A few years ago NPR did a story called “The Sights and Sounds of Schizophrenia” which tells about a training program created by Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company that specializes in treatment for Schizophrenia.
I watched the 5 minute video just one time 5 years ago and it literally changed me. It was such a powerful and moving experience that I cannot forget it and it altered my perception of mental illness forever.
I’ve tried to tell people about it over the years, but it’s just something you have to see, so finally I searched and searched until I found it again so I could put it on the blog.
The textbook description of schizophrenia is a listing of symptoms: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior. But what does schizophrenia really feel like? NPR’s Joanne Silberner reports on a virtual reality experience that simulates common symptoms of the mental illness.
Silberner, who experienced the simulation, says it works this way: “For five to 10 minutes, someone wanting to know what it feels like to have untreated schizophrenia puts on goggles and headphones, and sees and hears a range of hallucinations. You can choose your virtual reality — what happens on a trip to the doctor’s office, or on a ride on a city bus.” In the program she experienced, a caseworker takes the schizophrenia patient to a grocery store with a pharmacy in the back, to refill a prescription.
To create the virtual reality project, technical director Stephen Streibig consulted a group of people with schizophrenia, including Daniel Frey, 26. Frey describes what he and Silberner experienced in the program: “When you first walk into the pharmacy, you’re walking through the aisles and there are people staring at you, just staring at you from every aisle. And there’s one instance where there is a woman sort of protecting her children from you when you walk through the aisle.”
Even though schizophrenia patient Frey consulted on the project, he found the simulation too disturbing to sit all the way through. When Silberner tells him she was terrified by the experience, Frey responds, “Yeah, you ought to be! Imagine not being able to take off the goggles, the helmet.”
I also found this other video that is even better, in a creepy sort of way:
If you found this as informative as I did please help spread the word. I think the more people that see this, the greater the tolerance we’ll have for those less fortunate than ourselves.
that was super intense!
Wow, I hear that stuff all the time :(
i have this and didn’t know it was a disease
wow i dont know how they can deal with something that intence
i cant speak for everyone with schizophrenia, but some of that shit was exaggerated and they left out some stuff i would have added.
Ok, first of all, none of its exaggerated, not everyone experirences the same exact thing. Some people can also smell things, as well as have visual hallucanations, amd heard ones.
good idea though
Sechy and Raiden – You may want to find a local councelor to talk to about this subject. It is normal for people to talk to themselves as they think, but if you are hearing other people’s voices that is not normal. There are methods to help you stop being bothered by those other people. If you don’t know anyone to talk to I suggest that you find a local church and tell the minister, or find a local hospital and tell a doctor.
Danja – I certainly can’t speak for people with this problem either but I’m guessing that, like any other disease, there is probably a wide range of symptoms. I would imagine that some people are much worse off than this video portrays and some are less affected.
Take care,
John
Hi John,
I was diagnosed with schizophrenia when I was 33. This is when I began to hear voices. Prior to that I was always wondering what was wrong with me. I just couldn’t follow through on anything. I started lots of things, but quit them when I became fatiqued, frustrated or because I didn’t feel like I fit in where I was. I was schizophrenic from a young age, but the symptoms didn’t peak into intense hallucinations until I was 33. I was in the worste range. I was schizo-effective and homeless for ten years, because I refused medication. I took a few in the hospital and I had bad side effects, such as insomnia and more intense hallucinations. It is much worse than the video. I did before getting medication at age 43 hear other peoples voices in my head insulting me constantly, and I also heard encouraging voices, maybe Angels defending me against the insults. I described it to the hospital as a battle in my head for my soul between good and evil. I lived this way for ten years before agreeing to accept medication. It took me 2 tries to find the right medication for me. I still hear voices, they are just quieter, and kinder. I hallucinate frequently whispers in public, or taking a walk by myself without music to block out the “silence”. I used to talk back to these voices in public. Nobody paid any attention to me because I am told I am very attractive. People that drink and abuse drugs with schizophrenia get much more abuse from the public, than a clean, attractive, woman who just keeps to herself. If I ever asked anybody for money, the answer was always “yes”, and most people were very kind to me. People felt sorry for me, so I wasn’t traumatized by society at all. What traumatizes is the news media and dramatic television portraying schizophrenics as criminals and pedophiles. I won’t tell anybody I have schizophrenia, now that I have been on medication for a few years. People are too cruel and misinformed about mental illness. This film does not hurt, nor help schizophrenics. It does not inform people how to treat a schizophrenic. Most of us appreciate soft spoken kindness, so as to not spook us off. Thanks, goodness bless, and bye. Grace
That video is intense. I’ve known many people who suffered from schizophrenia, and known the textbook description, but watching the video makes it obvious how hard that is to deal with.
Did you know it’s being used to train police officers as well?
I’m glad people are starting to learn more about mental illness, which is simply an illness like cancer or diabetes; but sufferers are often treated like demons.
Schizophrenia is not a mental illness, it is a classification for abnormal behaviour and mental function that doesn’t fit into any of the other classifications. It is basically the ‘Hysterical woman syndrome’ of the modern age. this does not mean that people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia do not have mental problems, but the term schizophrenia is used as a dumping ground for unclassifiable ‘abnormal’ symptoms. Also, I feel that treating symptoms of what is thought of as a disease, when there is, as far as I know, no physical test that can show there is a disease, highly suspect. this is not to say everyone should stop taking their meds, but many psychiatrists say it is a chemical imbalance, when there seems to be no physical evidence of it.
Please note, I am not saying that psychiatry is evil, as is currently in fashion, but I am saying it needs to move away from theory into Neuroscience.
Sam,
I am in no way qualified to argue for or against your point, but I will say that it seems to be the concensus on the net that schizophrenia is indeed a mental illness.
For example, Schizophrenia.com, Mayo Clinic, National Alliance on Mental Illness, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Schizophrenia Foundation, US Surgeon General, and the Library of Congress. For even more, try this Google Search.
John