Within the mind of mental illness

[Super Cat]

I don't know about you but I never really knew much about Schizophrenia or how badly it could effect someones life. I'm sure most of us have seen some of the classic movies depicting characters suffering from Schizophrenia. Such as A beautiful mind, shutter island, PI and The Fisher King just to name a few. Some of them are quite frightening but I don't think it ever gave me a good handle or what exactly it would be like to suffer from something like this. So I did a little bit of looking around and I found this video on youtube that gives you a brief glimpse into the mind of someone that has to deal with auditory hallucinations.

Use a headset if you have one for the full effect!


After listening to that I could not even begin to imagine trying to hold up a normal conversation with someone, let alone function properly and it really brought me to respect those suffering from Schizophrenia and all mental illnesses. You have to remember as well that it is not only auditory hallucinations, people with Schizophrenia often have trouble telling what is real and what is not. It is a very complex disorder that could only cause minor problems or it could be full blown causing auditory and visual hallucinations along with paranoia and violent tendencies.

So tell me what do you think about disorders and illnesses having to do with the mind. Do you think you could cope with voices such as those in the video? Do you know someone who suffers from Schizophrenia? I hope if you ever thought that hearing voices might be cool, that you will realize there is nothing cool about it at all.

 

[Celest]

I haven't watched the video yet! But I will.. My great aunt Lou has schizophrenia. She says the pictures on the wall talk to her and threaten to kill her family so when we visit she is always taking the pictures down. She calls my cousin's house at crazy hours in the morning to see if we are there and will tell us that a man lives at our house because of our answering machine. She will go into her sister's room and stand over her and say things like "How can you sleep when they're trying to kill us." Lou also has a habit of holding grudges now and apparently she has strong hate for people she has never hated before. When she was younger she used to attack members of the family because they made her mad.

What's crazy is the fact that her illness came out of no where. She was engaged and becoming a nurse and then WAM. Something changed, her life fell apart and her parents made her get shock treatment >.< Which I think made it worse. Anywho... yeah.

 

[Villamvihar]

I listened to the video and while it was not a particularly disturbing experience, it did help me to imagine what it would be like if I suffered from such a disorder. Even the auditory hallucinations were disturbing and distracting so I feel like I have become a bit closer to understanding how and why would a person suffering from schizophrenia act. I never ever did think that hearing voices is cool, and my opinion did not change due to the video, even if it was not an accurate representation of what is going on in the head of those unfortunate people who are affected by the disorder. Voices overlapped, told me strange things, demanded that I do things warned me of other things... I do not think I could stand that happening all the time. I would probably be able to keep my mind straight for a few hours or maybe days, but then I do not know what I would do.

I do not know anyone who suffers from schizophrenia and I am glad that not one of my acquaintances have experienced it. It must be horrible to hear voices from everywhere, to think that you are in danger at all times.

 

[Parson]

-writes a 751 word entry but gets scared and deletes it, deciding it best to keep silent-

Mental disorders are miserable.

 

[FJ22]

yikes, I think I may have this to some mild degree because of my depression.... I'm going to seek help now. O.O

but I have to agree, I would not be able to function if I had this happen to me while I was talking to someone or even walking around outside.