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Jason A Jepson, Avenues of Support, Schizophrenia Bulletin, Volume 45, Issue 1, January 2019, Page 6, https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbx047
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A person suffering from schizophrenia needs emotional support—a counselor, a doctor, or even a friend or family member who has done some research on this brain disorder. The conclusion reached after talking to this trusted person may always be the same—I hear, see, and sometimes, even smell, things that are not happening. These symptoms occur because I have schizophrenia. Even though I take my medication and try to reduce the stressors in my life, I will still sometimes experience the symptoms. The difference is in my response to those symptoms. I don’t have to react to them because they are not actually going on in my reality. Sometimes my symptoms feel like a boiling pot that is about to boil over. In real life, I can turn down the heat, so the water doesn’t boil over.
Recently I decided to go to my favorite hamburger place for dinner. This is a place that I go to about once a week. I gave my order and waited for the number on my receipt to be called. Sometimes while waiting, I am in tune with the conversation circulating around other customers. I can hear numbers being called out, and I can hear the employees calling out the orders. In this particular instance I thought I overheard one person say, “My dad said that if I prove this exists, then I could become famous.” This is typical of what I might hear in a public place. If I make eye contact with this person, then they can read my mind; I can read their minds; and we can speak through telepathy. If someone has a very intense look on his face, I call that “hawk eyes.” And if I make eye contact with this person, then I know we are on the same wavelength.
