Surviving Schizophrenia, 6th Edition

imaginable is to be terrified of one’s own mind, the very matter that controls all that we are and all that we do and feel.” This would certainly be burden enough for any human being to have to bear. But what if, in addition to this, those closest to us began to avoid us or ignore us, to pretend that they didn’t hear our comments, to pretend that they didn’t notice what we did? How would we feel if those we most cared about were embarrassed by our behavior each day?
Because there is little understanding of schizophrenia, so there is little sympathy. For this reason it is the obligation of everyone with a relative or close friend with schizophrenia to learn as much as possible about what the disease is and what the afflicted person is experiencing. This is not merely an intellectual exercise or a way to satisfy one’s curiosity but rather the means to make it possible to sympathize with the person. For friends and relatives who want to be helpful, probably the most important thing to do is to learn about the inner workings of the brain of a person with schizophrenia. One mother wrote me after listening to her afflicted son’s descriptions of his hallucinations: “I saw into the visual hallucinations that plagued him and frankly, at times, it raised the hair on my neck. It also helped me to get outside of my tragedy and to realize how horrible it is for the person who is afflicted. I thank God for that painful wisdom. I am able to cope easier with all of this.”
With sympathy, schizophrenia is a personal tragedy. Without sympathy, it becomes a family calamity, for there is nothing to knit people together, no balm for the wounds. Understanding schizophrenia also helps demystify