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.
I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 6 years ago. Although I hear voices in my head, mine is still the loudest. Therefore, I am able to think and write. My medication helps a lot to minimize the hallucinations and visions. Noise cancelling headphones might work for some but it would only be temporary. I have a sound machine that I turn on the highest volume to drown out the voices and it works but only for a little while. When a voice is loud in my head, I do tend to try to argue with it, persistent on not giving in to all of the negative things it has to say. I see shadows on my walls, trees and pictures morph into faces. Faces and lips that move. It’s very scary and this has caused me a major anxiety and depression. Today, I am looking forward to seeing my therapist to talk about the remnants that the schizophrenia have left behind. I take media for my anxiety and depression but I don’t think my doctor is taking how serious it really is. This is a living hell for me. Wish me luck with my therapist and Psycologist for a brighter future.
I really do hope you recover, genuinly from my heart. I wish you luck for your therapy session and hope you can talk to your doctor about taking it more seriously. I personally have no experience with schizophrenia but only with anxiety, which is already killing me. I’ll be praying for you and all people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders to recover. God bless you.
I have an 18 year old son that began hallucinating several years ago. He saw these videos and said his is not like this. He talks excessively all day to them, and says he has experienced hell, been there and back. He says his voices can think. He says there are many people he can actually see that he believes are really there. This is his whole world now. I have someone who looks like my son, but somehow is very
different. When things get too bad, loud, scary, he asks to be taken to the hospital where he feels a little more safe. This illness has been a nightmare for my son.
This is very similar to my sons descriptions of how and what he feels. About every 4 to 6 weeks he admits himself into the ER. With very bad anxiety and suicidal thoughts. They put him on a 72 hour hold in a mental health clinic. This started when he was 21. He is now 24. He has made 4 attempts of killing himself. First 3 times cutting his wrists with razor blade. Deep but not hitting an artery . The last time he hit an artery, barely survived. He’s promised me every time he won’t do it again. Every morning I’m in fear to go to his bedroom. I don’t breathe easy, or easier, until I hear him make a noise from his room, and I know he’s still alive. I feel guilty even thinking my life is Hell , because I know he’s living the Hell. I’m very thankful for the fact that he has agreed to take medications for his condition. The last six months. He is alittle better since taking them. He doesnt think anythings wrong with him. Hes the only one that hears the voices, talks to the voices, sees things. The other people might have schizophrenia but he doesnt, and wishes his family would believe him. The last 6 months.
Hi have schizophrenia also. I have had it for the last 2 years. Most of my schizophrenia is auditory where I hear voices that are kind of distant. Sometimes I cant make out what they are saying but most of the time the voices are negative. The voices really messed my mind up and have put me in a bad depression. Its kind of like being in a bad a relationship where you are always being mentally beat up. Its difficult to deal with and I don’t know how I have made it this far in the last 2 years. I feel like everyone hates me (which they do) because they listen to the voices who are always putting me down. I have lost so much of myself since this illness has come into my life. I don’t know who I am anymore. When I look into my eyes all I see is pain. Its a lonely life when your living with schizophrenia. Well besides the voices following you where ever you go its a pretty lonely life.
I also hear distant voices but they don’t follow me anywhere. It seems to be right outside my widow and In my adjacent bathroom. They sound different from room to room and change accordingly to space. I am starting to think that maybe I am hearing something that is real , and that someone is being tortured sexually by a maniac or maniacs. I can just hear her screaming and begging to please stop, but they just keep on going and it just breaks my heart. I feel like I got involved with a kidnapper or someone’s like that. Now I’m being tougher a lesson cause it sounds like they have my girlfriend. I seem to notice that cars tend to follow me and I’m am now fearful of my life.
This one describes me exactly. I’m always alone yet never alone. Lonely and surrounded. It is just like an emotionally abusive boyfriend or father following me around all day with a bunch of other people talking about everything I do or say and especially think. Cars follow me around too. And block me off trapping me. It’s insane.
I have a 36 year history with schizophrenia. I am in remission now and I’d like to stress one important point from the videos/comments. You can recover from this illness. There are a good 50% of people who do respond to treatment. Most of the treatment programs are based on the recovery model. With all the new drugs available now and psycho-therapy as an important part, many of us recover and go on to lead healthy, normal lives. Yes,it’s a nightmare, but there is hope.
My husband had schizophrenia for 7 of the 8 years we were married. Unfortunately he committed suicide last October as a result. These videos scared the hell out of me and I had the choice to turn them off. I cannot imagine what he was going through. He told me that he heard family members commenting on his actions and thoughts. He believed that they implanted something into his head that allowed them to see what he saw and to read his thoughts. At times he would accuse me of being on their side as well. He used to listen to music really loud all of the time. I think that he was trying to drown out the commentary in his head. When I met him, he was always the life of the party and was so fun and outgoing. After he got schizophrenia, he stayed secluded in the room. On the rare occasion that he would go out of the house, he would sometimes have these outbursts of rage. He felt like there were so many people involved in the conspiracy. I tried to help him and I always stood by him whenever he would let me. I miss him very much but I also miss the man that he was before he got sick. I am so sorry that you have to go through this and I hope that you find strength in all of this.
I am sorry for your loss, i can imagine how your life and your husbands life must have been. My brother is recently diagnosed with Schizophrenia as well, and he used to imagine the same thing as your husband did, luckily for us, the hospital people came to our rescue and took him involuntarily.
How can a person help to make a loved one aware that she may have schizophrenia. My heart is breaking every day that goes by without a diagnosis,without a treatment plan and every call i make to behavioral health describing behaviors that only results in some one saying”well sleeping out side in the rain is not enough for an involuntary commitment” I feel like I’m loosing my baby. She will be sad then laughs at sad stuff, she holds her hands over her ears and cries, she was a total recluse for about2 and half years but now she is coming out more which I thought was great but now she has all kinds of odd behaviors. I keep asking for help and I can’t seem to get anywhere because she’s now an adult. Please help me to help this incredibly artistic and warm hearted beautiful little girl. 2092061076 please help
I have schizophrenia and mine feels like both videos … I could honestly just watch the first 3 minutes. For those who want to know what schizophrenia is really like its very close to the videos… Except mine, I get geared up whenever I hear cars driving slow, feel if I am cooking and someone touches my food, I feel like they are trying to poison me. When I go to sleep I hear whispers in my ear. And don’t let me tell you how bad the stuff gets of my meds: I’ve seen gremlin/demon looking things, one whom transformed from my sleeping daughter, loud bangs like a pistol when I go to sleep. I can’t look at mirrors because they scare me most times, I feel like cars are following me, feel like when people are at ear distance are talking about me. Don’t let me forget the shadow people and the smells along with the bright lights that hurt my eyes. It’s a hard disorder. When I was rock bottom, I had like 4-5 voices telling me to kill myself because I was worthless and a sad excuse for a human being. I attempted suicide 2 times. The voices are mostly in my head, I know how to tell the difference, however when I miss some doses they become auditory in my external perception. It’s a pretty messed up mental illness to have.
I wish you well, Yadis! I know you are a wonderful human being full of love and life!
I’m not entirely familiar with the condition the videos depict and what you describe as your experience, but I am interested to learn and engage! I am amazed that with all of these voices you hear inside your head that you are still able to find your voice and type it out for yourself, as you wanted it. Perhaps it took you a while to type it all out, perhaps not. In order to write out what you did, you had to ignore some of the voices, right? Are you able to talk back to these voices, even debate these voices, in your head? If you tried to take one on at a time and dialogue, or politely asked them to stop, does that do anything? I think you are more normal than you may think, or I am more abnormal than I think :). I don’t aim to confuse you or make things worse, which I hope I don’t do!
Would it make absolutely no sense if I suggested the voices you hear are just a product of what you hear with your sense of hearing? If you wore noise cancelling headphones, would the voices stop? Does music help with your state of mind?
Forgive me for all of the intrusive questions. You don’t know me, so feel free not to answer. I only seek to understand myself better through you, because in some ways I relate to your experience.
With all of the kindness of my heart, I wish you well, Yadis! I understand you are a wonderful human being full of love and life!
I am not a psycologist, but my theory is this:
The thoughts of every human mind can be broken down into two catagories: memories and fantasies. We all have both of them. They are both critical for our survival, as fantasies gives us the motivation to do great things and memories provide us with the tools to do those great things. But what is the difference between memories and fantasies? Well, we can play out memories and we can play out fantasies in our heads. And as it turns out our fantasies are just as vivid and real as the memories in our minds. So to answer that question the only real difference from our own perspective is that we BELIEVE our memories and we DO NOT BELIEVE our fantasies.
But what would happen if if we swithed that around? As it turns out we do it all the time. Let me give you an example; I believed True was the correct answer whereas the professor believed False is the correct answer – somebody here is believing in a fantasy.
Now lets do a very cruel science experiment on an intellegent, well-to-do, creatively thinking young adult. Lets flip the belief switch from memory to fantasy. The result? Schizophrenia. I think this is the reason why so many schizophrenics fear “thought insertion” as it is so easy for all of us to insert a fantasy into our mind, most people call it imagination while schizophrenics call it reality.
Why does this happen? I think its because our memories and fantasies are the same thing – thoughts, and you can’t blame someone for getting something mixed up with itself.
One last thing, I don’t think that a virtual reality device will ever come remotley close to simulating what a schizophrenic experiences.
No offense, but instead of making up theories, maybe you should take a look at the research? I’m not a psychologist either, but I AM about to get my bachelor’s in psychology in under two weeks, and I can say with certainty that your theory is far to simple to adequately explain what i going on in the brain of a person with schizophrenia. Don’t just make up theories when you have nothing to build them off of, you know? Educate yourself on the neuroscience of it a bit. I think you’ll see that schizophrenia has very little to do with fantasy and much more to do with neurotransmitter malfunction and unusual brain structure (ie portions of the brain of unusual size. Large lateral ventricles are common in people with schizophrenia), as far as modern science is able to tell.
Not only that, your argument about how healthy individuals process fantasy, reality, and memories is also incorrect. People make up memories all the time, and the more a person recalls a memory, the more likely that memory is to be incorrect. We don’t know our own life histories nearly as well as we like to think we do. In this sense, healthy people confuse fantasy and reality all the time.
Also, also, the logic behind your example of a teacher and student is faulty. Neither of them are living a fantasy just because they have been misinformed. It’s not information their brains made up, in classroom situations both teacher and student almost always get their answers from other sources which they trust to know the correct answer. If you trust a person to have your back and they don’t it doesn’t mean you’re fantasizing, it means you’ve made an error in judgement.
Finally, your theory completely ignores catatonic schizophrenia, which is not characterized by hallucinations or paranoia at all. It is characterized by literal catatonic episodes. I don’t really have the time to explain it in detail, but you should look it up. It’s really interesting.
Anyways, I’m really sorry if this came off as being an attack or offensive, I just think its really important that people are aware of mental health issues, and it upset me a bit that you don’t realize how putting unsubstantiated theories out there, even when they come with a disclaimer, can give people fuel for their ignorance and hate. The more misinformation their is, the harder it is to re-educate someone, you know?
I’ve just started having the voices.. But they’re in my head, not out loud. When i do hear things out loud, i hear footsteps coming towards me and breathing and then people call my name.. The only things i see are shadows of people when no one is there. I have no control of my thoughts anymore, and they’re cruel.. I always feel like someone is watching me or like somethings there and that i’m not safe, and I taste and smell blood a lot but there is no possible way that should be happening.. Its been going on for a few weeks now, when should I go to a doctor?? He’ll never believe me if i tell him..
Ok well I had similar experiences and the doctors were very understanding. But I was fooled by some very evil people. I dont hear voices by myself only around these two faced people who tried to convince me otherwise. Anyway Honestly if they believed me someone who was tricked into believing this than I can say they would believe every word. So go to a doctor and tell them all your symptoms but make sure you tell everything. You could have chronic schizophrenia. So really go to the doctor they can be some really nice and understanding people. You would e surprised how they try all they can to help you. I dont know where you live so I cant really tell you where to go. But Find a hospital near you and spill the eans like you did here. It wont be easy but seems nothing really is in this life. Hope you get well.
Sincerely,
Chris
I do not completely understand schizophrenia…are the voices out loud or can they be your personal negative anxiose thoughts? I have read that depression, anxiety dissorders and lack of sleep can cause some of the same symptoms. I agree with the_ avenger you should seek the consultation of a therapist.
I am curious what the_ avengers story is related to evil minded people. Not because I doubt his/her story but I have a similar story where a few coworkers made my life difficult by making rude angry gestures at me to my face and behind my back. Sometimes I would here them call me names or say that I was crazy. They also made a rude nickname for me one of them said it loud and clear to my face. I tricked another coworker into telling me what I meant but many other times it was under there breathe so only I could here. I told management but they acted as if I was hearing things. I doubted myself as well. I never hear any voices outside my head when I’m alone but sometimes when I’m around some ppl…I do. But the voice I hear is there’s not a disembodied voice….or a strangers….and the Tv isn’t talking to me. Although sometimes I wont be in the room and the news will be on and ill think she cursed and ill then pay closer attention and realize it was just a word that sounded familiar.However I’m not going to lie I do feel as if someone has gone out of there to spread negative stuff about me in order to discredit me. Also I have been diagnosed with sociology anxiety and depression….I’m also hypothyroid…I fear all the time now that I’m going crazy and I’m worried how this may affect me finding jobs.
I was diagnosed with bipolar NOS and had psychosis at the time but i’m seeing a psychiatrist next week. The voices I hear are whispers that are reading my thoughts out loud. I get intrusive thought and then have to deal with hearing it in creepy whispers. This has been going on for 5 months and the voices occur when i’m depressed, happy, or even neutral. Hopefully I find out whats going on soon.
I found this video to be a little unsettling as it brings back what it’s like to exist without meds. Thankfully the meds for me mitigate the voices I hear to a degree where I can tune them out if I try very hard. That said, I couldn’t watch the whole video… too disturbingly accurate.
I’d almost forgotten how this felt. Although I never experienced visual hallucinations, and the voices were rarely this audible and pronounced, it’s pretty accurate. What these videos can’t capture, though, is the real feeling of paranoia. That’s the worst part. I can’t even describe how unnerving it gets, and it’s only made worse when people tell you stuff like “it’s just your conscience,” or some other ridiculous assumption.
Mine seems more like the movie silent hill without meds:/
Gives people a pretty good idea, I think, of the chaos that is ever present in the mind of people who suffer from this disorder. It’s also accompanied by guilt, feelings of inferiority, and ultimate loneliness in knowing that you are stigmatized even by those who are closest. Medications are essentially worthless, except for making your nervous system so depressed that you aren’t able to have as many simultaneous thoughts. And I guess that’s fine if you don’t mind things like falling asleep at lunch and dinner, not being able to get up for work, etc. It’s a terrifying experience, and if there were a Creator, he deserves to be cursed for this disease alone, not to mention the thousands of other maladies that inflict those who had no choice in the matter. My experience, and my opinion. Be glad if you don’t have to fight this 24/7 battle.
i couldnt have described myself in better words… email me
Do they hear it? or is it thoughts of dialog?
good !
My experiences are a little different than most. I feel like i have someone living in my body. they move my body at will, even against my will. they talk to me thru my mouth so we whisper to each other. i dont know. its strange. ive had this for 8 or 9 years. anyone else have anything like that?
Have you been diagnosed with schizophrenia. If so what kind?
I did.
you’re not alone…
What do you mean Don’t know me???
Could be catatonic schizophrenia? While it is normally associated with periods of catatonic stillness and rigidity, too much bodily movement is not unheard of in people with the condition. That being said, ask a doctor. I don’t have the DSM-IV with me and I would require way more information to give a diagnosis. At any rate, if you think it’s serious, and it sounds like it is, please seek help.
I have schizophrenia.
The depictions of my disease here, are actually pretty accurate! Very scary for me to watch, but also very liberating. Perhaps a tad bit creepier than how i experience it, but i think its pretty bang on the money.
If you feel like ever reading my blog, where i write about my experiences and life, plus some art i do, its here: http://www.cghobbyist.com
Thank you for a great blog, and keep spreading the word :)
Best wishes
-cghobbyist
I li
My brother suffers the same symptoms i read above. It tears my heart listening him hallucinate. I want to help him. What is the best way to break the news that he is suffering schizopnrenic? He wil freak out if i mention to visit psychiatrist. My heart goes out to all such patient
People think you’re crazy until they have to walk a mile in your shoes. Imagine 3 to 6 voices whispering in you ear to kill your best friend, you’re going to hell, even God forsaked you or that you should blow up your school, work, house, etc. And the voices in the stimulant don’t hold a candle to how they really sound. Though the consant nagging is pretty prominate, just not the normal sounding voices. They sound more demonic and every so often they laugh at you. The schizophrenia even left me seeing things. Which there are too many to list, but these are a few memorable ones: a man/woman that walked in and out of my kitchen, a black smudge that jumps out of friends, a guy that was always sitting some where near me, and a cat that I saw so much I named Lucy.
Which these things have been here and there since I was really little (1-3 yrs), but they became this bad when I was about 10. They’ve settled down and only come back full force when you’re at your weakest point. And meds only reach so far in a persons mind, until it’s just you and them…
I found this incredibly sad and scary as well…it made me weep for anyone who has to go through this. At least there are new medications to try to treat it.
This is fairly accurate but it’s not as bad as you think. At least not all the time. For me it’s just one voice and it’s really quiet. You’d never notice unless you’re alone or in a place that it could taunt you about. As for the episodes the hallucenations can be scary but they get old fast. No one notices or knows aside from the people I’ve told. You get better at fighting it with the right support. It’s not perfect but at least I’m off the medication. That just made it worse for me. My prayers go to all those who suffer similarly. God Bless.
Sean, i wish my brother come to term and accept the fact that he is suffering what every schizophrenic suffers. I feel guilty pretending that he is fine. He trust me n shares his hallucination, somthing also seem to stimulate his private parts, and he suspects some camera tat constantly spies him. Oh it is so sad
This is more common than most think. Some people can hide their disease well. I do not know what can be one. Hopefully new future research can understand what causes this and reverse it.
– Bret Loebel
Those two stimulations scared me so much that I couldn’t finish watching either. I hear voices and see things too. I feel like everyone is out to get me and is trying to harm me. The voices usually tell me things like, “Go into the woods. It’ll be fun.” or “Go die.” or “Hurt them. They deserve it.” It’s hard but I manage to not do what the voices tell me. The things I see are usually these black figures. I also see animals and random people. My family tells me it’s just my imagination but I’m not so sure.
i know exactly what your saying i see exactly those things, i just keep thinking im seeing things. Thing is i smoke cannabis regularly frm a very young age, but its when im not in that state i see these things even when i was little long before i knew about smoking. These voices i get aswel, but to me it sounds like me in my head tellin myself but i wonder, am i?, i dont know what to think and how to go about this, my temper is becoming worse everyday just as it was when i was young. I scare myself sometimes not knowing what ill do one day.
but this isnt all, theres so much going on in my head i dont want to post it, ill look mad or i dno, but the things that run through my head scare me, and then ill be fine after, smiling, chilling, i just dont understand
I am both schizophrenic and have used psychedelic drugs.
I have all the typical symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, etc.
I’ll hear voices all the time.
On top of that, I’m constantly being assaulted with a huge amount of images being beamed directly in to my head.
I’ve seen such a huge variety of images it would be impossible to describe them all, but I’ll list a few:
Universes being created and destroyed, in big-bang to big freeze fashion
Stars forming and going supernova
Atoms forming and splitting apart
“Mirrors” of reality being formed and being visually distorted in a bunch of different ways
Hell like setting filled with thousands of demons
Super advanced machines and biomechanical aliens of sorts
“Pins” being inserted in to various parts of my body
My body exploding in to a million pieces, starting with my skin peeling of, then muscles, the organs being divided, then blood vessels, nerves, then bones, ending with the entire body atomizing
My body decaying like a corpse, flesh being eating by maggots, completely rotting away until the only the bones are left, the bones decaying in to dust
Listing them and reading them causes me to experience them over again
I am not schizophrenic… well I don’t think so but having experienced with a wide variety of psychoactives, I have found myself having exactly the kind of experience in those two video sequences. I have saw videos of how it’s like to be drunk or on psychedelics, and it just isn’t that. But this is very accurate! I beleive it is a mental disorder, having a sort of spiritual origin… because during my delirious experience, I have heard the voices and later on saw a strange cloud of multi-headed self-transforming spirits – I have also seen a seemingly evil creature made of red volatile flames. At the time it was anchored over my head and it did seem like a “soul parasite”. I have no idea what it’s all really about… but I’m pretty sure it may have to do with lessening of natural defenses, allowing all sort of strange “inorganic spirits” to infest you. I would be curious to see how shamans, especially the one using la medecinà (ayahuasca) in south america would deal with schizophrenia. Maybe the plants spirits could be of tremendous help here. Thanks for sharing!
Yes I agree! I live with my older brother who has schizophrenia and I believe it’s also spiritual. There were stories of pastors performing exorcisms and completely healed a person of schizophrenia. I believe that most (not all)schizophrenics are under somie kind of demonic oppression.
Hello, my name is Jennifer Lara
I was wondering who can I ask for the link to this video?
The video won’t load on this webpage and I don’t know the cause.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.
the link to the videos are : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=qb8wQjwVu2g
also http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dkB2CGL769o
:)
i suffered schizoprenia 2 years ago. with one relapse. Now i’m okay. what i did is, i visited a faith healer in the Philippines, she cure me with herbs, steamer to sweat out. just like cleansing to balance the “ying yang” in the body/ hot or cold. Just like when you notice that your hand or feet is sweating, it means your body & mind is imbalance. And now i always take vitamin complex. I eat on time. Drink moderate 1-3 cans of beer. Jog (jogging is a very good exercise for the brain). God bless…
Hi Mark,I have two sons that have untreated schizophrenia. i have thought about faith healers but wondering why you had to go all the way to the phillipeans?
Thanks very much for the posting. I’ve watched both videos (pharmacy and bus ride), and want to say: Except for the paranoid themes, some people *pay* to get this experience, after they have flown to a certain West European city. Particularly the bus ride. What you get is an extraordinary narrowing of the awareness, which registers as a disconnect among various strands of your experience. You are totally absorbed in the current frame, as it were. This is well brought out by the switching of the bus windows. The sense you get is that you are being brought in contact with the raw input for the first time. It is an extremely pleasant and beneficial experience for those who can stand it.
hi my name is crystal i have a brother who is 25 years old and we just found out he is schizophrenic but its hard because we dont even know how all this happen he was fine 4 years ago my mother said he was good as a baby and growing up i dont know if it started 4 years ago but for me i think it did he had this girl friend he loved so much then she didnt want to be with him any more then he started to fight every one he would see he got hits to the head and he sarted to fight my brother for nothing he hated him alot and then year pass he stared to loss him memory and could remmber any thing at all and then he had alot of hate to my father he would hit him and all that and i dont know why he trys to hurt the ones who love him the most.
how can someone without this illness tell someone what it is like to really have schizophrenia
Also, I have to say that I think that John and a great many of people in the world are under their “spell” and it is very disappointing. John, you are in denial. I noticed you brought up the fact that Egor stopped taking his medication before these things began to occur, as if he some how hallucinated it all. However, do you think he hallucinated the people who invited him into their home told him all about their occult practices and tried to recruit him? Also, concerning what I told you about those Angels who were sent by God to test man this way, they never taught any of these magic rituals to anyone without first telling them that this was just a test and not to blaspheme and not practice magic. Only those who are stupid enough not to believe in God will fall for this in the long run. What I don’t understand is how people get caught up believing in magic and super natural things that Satanists will teach them to do, but don’t believe in God who taught them how to do it? It is like George Clooney’s character Seth Gecko said in “Dusk till Dawn”. “If there is a hell and these sons of bitches are from it, then there’s got to be a Heaven Jacob. there’s got to be.” Well, I say if there’s a Devil and these stupid asses know he’s been teaching them magic, then there’s got to be a God, and we all know that He disapproves no matter which religion you practice between Muslims or Christians. In fact, only the Jews wouldn’t believe it and as I recall, they are a part of it because they have a sect that practice what is known as Kabbalah. That is the “branch” of Judaism where they try to call upon demons to do favors for them by worshiping them and sacrificing things to them instead of simply praying to God as they were told. Well, I hope this helps some of you out there. Sorry if it creeped you out a bit, but you needed to be told. Peace!
I agree completely with Egor. There is a lot of things that people don’t know about the realms of the occult. These people have a serious agenda. They will follow you around, and they will whisper, use telepathy, read your mind, and I have had experiences where they even enter your dreams to manipulate you. They are evil people period. I am a Muslim and the phenomenon of “magic” is listed in the Qur’an as a real phenomenon that was taught to mankind during the times of ancient Babylon. It was taught by two Angels that God sent into the world to test mankind’s loyalty to Him. Basically, the Angels were to blaspheme Gods name, then teach magic to those who were interested, but only at the expense of their souls (i.e. anyone who partakes in these rituals and magic practices will have no share in Heaven after they die and are heading straight to hell unless they repent and give up this wicked way of life). The people who take up these practices are therefore Satan worshipers (i.e. rebellious to God and follow Satan knowingly). I am unfortunately in love with one of them to some degree because I didn’t know how far gone she was when I first saw her. I loved her, and she has shown up in the past but we never really got together yet. She has been being manipulated and controlled by these people since she was a child because she was a child actress and her father is a Mason. They have them doing Devil hand signs and evil things to prove their loyalty. I pray for her everyday that God will help her out of this cult. Be careful of these people and try to avoid them if you can. Satan beckons them to the fire by playing on their insecurities. These types of people crave power over their own lives, and think they can acquire it through black magic and rituals like pagan Wiccan practices. God also says that they only learn what hurts them and not what profits them, and on the day of judgment they are going to realize what a miserable price that they sold their souls for. I’ve even read recently how it is the 14th degree of Masonry that begins teaching telepathy to them, so do not expect all of the Masons to know about it. It is very rampant in Hollywood, and it is like something out of that movie “Devil’s Advocate”, so like Egor I am not convinced that everyone being “diagnosed” with a mental illness actually have a mental illness. They often attack people who are highly intelligent. Their M.O. is either you are with them, or you could be a threat to them. Like Egor said, it benefits them more to keep people doped up so that they can keep their occult practices a secret. They have been discovered in the past in England and even the Church (which they have since taken over) had at one time banned them and their practices. At that time they were known as Knights Templar and they are very present today. Stephen Wozniak is one of them as well. He invented Apple Computers, and he is a 33rd degree Mason. He is the Anti Christ iWOZ or Aiwazz (this was actually written about by Aleister Crowley who was also a well known 33rd degree Mason and the most highly decorated Mason of all time and also known as the most evil man in the world, and this can be easily looked up ). The sad thing is that the people they control are not bad people but are being manipulated by them to think that by ruining people’s lives and trying to manipulate and control them that they are some how serving God. I pray that God will help those who are being manipulated by them to see through them and leave and be protected from doing the devil’s dirty work for him. Amen.
Hi,
I’m studying Communication Design and I’d like to write (and a draw) a Comic Book/Graphic Novel about the experience of Schizophrenia as part of the course.
I studied Biomedical Science before and my dissertation was about schizophrenia susceptibility genes. I felt quite uncomfortable approaching this highly emotive subject in such a rational and clinical way, and without the consideration of the subjective experience or the social factors that affect it.
I’d really like to bridge some of the gaps between the scientific explanations, the subjective and emotional experiences and the economic, social political and perhaps even anthropological dimensions of the disease.
I was wondering if it would be possible to interview you over email?
My website is http://www.jessicaleach.co.uk and my email is .
Please get in touch!
Many thanks,
Jessica
i’m 22 years old..and I’ve been diagnosed with schizophrenia about 2 years ago..now,i’m in the process of recovering but i cant stop thinking about the experiences that i’ve been going through while i’m actually in the worse state..it bugs me a lot..i do need some help..like what should i do with my life now..lots of my friends does not understand situation I’ve been going through..thus,it makes me hard to find someone who can understand my condition..plus,i do not taking any pills..because it effect my body..it makes me fat..and i don’t think it does help..because for me,schizophenia is not about someone who has mental illness..there’s a supernatural forces and somehow i believe it could be the result of possesion of evil spirit..
Hi everyone, my name is Cheryl. My bestfriend of 32 years just jumped off a bridge onto the highway a week ago and passed away. She was 38.
Her story goes like this. She was a beautiful woman and 11 years ago started to behave abnormal. She called her wedding off 2 weeks before she was to wed. She started giving away all her things and decided she was going to move away. Before she moved away we knew something was going on but she would just say im ok i just need to get away. to ease our minds she agreed for us to bring her to the hospital.
The doctors talked to us without her and than talked to her alone and she walked out of there with this grin on her face saying i told you theres nothing wrong.
There was a time she called me and said I dont feel right I need to go to the hospital. I go and pick her up and we go to the hospital and again she convinces the drs shes ok. So she moved away for 2 years and did some really terrible things to people. She was hospitalized for a short time and than released. Thats when she moved back here. She isolated herself from the world.
I talked to her 2 weeks ago on her birthday and she told me how she is tired of Jack controlling her. He had a microchip inserted in her gumline and thats how he controls everything she does. She said he has ruined her life, friends and relationships. She wanted her life back but didnt know how because jack wouldnt let her get help or he would hurt people.
She said jack abuses her physically and emotionally and that her mind races constantly and that she couldnt take it anymore. I told her that i would do anything to help her if she told me what to do. she just kept saying that i understood what was going on and i was the only one that understood.
I tried to understand for 11 years…i never shut her out i was the only friend she kept in contact with. she never wanted to see me but we talked on the phone often. But that was the first time she was able to give me an idea of what was going on. She wrote in a journal everyday and has 4 different hand writings and talks about 4-5 different characters that control her. Jack is the dominant one. he sounds evil.
Her last entry was on oct 31 and Nov 5 she walked out of her apt and jumped off a bridge onto the qew and the demons got the best of her that day. I forgot to mention that she told me that she wasnt taking her meds because they werent helping. i need to understand that was it my friend that made that desicion or did the voices make her jump. She had an open casket as she was in 1 peice and no sctratches or anything on her. it was like she fell peaceful. i just need more answers on understanding what goes on in ones mind. please help me
Hi i am unable to access this viedo is there another link to it
I work at a mental health agency, and Jassen came to our agency with their simulation. They had a new one last year which included smell.
Hey all, as a mental health sufferer I am very concerned by the things being said in an Internet group for a philosophy that may become very influential in politics in years ahead. At least one Republican involved in politics seems to be in their membership. Among other things they believe animals can be tortured because they cannot suffer, and that mental illness is a myth. It looks like a twisted sort of libertarianism.
Please please please, if you have time, join this list and argue against the mad things they are saying.
groups.google.com/group/beginning-of-infinity
Wow, my 15 year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. It really hurts me to see that these is the kind of things she has to go through every day.
Right now I’m having racing thoughts, couldnt go to sleep and thought I’d check this website to get some comfort. It makes me feel better knowing that you guys are there, and I hope you feel better than I’m here, right now, in my room, same time, feeling the same thing you are, trying my best to hold it together and not get a headache haha.
You will be okay, I promise….
You did not lose your talents, you only lost your thought pattern, everything you learned and will learn will be VERY obtainable. Achievements are not a thing of the past, and love is not as well. You will feel…….one day for the new schitz, always and forever for the veterens =)
IF YOU ARE SCHITZO, read this my friends….
Let me clarify,
I’ve been a schitz(lol) for the passed 4 years of my life, I am 20. I have other friends who are schitz as well and we all work together on what controlling thoughts help the endless uncontrollable stream of thoughts we have get reduced and make our head stop hurting so we can actually sleep. For the schitz’s that are reading this website right now seeking comfort or confirmation, please read my comment, and I know your out there so comment back. I will make you feel better I promise. The world is a complicated and cruel place, trying to guess what other people are thinking or going with the so called “flow” in order to feel secure and wanted. Family may not understand, freinds might come and go. The truth of all the matter is the reason you are like this is because at one point you were not afraid to step outve your thought boundry and stress that on the people around you, I dont blame you either, usually that means your a more precise thinker and in-depth examiner. When it got out of control you panicked, and it wouldnt stop. In my case I did shrooms and other drugs to much, which is why I am a schitz today, as well as why my computer screen in my eyes is shaking left and right really fast right now lol. However or whatever your schitz story is or how strong or weak, or how known or unknown it is, when the thoughts go out of control….grab a glass of ice water…..repeat the word “chill out (your name)” in your head slowly and in a calm voice. You dont have to actually hear it, it can be just a feeling, and if you try it around people youll notice that their not so much different. Believe it or not alot of people have a little “schitz” in them as well, the racing thoughts, and nervous feeling, but they lack understanding of the outgoing people able to show it. Therefore don’t let that weaken you, let it strengthen you, and go outside a breathe a full breath of fresh air, feel it entering your lunges and exiting, while doing so relax your eyes, and keep repeating and feeling “chill”. Nothing else matters, keep doing this while you work. Eat. Sleep. Talk. All of the above. It might take some practice, but it works for us, and itll work for you. Being a schitz is simply showing what others know is real but getting to indepth in your mind and losing track of who you are. I promise you all will find yourselves again, I’m going to college to be a writer and game designer. I have severe schitz and my girlfriend is beautiful, smart, and thinks im a really good person. This is true because we are good people, great people, and if you need comfort please try what I said above. If you have ANY questions or maybe just want to talk about something COMPLETELY random or totally about reality and all its boring, yet mind-enhancing brilliance it has to offer, please email me. Also ESPECIALLY email me if you feel like your about to break and while you wait for a reply keep “chill” in your mind. Just chill dude….chilll…tell your brain to chill, its up there it just needs a slap in the frontal lobe =)
So my daddy is schitzophrenic and it really doesnt interfere with his life that much. he has a habit of seeing what he calls “tree people” and “his demons” but thats about it. one time he and my grandma were driving through the desert in arizona and he reached in the back seat, grabbed his suitcase full of all his belongings and through it out the window. when my grandma asked him why he did it he told her stephi told me too. lol. funny thing is i hadnt seen or spoken to him in a few months at the time. his medication makes him gain weight but it keeps suitcases in their rightful place.
deja(idiot) it is very exagerrated its a fact i have it. maybe not in some cases but at least for mine
i have schizophrenia, and i can say that it’s not all hearing voices and it’s not all paranoid delusions. before my schizophrenia was well controlled, the majority of my hallucinations were visual, tactile, and taste in nature, i rarely heard voices. auditory hallucinations are more on the level of extreme distortions for me (a dog barking turning into a siren, etc.). the paranoia thing is also a bit of a misconception, i did have many paranoid delusions, but i had just as many if not more that were just bizarre in nature, not persecutory. actually, a large number were even funny in nature, i often see peoples faces turn into charicatures, which is quite embarrasing as it’s difficult not to laugh. i also would think that people were secretly gay, or wearing adult diapers, or had had an accident, not that everyone was out to get me.
schizophrenia is unique to the sufferer, although this was a pretty good simulation of a bad paranoia day.
Please don’t give up hope… there are lots of people out there who do care and want to help.. trained professionals and trained people (mental health advocates) who want to and know how to help. If one person turns out to be no good, don’t give up- try someone else. That’s why we are here on earth- to help one another! We are all God’s beautiful children! You don’t have to believe it- just know that I am middle aged and I didn’t believe it in the first part of my life but once I quit drinking with God’s help and other people’s help, I found it true. Please call 211 and ask for mental health clinic, schizophrenics anonymous groups, national alliance of mental illness support groups like peer to peer- a 12 wk group of people who have mental illness educating other fellow sufferers on how to live well in spite of this illness. Recovery International is another excellent self help group that meets in person, and has group meetings on the phone if you prefer. Suicide prevention hotline (national suicide prevention hotline- look the number up on the web or ask 211 and/or 411). DON’T GIVE UP! 1 saying from Recovery International that helped me when I was in the throes of panic attacks was ” this is distressing but not dangerous”…. also: Feelings are not facts, they lie and deceive us and tell us of danger when there is none. “Change your insecure thoughts to secure thoughts” Use objectivity to terminate a panic. Anticipate with joy or not at all. and Don’t look back on the past with regret nor preview the future with fear. “I am a valid person”. When I felt everyone was looking at me i’d use this saying to myself: People give us 5 minutes or less of their time- then they go back to thinking of themselves and their own lives and concerns. – this helped me greatly when I was finally going back to college and had to get up in front of groups or class and speak! Once you have tools and make a friend or two your future will be much brighter – you’ll see! There are no hopeless cases- helplessness is NOT hopelessness!
i was hospitalized after taking the medicine pristique for 2 weeks, which cause me to go into a bipolar hypomania. i had never experienced any symptoms before so it was very frightening. They fed me seroquil which caused me to hallucinate and hear voices just like that. i was suprised to hear them and i couldnt decide what was real and what wasnt. my heart raced with anxiety and when it sped faster the voices got louder. it even became hard to hear other people. it was VERY FRIGHTENING. im so glad it didnt last
its no peaches n’ cream, thats for sure. Its not that bad either, after you realize it, it deludes itself. But what can I say im 15.
I’m 15 too, and I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia about 3 years ago. I found a girl in school who was also diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. It’s definitely no walk in the park, but we actually got to the point where it’s not a huge deal anymore.
Hi, my name is hsaka and i am 21. I feel like i had a breakdown a few months back and then again recently. I am scared to tell anyone. My girlfriend already left me coz she thinks am crazy. My friends think m crazy. I am not crazy. I dont want to be crazy. I am scared. The first time it happened i could hear voices. i felt like people were watching me. I knew there was something wrong. The second time it happened i couldnt hear voices. When m not talking, My head keeps talking and talking and talking. It tries to converse with me. But when i talk and when im in a better mood, it goes away. And then its back again when i dont talk. Its my voice in my head. But it doesnt seem to stop. I didnt know about Schizophrenia up until a few weeks back. I dont know wat to do. I havent spoken to anyone about it.
im diagnosed with the paranoid schizophrenia, and i suffer from visual and auditory hallucinations. i usually dont think they are hallacinations, i have a hard time sepparating real from imaginary
I’m 17 and I’ve had Schizophrenia for 8 years. It gets really bad, the voices argue! With each other! Days without sleep and jumping at the slightest shadows, this isn’t a joke! Many people have to live with this, and those who think it’s fake, your acting fake by pretending.
Wow, I have Schizophrenia, but I’ve never had this happen!
hey i am 15 and i fear im starting to show signs of this like i see things for a short period of time that arnt there i will randomly smell something thats definitly not there and i do hear voices but its always the same voice and he has a name i know him like hes me and he tells me what to do. is this what i may be getting? could it get worse?
Talk back, he’ll go away. x3. This might help.
I didn’t want to watch the video!!!!/……….. …………………. lol im already getting shizco from trying to think of what to say. >.< …..
all i had to do was look at the picture and it freaking scared me :D
That video describes exactly what I go through every day… and at times its really scary.
i don’t know how to view the video, do i need to download?
it reminds me of a bad acid trip
I was disagnoise with bipolar with a touch of schizoaffective disorder, but I haven’t heard voices inside my head, or suffer some halluncations. Although I have had some biazarre dreams, Schizophrehina is much different in which people be having halluncations with there eyes wide open, and most refuse to take there drugs.
Now there is a such thing as someone putting voodoo on people, but the people that do it are real people. These are witches and wizards that bothered the person that have the voodoo on them. But I think the person that is doing the voodoo has schizophrehina she was seeing and getting messages from my pictures, and she also thought I was dead when I was alive, also she claim she hearing voices when it is the air. I think she thinks I am saying stuff to her, when I am not, she also thinks she is someone thoughts as well.
This person pratices voodoo but I think she is sick in the mind, because she can be seen and she is not voices, and the people around her, is people that I have saw and they are humans not voices. It is dangerous, because it is magic mixed withSchizophrehina. However I am not Schizophrenia, even though this person thinks I am. The hallunacations are hers, I dont see and hear things from my pictures, nor do I think people are in the mirror. Or a man looking at me, This girl does. She aint taking her medication and I want her too get away from me.
I am a pyschology student and I know the symptons, voodoo is African descent cure when they dont want to go too the doctor. I mean this girl claims her symptons are mine, but mines are fine, I am taking my medication. This girl is hallucating and delusional. I took all my pictures down.
The videos have really creeped me out not just from watching them but thinking about living everyday with voices in my head. And the creepy visual hallucinations just comes across to me as your own mind attacking you.
I hope that all with this can find their peace because by god you need it. I’ve taken my peace for granted because I know if I had to last an hour in one of your shoes I probably would not be able to handle it.
It`s painful to have schizophrenia specially the negative symptoms, I swear I wish to die everyday ,, this is painful , I hate being alive while I`m feeling so dead , the stupid voices won`t leave me alone, I`m slowly dying , Death is a gift ,I can`t take it any more, I`m 22 , life is horrible ,,,I`m so detached I can`t think straight ,, I just wanna breathe easilly ,, It`s so hard to be me,, I got into addiction bcuz of it ,, I lost a loved person ,, I lost most of my friends , my familly is losing faith in me,, my life is falling apart ,,& I`m doubting everything in my life , there`s no logic, just horrible voices that never leave me alone,, I wish that ppl can understand how horrible to be schizophrenic cuz you look so normal while actually there`s nt anything normal goes on in your head ,,,
may God relieve me from this pain
Hind,
I’m very sorry to hear of the pain you are in. What I can tell you is that there is hope. You can find some happiness, but sometimes you need a little help. At the same time, you need to be willing to actually work to find happiness!
The natural state of mankind is misery. We are born into this world frail and weak. Life is a struggle, even for those who don’t have problems like Schizophrenia. So you need to fight it!
If you have an addiction you need to seek help. You aren’t going to overcome it alone. And if you’ve driven your friends away you need to apologize to them. Finally, you need to take care of your family. Because they are the only ones in this world who are going to look out for you despite their own high personal cost.
My suggestion to you is to ask your family to help you find treatment. That is the only way you are ever going to find peace.
John P.
Well I didn’t find this disturbing at all, nor did it bother me in the slightest. But then again I actually have schizophrenia. So I guess this was actually relaxing compaired to the things I see and hear. Unfortunetly most of the hallucinations are not even close to the one’s in the video. And this is a form or paranoid Schizophrenia. I have the Remissive Schizophrenia but it get’s bad. No medicines though.
I agree with you Shelby……I have schizo-affective disorder and my visual hallucinations are much more terrifying than in the video.
I was dating a guy who is schitso and he was very detach from how you treat a woman i guess detach from reality,never had a nice word to say to me like you smell good you look sexy,etc.etc and even when it was my birthday not even a happy birthday,and when it we had sex is was ver ruff like an animal is that normal…he would pull my hair it really scare me and he did this at the time he was having an orgams.,but what i found strange was that the next day after i was with him he would look at me like nothing happen.
DALI
thank you, i dont have schiz but this has helpd me in many ways. the human brain works in the same way for many mental working’s that we do not yet understand. but now think after reading what you wrote. helps me even more with my own path and journey. im 19 and havnt been conected to any thing on this earth but some people who are not family. i would like to know if im a spiritual being. but i need to ask some one what i feel/ think. . thank you again. and hope we talk some day.
I had an ex who was schitzo. Scary stuff. He stalked me, and I had to get the police involved, which meant jail time. I feel bad for the boy, but nothing he was doing was logical, and he was threatening me. We had been broken up for 5 years, but he still said he loved me. Honestly, I have a rough time understanding how he thought. Nothing he did made any logical sense. Its weird, I guess logic can go away sometimes.
I am absolutely convinced I have schizophrenia, My thoughts battle with me all day long, Im obsessed and in love with what is grotesque; murder, blood, death, because it’s so beautiful to me. I see things that don’t exist to others, Im just far too afraid to actually get diagnosed. However, if I am, I must say, it’s nothing like the video. I can interact fine with others, and Im ungodly social, but I’m alright with being schizophrenic, because I see it as beautiful, as do I with all disorders. I just wanted to say that.
I agree with you, if schizophrenia is united inside your mind might as well make the best out of it and tell yourself that its benifitial then let it get you down, because after all you are whatever you tell yourself to be, and everything is the same it’s only you that feels different.
i have episodic hallucinations during periods of high stress, and frequent almost daily voices or internal commentary on my conscious stream of thought by people that i know. also, it is hard for me to read the correct pyschological meaning of a situation at times, its like i watch a video, think that people are in a particular mood or are implying a certain thing, watch it again and it is different. the voices are much more pronounced in the winters, so i moved to the south. also, i stopped smoking marijuana because that exaberated the delusions, paranoia, grandioise thinking. at one point i thought i was become jesus christ. and the closest thing that happened to this for me was i was sitting in a restaurant and thought that the people there were signing happy birthday for me, even though i didnt know them. i dont take medication, as that just simply turns off sub areas of the brain. lower pyschomotor function, lower delinear empathatic states which are normal for humans. also, decreases the possibility of neurogenesis, since stimulation proliferates that, but overstimulation during an episode could kill brain cells. i don’t have it that bad, and i am already 21, have actually seen a progress after stopping drug frequent drug use and talking to my ex which destroyed me. i do take pyschedelics from time to time, and they do not exaberate paranoia, or uncomfortableness, voices like marijuana does for me. delueze, a philosopher stated, that pschedelics could help in getting the schizophrenic out of states of catatonia, or a vegitative state. i think that is a wild claim to make coming from a philosopher and pyschoanalyst, rather than a smart medical psychologist. western medicine is kind of unpromising for the treatment of many mental problems, and kind of relocates the dilema. the president of the american psychology association has schizophrenia, so it is possible to have a good life, depending on the willpower and intelligence of the person. many times, people just embrace the hysteria, and sometimes the disorder truely is too strong to combat. also, i agree that many pyschologically abnormal persons in history, have created great works, and many more do subject to the megalomaniac thinking and creativity that makes the confidence trick possible for a person to have the right setting to achieve something. i think more funding should go towards schizophrenic brain location research, because i do think the medication is merely working around the problem. when i got out of the mental hospital last year and walked home, the voices and ephemeral state of the world, were pretty bad after 2 weeks on the medication, but then they subsided within a week after stopping it right afterwards. also, the symptoms lessen when i am socially active, instead of inside my head the whole time. i have been also trying to reconstruct my brain from possible drug inducement by taking vitamins, antioxidants which are neuroprotective, whey protein that has building blocks for neurotransmitters, phostasterline or something, magnesium/zinc, nootropics, but i do watch my serotonin/dopamine levels, it probably wouldnt be good to be on st johns wort and 5htp for example, which i have done and it definetly increased schizophrenia. also, it is good to watch hormone levels, because after taking some oral igf-1 for a week the symptoms definetly worsened. my hormone levels are lower now, and i am much more stable, socially able, etc. the best thing to do is really not to sulk, if something is going on, know what is triggering it, see what is wrong with your body, have a goal and motivation, like if you dont like working, go to school part time, or really learn music and make a CD. i guess some people dont have motivation, but try to harness that creativity for something positive, concentrate on an area. like for example OCD people might be good at gemology, because they like ordering, memorizing lists of information or something. for low impact schizoprhenia, i really wouldnt recommend dp/5hta antagonism medication, maybe take something herbal or more natural that reduces those levels, maybe a weak GABA agonist like picamillion or something.
also, definetly do not smoke nicotine, or take any stimulant, keep the coffee low, unless you are on medication.
this video did help me to better understand how the mind of a scizophrenic is suffering. my son suffers from this illness. I am in constant search for answers and ways to help my son. He is truly suffering, and it is so sad. He is a loving and wonderful person, this kid wouldnt harm a fly. The reality of such an innocent, and harmless young man being stricken with such a disasterous illness is very painful. For all us healthy minds who take this for a joke, or find any kind of humor in this illness, or any other illness for that matter should really stop and think about how hurtful it is to so many people and families… this is a powerful and devastating illness…we need more supporter and people who genuinely care…Grace and Mercy to us All!!!!!!!
I too have a son who suffers from this devistating illness. it is so sad to watch and try to deal, I have cried many tears over this, and it has changed my life. Good luck to you and your son, I hope he gets better.l
this is exactly like me, except the hallucinations.. thats fucked.
The video would not load. Its through Revver which I’ve tried and I’ve had problems with, no wonder.
i always feel like someone’s gonna poison me. i hate medication. i hate doctors the most and i would rather help myself. :( i dont trust doctors. at all.
Well, don’t assume those that thinks it’s all or mostly nature over nurture is a hate mongers. My mother told me when I was 16 that if Schitzophrenia had run in her family she would not have had children and she believes Naziism was a greater evil than Communism.
This didn’t weird me out or anything. Though, I do have the initial signs of schizophrenia, and my dad is schizo – so it worries me in a sense of how real it could become. Damnit.
Anyways, good video :P.
I can’t imagine dealing with the confusion of voices constantly in your head. I deal with appoximately 17 people in my department at work and the constant interruption throughout the day makes it difficult at times to focus on getting anything done. I’m not trying to compare my job with schizophrenia by any means. I’m only trying to imagine the horror of constant voices/thoughts pulling your focus away from reality during all of your waking hours. I don’t know how people manage to function at all with this disease.
Brina
I have a family history of schizophrenia, my older brother deveolped symptoms in his teens and was catotonic for some time, my family did not want anyone to know of his illness they are in denial to this day and have isolated themselves from him. I developed symptoms in my early teens and hid them from my family and my friends, it started with feelings of being disoriented and panic in of all places the school cafeteria, each time afterward a feeling of dread and panic would arise at the thought of having to go eat lunch everyday till I finished school. My symptoms became increasingly worse over time as I continued to isolate myself from any tangible social relationships. I began to question why I was feeling the way I was I had delusions of having several life threatening diseases until three years ago I fell in to a full blown paranoid delusion I completely withdrew into myself into a terrifying delusion and was hospitalized and finally given medication, at the time I was admitted I did not recognize myself in the mirror and was in a severe depression as well. Im thankful my wife and family admitted me because I would probably Killed myself otherwise. After three years of treatment I would say Im stable most days, I still hear voices, see things and feel disoriented at times, I learned this happens when I overwork or dont get enough rest. Im still at my job even though I get some ridicule for who I am it hurts sometimes, but I try to laugh through it , looking back on my life now I realize Ive always been different but that is what makes us human Ive finally accepted who I am and just strive to live in the moment im given. Im 38 now I feel as though I’ve lived two lives already, I do regret not seeking treatment earlier but I was afraid to tell my parents what I was feeling after all my mother asked me please dont grow up and be like your brother, words cut so deep. I pray anyone who might just be developing symptoms to seek treatment immediately so you may have a more enjoyable social existence.
I really feel for people who have this. I am somewhat normal if there even is such a thing anymore. I currently have been diagnosed with ADD. Erica I agree with you. I feel that my “curse” is my greatest ally. I really feel for people with this. This stuff is fascinating to me. It is interesting cause I don’t think however hard we try to see it from the other side none of us really know unless you really have it. I know that with my ADD that is how it has been. I had always known something was not right however could never put my thumb on it. Anyhow I had been on adderall but the side effects out weighed the original symptoms. So I feel for anyone with this or any other mental health disorder. I pray for us all to find peace and happiness.
I am a sufferer of sz. When I was on this medication called invega the voices and garbage that happens normally to a person with sz got out of control like 500x more. I was seeing faces in the shower door, and when I`m reading something with pix of people, when I looked at them through the corners of my eyes, they would sneering and making faces at me, and when I was a school girl, I would be always looking back to see if anyone was following me and I`d have this weird feeling…
I haven`t seen the sz recreation thing, and truthfully, I don`t care to either. I have my own shit to deal with.
I`m sure that your audience would nonsufferers.
I am also diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. To me, I will describe some situations. I feel ‘normal’, but I hear a lot of sounds. I try to tune everything out. I am only 17 and it’s hard to have a normal life, when you hear people whispering your name randomly. Every time I hear the voices, I shake, I get so freaked out. I will be spending time with my boyfriend and either think he said something to me (then I answer him), or I ask “did you say anything?”. I will be sitting in a car, and see someone walk by my window, and when I look to see who walked by, they are gone. When I am at work, I will see someone walking behind me. I always feel like someone is behind me. I am constantly looking over my shoulders. I will be going down the street, and see someone, but when I look again. They are gone. That is my life in a nut shell. It happens everyday. I can even hear their footsteps.
Right now when people sees this, it does not bother them whatsoever, but imagine having to live with these “whispers” inside your mind for you entire life. I would say the whole idea of the disease is creepy. I was really listening to the audio and after you watch it about five times, you will get a sense of paranoia that sometime in the future you will get this, schizophrenia.
This video is made by a drug company that sells antiphsychotic medication! I dont have this illness but from what i have read and understand, it simply doesnt seem as simple as this example. I would almost guess that it would be more of an interactive dialogue, not just voices being mean to you. I would imagine that having this illness isnt just having scary voices all the time. Just as an episode can be scary as this example, I feel that patients dealing with this illness wouldnt be so tempted to stop taking their meds if this was the only result. Dont schizophrenics have episodes that are intellectually engaging? imaginitive? creative?
You must remember, schizophrenics tend to have complex delusions that mere people like you and i could never fathom. A lot of them have high IQ’s and i would guess that the extra “imagination” that fuels these scary episodes can also fuel some pretty amazing ones too. You have to wonder how they get from logical to paranoid. They have the intellect to build these delusions based on hallucinations. Its comparable to the overactive part of a mathmaticians brain when he is about to crack string theory. They simply have the intellect to consider these (maybe crazy)possibilities. Pair that up with the normal insecure thoughts of regular human beings and you have a paranoid episode. Genius meets normal person (and totally over analyses it)
Of course someones happiness and wellbeing are top priority, but for the sake of understanding schizophrenia, lets not let a drug company tell us how we are supposed to feel about our loved ones. Schizophrenia is something that you should learn about by talking to a doctor, a patient, or someone with experience dealing with the illness.
Its not only unfair, but naive to assume that “taking this pill” is all that schizophrenic people need. We dont know enough about schizophrenia to rule weather serving people doses of toxins to kill the “abnormal” part of their brain is right or not (especially in kids and those who cant make informed decisions themselves). They may not fit into our current society without medications, but maybe that begs an even more important question.
I dont want to say that people with this illness shouldnt be medicated, but i believe the illness deserves much more study as to the effects on the human brain, how it effects thought and how it can be beneficial to learning.
Just like snake venom can become a life saver, schizophrenia may just hold the key for stunning advances in the human brain.
“Abnormalities”, afterall, is what pushed us to evolve into what and who we are today. Maybe WE just have to get a bit smarter before we can recognize the amazing feats that these people brains are achieving on a daily basis.
I mean wouldnt schizophrenia be great if the voices said nice things? Or helped you solve problems? Maybe when we advance medicine ( or our own thinking) a bit more we can turn an “illness” like this into the “genius” that this world so desperatley needs.
Erica,
You wrote a wonderful letter that practically brought tears to my eyes. My beloved brother had schizophrenia. Before he had this illness, he was the best brother and a wonderful concerned person. He did not deserve the life he was doomed to live after his illness took hold. My brother, too, was a brilliant young man, destined for a good future. After becoming ill, he was never able to hold down a job and lived primarily at home while my mother was alive meaning he spent his adult life in and out of a Missouri state mental institution. After my mother’s death at age 61, my brother was returned back to the hospital and never returned home.
According to my parents, the best and kindest care my brother ever received was at the VA Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas; however, my parents missed being able to visit him often so brought him back to Missouri. When my brother was first becoming ill, my father and he had horrible shouting matches, but my father didn’t know what was wrong with him. Many years later, my father believed that if my brother admitted his illness, he would be fine. One summer in particular, I wanted to bring my brother home to live with me, but my father would not permit it.
My brother died an earlier death at age 54, choking to death on a peanut butter sandwich. At this time, he was in a group home.
Yes, it would be absolutely great if a person experiencing schizophrenia had voices that helped him/her solve problems. What other people need to realize is these people are human beings, too. Thank you for your wonderful letter.
Sydney, age 66
this was a very new thing to me.i saw a special on it on OPRAH it moved me, i would like to work with people like this or have a job that involves helping them.
This is literally the worst example ever. I am schizophrenic and this is not even close to anything I’ve ever experienced. But, if you feel this has helped you understand this problem more… Good for you. I feel it was a waste.
Thnx for yhis video!I always wanted to know what this illness feel like, and the weird thing is it did distort my mind a little like my equilibrium was off balance.Anyway it was a neat and enlightening expereence!
I’m diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia.. It’s very difficult to demonstrate what it truely is like to be a schizophrenic. I hear voices all day long.. My only escape is when I fall asleep.. What is hard to portray is that the voices comment on something that is hard to simulate. They respond to what it is you may be thinking at any given moment.. This video just shows how outside activity effects you and not internal..
this was freaky.
you have scitzophrenia??
i am a psychiatric nurse in the uk. i so wish that we knew what caused and could control the symptoms of schizophrenia – i try and compare it to diabetes and encourage my clients/service users to consider their diagnosis like this.
i would like the press to acknowledge that there are many people with schizophrenia that are not and will never be homicidal maniacs and would never hurt anyone even in the midst of the most horrible delusional ideation.
it is not a career choice and the sooner we recognize this and begin to accept, acknowledge and support those with schizophrenia the sooner that people with this diagnosis will be able to recover some of their lives
i feel odd, this didnt affect me or creep me out or anything. I may show this to my class while doing a presentation on this illness
It’s funny. This didn’t bother me one bit…Hmmmm I wonder why?
However, everyone that has seen it, is bothered by it. They find it disturbing, I guess it is all in the mind of what we can controll. Seeing things, hearing things. I guess it all comes wiht my life as is. Kinda used to it. However, this video is a good insight on what people go through with this problem.
Hey Steven. I can see how you can find it humorous…I sometimes find Schizophrenia humorous. But when it becomes a reality and hits home, like to a loved one, it loses it’s humor. And I wish I had the strength to say “I guess it all comes with life as is,” but to this day, Schizophrenia haunts my life. I wish I could so easily brush it off and move on. I’ve lost the person I love most and even though, from 3rd perspective, this video is almost a mocking of what it actually is like to have Schizophrenia..with poor graphics and etc., it pains me. I can’t help but be thoroughly disturbed to think that “wow… this touches the surface of the ugliness of how rotten a beautiful mind can turn.” So I completely understand why you wouldn’t find this disturbing…because you’ve never really struggled with Schizophrenia most likely anywhere in your life, but it’s very real and hopefully you can understand why people can’t stand to watch a ridiculous video like this. It’s ruins everything to some people.
Hi Jazzy,
I can tell from your comment that you’re in a tremendous amount of pain, and I wish there were something I could say that might give you some comfort. But there’s nothing I would write on a random comment board that wouldn’t come off sounding trite.
There is something I would like to clarify–Steven does struggle with schizophrenia. What was funny wasn’t the video: It was the fact that it mirrored his own experience so closely. The reason it didn’t bother him is that it’s nothing that he doesn’t go through every day. He thinks other people are disturbed by the idea that a mind could turn on you like that.
He didn’t say, “I guess it all comes with life as is.” He said, “Seeing things, hearing things. I guess it all comes with MY life as is.”
Steven’s comment sounded so resigned to things never getting any easier–I’ve been there before, and it’s a terrible thing to walk through life with no expectation of even the slightest relief. In Steven’s case, that means reliving this 10-minute clip 144 times every single day. He knows how much it can ruin, too.
Please do not read this as a rebuke of any kind. I wrote it in the hope that understanding his true intent would help you heal the wounds that are constantly being reopened by cruel and careless remarks.
I have a debilitating mental illness, but I’ve never had to lose the one I love most. I can’t even fathom the pain. I know it happens to lots of people, but I’m sorry that it had to happen to you, too.
It’s early morning; there’s a really beautiful moment waiting for you somewhere in this day. I tell you this because it’s easier to recognize if you’re already watching for it.