Schizophrenia
Arnold was thirty years old when his mother finally decided that there was something wrong with the way her son thought; his basic thinking processes seemed to be off, and although she had had a strong suspicion that everything was not perfect with her son, she had always assumed that he was merely paranoid, and she had refused to accept the truth that her son was suffering from a mental ailment. Arnold’s mother remained unaware of the important fact that if the symptoms of her son’s disease were to be diagnosed and treated, it would change her life as well as her son’s.
Arnold had started to exhibit symptoms as early as ten years before: his voice changed one day and started to become lifeless and flat. He started to complain to his mother that his colleagues at work were ‘out to get him’, and that they all seemed to be jealous of him. He also felt that his telephone was bugged, and that people were trying to listen to his conversations. Although Arnold’s mother knew that it was all quite unbelievable, she took the easy way out and did nothing. Things came to a head, however, when one day he came back home from work, sweating and in a panic, because he alleged that his colleagues, those scheming people, had managed to stick a needle with some unknown drug into him, so that he would not come back to work. At this moment, Arnold’s mother knew that she would have to take some action to help her son, and she took him to the local psychiatrist, who diagnosed schizophrenia.
The psychiatrist who saw Arnold prescribed antipsychotic medication, as well as anti depressants and certain mood stabilizers for him. He knew that medication would help alleviate most of Arnold’s symptoms of schizophrenia like hallucinations and delusional behaviors, paranoia, extreme sensitivity to certain situations and a complete indifference to others, disorganized speech. He also reassured Arnold’s mother and told her that the first thing she must do was to educate herself with the symptoms, the treatment and the long-term prognosis for the disease. This in itself would help her overcome her fears of the disease, and help her provide support and encouragement to her son Arnold.
Arnold, however, remained unaware of his problem in the initial stages, because a schizophrenic has chemical imbalances in his brain in the areas that control the cognitive processes. Therefore, he was being fooled into believing that what he was thinking and what he was doing was the absolutely right thing to do, when others around him knew that his thinking processes were not in actuality functioning too well. In Arnold’s own words, “It is very difficult to accept that what we are thinking is ‘crazy’, psychosis is a ‘catch-22’ kind of situation. If you understand that you are insane then you are thinking properly and are therefore not insane. You can only be psychotic if you believe that you are not. Therefore almost everyone with this disorder denies that they have it, and some deny it all their lives…”
It was only after the diagnosis and treatment, medication and rehabilitation efforts that Arnold was able to recognize the fact that he had been suffering from schizophrenia. Of course, his mother and other close family members provided him with the social support that a schizophrenic needs, with their positive outlook to the disease and its treatment.
Today, Arnold lives on his own, earns his own living, and with the encouragement and loving that his family is prepared to give him, Arnold lives a reasonably normal life, constantly striving to achieve the personal goals that he has set for himself. Nevertheless, Arnold has to continue the medication that control his symptoms, and also be careful to watch out for symptoms of a relapse. All the same, Arnold remains confident that his family will see him through any relapse of his schizophrenia, and this in itself has helped him move forward rapidly on the road to normalcy and regularity.
Remember, schizophrenia can be diagnosed and treated today. If you suspect that a loved one is exhibiting symptoms of the disease, do not hesitate, consult a physician immediately. With the right treatment and medication, your loved one will be able to lead a long and fulfilling life.