In an article entitled “My Brother Tom’s Schizophrenia” by Marin Sandy and featured in the New Yorker, we are given a bird’s eye view of what one family’s struggle was with schizophrenia. Defined as a chronic and severe mental illness, it is characterized by symptoms that include delusions and hallucinations, reduced social engagement, flat affect,and poor executive functioning.
A fascinating, inside view of what living with someone who has schizophrenia is like, this story helps us to understand the anguish a family goes through when a family member is struggling with their mental illness. I quote:
“Waiting for the light to change, I spotted Tom getting up from a bench across the way and ran to reach him. As I approached, he didn’t turn. “Hi, Tom,” I said, unsure if he’d seen me. He wore a heavy gray wool cap and a fisherman’s cardigan, his face ruddy from the summer sun, with a wispy red beard that wandered out in all directions. His fingernails were long, with ridges of dirt beneath them, and his teeth had yellowed deeply. I noticed how thin he was, bonier than I had ever thought his dense frame could be. Glancing my way, he said, “Have you figured out I’m your brother yet?” I asked Tom if he wanted to go to a sandwich shop across the street. After a brief hesitation, he agreed. As we ate there on the patio, he shifted from topic to topic, circling back, digressing, talking of Catholic priests and the samurai code and a new kind of education system for which he was designing the textbooks. I could hear the schizophrenia in his speech—the clanging.”
The story is one of courage, perseverance and hope; not only for those who loved Tom but also for Tom himself, as he tried to navigate and manage his very tenacious mental illness.
For the full story (it is a worthy read!): https://www.bostonjournal.net/my-brother-toms-schizophrenia-the-new-yorker/
To learn more about schizophrenia: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml
Photo credit: http://Photo by Jonathan Rados on Unsplash
Like this post? Consider subscribing!
this is interesting because i was curious if i was schitzophrenic. i thought hearing voices and talking to my other self might make me schitzophrenic. ive been told not so
Hi Brian, and you were given proper information! Sometimes hearing voices is characteristic of a mental illness, but other times, not. As in everything else, symptoms range on a continuum and can mean a variety of things. 🙂 Thanks for your feedback!