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(UN-NEEDED) FINAL                            THOUGHTS

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(UN-NEEDED) FINAL                            THOUGHTS

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This is a very important mental illness to know and be aware of. I understand what it's like being scared of the unknown. I don't know what it's like to have schizophrenia; frankly, I don't want to experience it myself. From what I can tell, it is scary and I have sympathy for anyone who has to struggle with it every day. Don't be afraid of the unknown, learn about it.
I've seen a lot of interesting things when researching for this 'paper'. When looking for a video of someone having an episode, I found a lot of comments saying of how they wish they could see what schizophrenic people see, which completely baffled me. From what I heard so far, what these people commonly hallucinate is downright horrifying. Shadow people, people without faces, screaming, etc. . . Is that what people really want? It's kinda ignorant and insulting. Making the illness seem as if it's nothing. I worry for those who wish they could have any mental illness. I have a few myself and I would do anything to not have them. So for someone to say they want to have one of the scariest and most judged mental illness we know of is concerning and frightening.
I hope those people actually open their eyes and know that mental illnesses aren't cool.

This is actually a trend, believe it or not. Where people throw around mental illnesses as if it's an everyday thing. "I felt so depressed this morning, I'm sure I have depression." There is an obvious difference between depression and sadness. One a normal human emotion and the other is a horrible mental illness that attacks your brain and emotions every day. "I'm having an anxiety attack" when you aren't medically diagnosed. "I went from sad to happy in 5 minutes, I'm so bipolar!" . . . Do you see a trend?

A lot of people throw around these words as though they are nothing. They are not emotions, they are serious mental illnesses that people suffer with on a day-to-day basis. If you are not diagnosed with something, don't say you are. Just because you're sad all the time doesn't mean you're depressed. If you think you have a mental illness, talk to a doctor or psychiatrist. Don't go around saying you have the mental illness because you related to 3 of the symptoms when you looked it up on Google. It makes the mental illnesses seem un-important and that they are just given to anyone. Mental illnesses don't just randomly choose you. They are either genetic or are developed by past trauma.

I'm done ranting and raving. I'm just saying it isn't cool to have a mental illness. Get the details first. This is a serious issue that many people suffer through their entire lives. Mental illnesses do not go away. You can take as many pills as you can, you can sleep for hours, even days, you can surround yourself with as many loved ones as possible, but that doesn't make it stop.

Nobody should want to suffer with a nagging voice in the back of their mind reminding them that they are not normal and that something is wrong for the rest of their life. Having to take pills, talk to strangers with diplomas who promise to help you, weekly appointments, upping doses, new medication. . . It doesn't give up. But sadly, most people do. That's why it's such a big issue and, this is the last time I'll say it, it's not to be taken lightly.

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Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman, published in April of 2015 receiving two awards in 2015 and 2016.

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CHALLENGER DEEP by Neal Shusterman | Official Book Trailer

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1) Amazon review : The reviewer has schizophrenia themselves, and explains that the book is incredibly accurate.

2) National Alliance on Mental Illness : In-depth look into schizophrenia.

3) Life With Schizophrenia, WebMD : Video of Michelle Hammer explaining her every day life in social situations with schizophrenia.

4) 9 Schizophrenia Myths and Facts, WebMD : A list of myths that are commonly associated with schizophrenia which I read just to make sure I understood different things that people thought of the mental illness.

5) Schizophrenia Simulation, Youtube : A simulation portraying the daily life of someone with schizophrenia.

6) Schizophrenia, Khan Academy : Biological science of the schizophrenic brain.

7) Biological Basis of Schizophrenia, Khan Academy : Going into the history of schizophrenia.

8) One of the Oldest Cases of Schizophrenia in Gogol's Diary of a Madman, P.M.C :  The oldest case of schizophrenia dates back to Nicolai Gogol's short story Diary of a Madman published in 1835 that had one of the most accurate depictions of schizophrenia.

9) What is Schizophrenia?, Youtube : Drawings/pictures that might help someone learn about the mental illness better when hearing an explanation and drawings.

10) What A Psychotic Episode Is Like As Told By A Schizophrenic, Youtube : What I believe, a people with schizophrenia, explains what his schizophrenic episodes are like, what he sees and what he hears.
Schizophrenic episodes are a sudden change in behavior and personality, described as the person losing touch with reality, leading to different types of hallucinations and sounds. Not every schizophrenic person sees the same thing. There have been some things in common, such as black shadows, screaming or/and yelling, children laughing or crying, etc. but it varies from person to person along with how they act during their episode.

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❝ With the help of my son, I've (Neal Shusterman) tried to capture what that (schizophrenia) descent was like. ❞ — Author's Note, Challenger Deep

Most who write about schizophrenia go by bogus resources, but being told from inside the mind of someone suffering is an entirely different thing. Being told of their struggle and experiencing their struggle as Neal and his family has is a lot more than never talking to someone with schizophrenia and only reading about it, it makes it more meaningful and genuine.

❝  The things I feel cannot be put into words, or if they can, the words are no language anyone can understand. My emotions are talking in tongues. ❞  — Ch. 5 Page 6, Challenger Deep

This is a great explanation of how it feels to be schizophrenic and have everyone around you not understand. This is why to understand the root of schizophrenia, you have to directly talk to a person. Research is a great way to understand, but to get more in-depth would be hearing or reading a schizophrenic person explain their story.

❝ "You need to get over this social anxiety, Caden," they (his parents) tell me more than once.  ❞ ― Ch. 22 Page 34, Challenger Deep

It's important not to pressure people, in general, not to pressure into 'stop having a symptom of this mental illness'. It's sick and unfair. They can't control it and it's hard to struggle with any mental illness. They can't control symptoms, so telling them to 'not do this' is horrible.
Anyway, people with schizophrenia experience anxiety, which can escalate to anxiety disorder and some already have anxiety disorder. People with schizophrenia can not control their feelings, actions, or thoughts because of how their brain functions, which, again, they can not control. The only thing they can do is take medication, therapy, and see specialists. Sadly, most mental illnesses don't go away.

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Showing the inside of a young person's mind in his daily struggle with this mental illness is an accurate depiction of this widely unknown and feared mental illness. Most of how stories and other media betray those who suffer with schizophrenia are deemed as scary or unhinged, sometimes even murders and psychos.
Schizophrenia is a scary mental illness to those who have it and who don't know what it is, but most have just had it briefly explained to them, not an actual insight of ones behaviorism and thoughts. It is important to education those who don't understand the mental illness instead of being afraid of it. Hearing a brief explanation of it is nothing compared to hearing it from someone who suffers from it and doctors talking about it. It is important to understand this mental illness, to not be afraid of it, and to take what you can from the media. The media portrays schizophrenics are insane, but they aren't, it's bad to go just by that. Neal Shusterman goes into the mind of his young son Brendan and writes all his thoughts down, making his voice and thoughts heard, making sure he gets all he can to accurately depict and explain the thoughts of someone young with schizophrenia.