see are different from the things 'normal' people see. There are times when I don't register what's in front of my eyes at all. I also cannot *remember* human faces very well but I can *recognise* them when I see them. I can reproduce them very accurately if I can sit and watch and examine them in detail for long periods.

I can do other things though that 'ordinary' people can't. I can recognise individual animals much more easily than other people can - I actually can 'catch' more details when I'm looking at an animal than I can when I'm looking at a person. I can recognise plants in a way almost nobody I've ever met can. I've been able to spot and rapidly identify rare species of small plants growing between tufts of grass some metres beyond the side of the road while in a car driving at 120 km/h. The same with wild areas and their features such as hills, rivers ... I form complex visual models of them in my head, and they are infused with life, and with soul, to me.

To me, animals are people, plants are people, landscapes and geographical features are people ... I recognise them all the way I recognise people, all of them have 'personalities' to me except that there are no words in which I can express this. It goes completely and utterly beyond anything language can convey. My art gives me a bit of a chance, but I'd need abilities about a thousand times better than I have to *fully* be able to share my experience of the world with people.

I see what you mean, Willem. That's a great gift.

I've got a guide entry coming up about prosopagnosia, which explains it a little. Like the business of recognising plants and animals, the inability to remember faces is hard to explain. I can remember *some* faces (I think everybody with the problem can) but not most of them. It's funny what clues work. And not remembering faces is not the same as not *seeing* them.

I don't always recognise Alice Krige. I didn't realise she was in 'Skin', only that the woman in 'Skin' was doing a terrific job. But just because I wouldn't know her if I ran into her on the street doesn't mean I don't know if she's pretty.

There are many kinds of knowledge that are hard to explain, such as the way people process music, or one's mental perception of space and time...