lifestyle issues
Schizophrenia: The Disease
What It's Like to Suffer From Schizophrenia
John's Story: Part Two
When September came and went, and there were no encouraging signs that John might be improving, John’s mother told him that she planned to contact social services. John was furious and accused his mother of joining all of the other people who were “trying to ruin his life”. This was devastating for John’s mother, but she held her ground and reassured him that she loved him and that she was only trying to help.
John seemed immune to her attempts to console him, but she contacted social services anyway. She returned with John’s father and siblings, Melody, and a few people who had been John’s closer friends in high school. Initially, John refused to let them in, choosing instead to talk with them through the door. He seemed agitated and afraid. His thinking was clearly irrational, but eventually he agreed to let Peter and Melody come inside.
They were appalled by the conditions inside his apartment. Everything was in disarray. Dirty dishes were stacked everywhere. Partially eaten food was left on the kitchen counter and on other surfaces. Dirty clothes were everywhere. John’s bed was stripped and it appeared that he was sleeping on the couch instead of the bed. John had pushed furniture in front of the windows and piled boxes and smaller furniture on top as if he was barricading the windows.
The television was unplugged and turned to face the wall. When Peter asked about this, John tentatively revealed that the television wasn’t safe. He seemed confident that people could monitor him through the television if it was turned on and was facing him. He recounted how people on television spoke to him, convinced that they saw everything that he did and could hear what he was thinking. He shared that they continuously commented on what he did or said, and even on what he was thinking.
Throughout all of this, John paced back and forth and pleaded with his brother and girlfriend for help so that he could escape to a “safer” place where he couldn’t be monitored. Peter offered to take John to his parent’s home, but John refused. John clearly demonstrated that he no longer considered the family home to be a safe place. Melody and Peter knew that John would not voluntarily go to a clinic or emergency department. They informed John that he would receive no more financial help, unless he allowed a social worker to visit him.
It seemed to them that John was having difficulty processing this information. He appeared to be distracted by something going on inside his head, or by things in the room that neither Peter or Melody could identify. He seemed exhausted and desperate. After what seemed hours to them, John agreed to talk with someone from social services, but only if Peter and Melody were there to act as “witnesses”.
John’s parents had called social services and visited their offices to discuss their concerns with members of the mental health team. Those professionals quickly concluded that John was experiencing a psychosis, a paranoid psychosis, a state of mind where affected people are no longer able to trust others and often develop false beliefs that other people are trying to harm them.
They also believed that some of the other symptoms that John experienced strongly suggested that John was suffering from schizophrenia. They also shared the increased risk that these people can have for suicide, as they become more and more desperate and hopeless, tortured by their altered perceptions and fearfulness. The social workers were not hopeful that John would agree to a visit. They were also secretly worried that even if he did, he might later change his mind.
(Sources: The author's knowledge base, unless otherwise noted.)
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