My short ten-year-old twig-like arms could barely wrap around
the “bowl full of jelly” waist of my uncle Chris. Hugging him goodbye, he squeezed me in
closer, his strong voice whispered, “Sara, I love you and your mom too, even
though the guys don’t like her very much.”
The “guys” my uncle was referring to would be the delusional people he was
tormented by in his head. My uncle Chris
lived with an illness called schizophrenia that tortured him for what was
supposed to be the better years of his life.
I have virtually no memories of my uncle before the debilitating disease
took hold of him like a Boa Constrictor squeezing the life out of his
prey. The disease erased the happiness,
talent, and extreme intelligence from his existence and left him contemplating,
why me?
Chris, with about one percent of the rest of the population,
suffered from a psychological disorder called schizophrenia
(“Schizophrenia”). Schizophrenia is
defined as a “severe disorder in which there are disturbances of thoughts,
communications, and emotions, including delusions and hallucinations” (Morris,
541). Although schizophrenia can be a
debilitating disease, schizophrenics should not be looked at as being
worthless, absent minded, or threatening.
Many people with schizophrenia are exceptionally gifted, including Nobel
Prize winning mathematician, John Nash, who recently had a movie based on his
story called, “A Beautiful Mind.” My
mother, who is Chris’ sister, can attest to his brilliance, “ He was gifted in
so many ways; he was so curious about life and had a knack for learning things
quickly, especially in math and sciences.”
Chris with his brother-like antics had
an enthusiasm about life. He excelled in
his schoolwork, while also enjoying his adolescent life, being with his other
siblings and friends. 
Junior year in high school he attended
a prestigious Catholic all boy’s school, where he was in the top ten of his
class. Senior year he had the same full
load of advanced classes, yet that year he began to become distracted, and as a
result failed senior English. Being
unable to focus and failure to perform at ones own level academically or
personally is one early warning sign of schizophrenia (“Schizophrenia”). 
After graduating from high
school, Chris entered the
Applying the skills learned in
electronics school and in the army, Chris began to work at the esteemed 
for schizophrenics to hold such
intellectually demanding jobs. Like
Chris, John Nash who also had schizophrenia, was very talented before the
disease took hold of him. In 1950,
twenty-one year old mathematician John Nash (pictured here) wrote a 27-page dissertation
called “Non-Cooperative Games” in which he won a Nobel Prize in Economics for in 1994 (“John”).
To the naked eye Chris’ life seemed to
be on track, he enjoyed working and was being well compensated for it. However, deep in his mind, he was being
taunted by frightening delusions and hallucinations. Chris would often call home and would have
disoriented conversations with his mother, saying things that made no sense. Having 
disorganized speech or
incoherence is also a characteristic symptom of schizophrenia (“Schizophrenia”). My grandmother was understandably concerned,
especially after Chris’ roommate called and told her of the odd behavior Chris
was exhibiting. His roommate said Chris
was becoming paranoid, saying people were following him home. He also began to loose track of things,
putting clothes in the refrigerator, or plates under his bed. Chris was a classic textbook paranoid
schizophrenic. His actions describe the
symptoms of this illness, which include odd behaviors, hallucinations, and
suspiciousness or paranoia (“Inside”).
Worried about her son, my grandmother
convinced Chris to return to Louisville and see a doctor immediately. The doctor misdiagnosed Chris with Manic
Depression because Chris was too afraid to tell the truth about all of his
symptoms. Like many other people
suffering from schizophrenia, Chris was worried about what others may think, so
he concealed his thoughts.
It wasn’t until six years later that
Chris had the courage to go back to the doctor and be properly diagnosed with
schizophrenia. However, his struggle was
not over. There is no cure for this
illness, only treatment. The medication
left Chris tired, heavily sedated, and caused him to gain weight. Chris seemed unhappy and disoriented. I imagine he was very frustrated with
himself. He knew he had great potential,
yet because of his illness he was unable to focus. One day I was working on my homework at my
grandmother’s house. I came to a math
problem I didn’t understand so my mom suggested I ask my Uncle Chris for
help. I walked into the family room
where Chris sat on the mint green loveseat listening to soothing classical
music on the A.M. radio. His body
slouched in the chair; his head leaned back swaying back and forth in a
relaxed, yet somewhat disturbed state.
This type of repetitive movement was one of the side effects of his
medication. I walked up to him and
enthusiastically asked if he could help me with my sixth grade homework. He slowly gazed up at me, his hair a skewed,
he took a deep “I’ll try” breath and looked at my worksheet. He glanced over it for a moment and in a
disappointed voice admitted he just wouldn’t be able to help me today. This illness consumed Chris’ mind and left
him disabled, unable to perform even the simplest task such as my sixth grade
math homework.
Over time Chris was slowly able to
take some initiative for his life. His
medication was readjusted, allowing him to eventually live on his own. Chris could not hold a job, but was forced to
live on government disability. Having to
rely on disability checks for his income was devastating for Chris. He knew if he did not have this illness he would
be living a successful, productive life.
He once told my aunt all he ever wanted was a wife, some kids, and a
stable job. Schizophrenia stole Chris’
sense of self-worth, his intelligence and his dreams for the future.
All hope is not lost for people suffering from this mental
illness. Every year more and more
research is being done to help people that are tormented by schizophrenia. The National Alliance for Research on
Schizophrenia and Depression is currently the largest donor-supported 
organization that supports research for psychiatric
disorders such as schizophrenia (“Schizophrenia”). More people need to become aware of this
illness and start to get involved by either donating money to NARSAD or by
being a local volunteer to help people with schizophrenia. Perhaps the most beneficial way you can help
people with schizophrenia is to become educated about the disease. Read more about schizophrenia and help to
reduce the negative stereotypes that are too often associated with mental
disorders. In a study conducted on the
stereotypes associated with schizophrenia students aged 14 to 18 were asked to
interact with a young person with schizophrenia. Conclusions suggest that the negative
stereotypes of people with mental disorders were greatly reduced after one
month compared to people who did not come into contact with the mentally ill
(Schulze). This study supports the idea
that just by making the public educated about mental illness can significantly
reduce the attitudes people have about people suffering from a mental illness.
Public education, along with progressive research is the only way to help stop
this debilitating disease.
“Inside Schizophrenia.” 2001-02.
http://www.insideschizophrenia.com/symptoms.html.
“John Nash: Genius, Nobel and
Schizophrenia.” Popular-Science.net. 2001.
http://www.popular-science.net/nobel/nash.html.
Morris, Charles G., and Albert
A. Maisto. Psychology: An Introduction,
Eleventh Edition. New
“Schizophrenia.” NARSAD Research. 2003.
Schulze, B., et al. “Crazy? So
What! Effects of a School Project on Students’ Attitudes Towards
People with Schizophrenia.” Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia.
107.2. Feb. 2003. US: