Episode 45. Shattered – The Split Mind of Schizophrenia

In this podcast episode, I explore the diverse facets of the debilitating mental illness schizophrenia. I particularly highlight its varied manifestations such as delusions, hallucinations, disorganised thoughts and abnormal behaviours.

I illustrate these concepts with insightful illness memoirs, such as the classics Is There No Place on Earth for Me, by Susan Sheehan, The Centre Cannot Hold, by Ellen Saks, and A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar'. These especially demonstrate the frequent manifestation of the disease as paranoid schizophrenia with grandiose and paranoid delusions. I use these memoirs to explore the genetic, environmental and maternal risks factors of schizophrenia, the long-term and frequently relapsing course of the disease, and the requirement for treating with a combination of drug and psychological therapies.

I also use illness memoirs to highlight other dimensions of schizophrenia. For example, I use the memoir by Lori Schiller titled A Quiet Room, to show how schizophrenia can present first with mood changes, the book by Patrick Cockburn titled Henry’s Demons, to illustrate the extreme behavioural abnormalities that can accompany the illness, and the story of Douglas Goncalves titled A Journey Through a Psychotic Breakdown, to show how a confluence of life events serve as a trigger for the disease to emerge.

I also explore the mimics of schizophrenia, and I illustrate these with such memoirs as that of Esme Weijun-Wang titled The Collected Schizophrenias, to illustrate schizoaffective disorder, and Inferno by Catherine Cho, to demonstrate post-partum psychosis.

Other relevant themes of the podcast are the impact of the diagnosis on family and careers, the risk of suicide, and the importance of admission to hospital in recovery.