Me, Myself, and Them: A Firsthand Account of One Young Person's Experience with Schizophrenia (Adolescent Mental Health Initiative)

183 Pages·2007·0.46 MB·English

by  Kurt Snyder

AdvanceAcclaimfor
Me, Myself, and Them
‘‘LikeaSeaWorldunderwaterview,Me,Myself,andThemprovidesarivetingpeek
intotheworldofschizophreniaforparentslikemewhoyearnforunderstanding.
Foryoungpeoplewithschizophrenia,likeourson,thebookorientsafrightening
illness.Forbothfamiliesandpersonswithmentalillness,thisbookislacedwith
hope,somethinginshortsupplyinmostotherbooks.’’
—MindyGreiling,MinnesotaStateRepresentativeandExecutiveBoardMember,
NationalAllianceonMentalIllness
‘‘Thefirsthandaccountisrealistic.’’
—JimGreiling,diagnosedwithschizophreniaatage21,now29yearsold
‘‘This beautifully told personal story provides an innovative platform for solid
informationaboutschizophreniaanditstreatment.Highlyinformativetopersons
strugglingwiththeonsetofpsychosis,andtofamilies,friends,andmentalhealth
workerswhostruggletounderstandandhelp.’’
—WilliamT.CarpenterJr.,M.D.,ProfessorofPsychiatry
andPharmacology,UniversityofMarylandSchoolofMedicine
‘‘The authors provide a first rate resource for anyone whose life is touched by
schizophrenia. Through solid, easy to understand language, the manuscript pro-
videsusefulguidanceforotherscopingwiththisdisease.Highlyrecommended.’’
—MingTsuang,M.D.,Ph.D.,DepartmentofPsychiatry,
UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego
‘‘Me,Myself,andThem:AFirsthandAccountofOneYoungPerson’sExperiencewith
SchizophreniaisastraightforwardandmarvelouslylucidretellingofKurtSnyder’s
battlewithhisdemons.Notonlydoesitshowustheexperienceofpsychosis,italso
explains, in jargon-free language, what each element of that experience means.
Compellingandeminentlyreadable,abooklikethisoughttoberequiredreading
for allhigh school andcollege students, demystifying asit does an illness all too
longshroudedinmisunderstanding,confusionandfear.’’
—PamelaSpiroWagner,authorofDividedMinds:TwinSisters
andTheirJourneyThroughSchizophrenia
‘‘Istronglyrecommendthisbooktopatients,families,clinicians, andresearchers
interestedinafirsthandaccountofhowschizophreniachangesthewaytheworld
looks,feels,andbehaves.Itisverymovingandveryinformative.Fromcompelling
descriptionsofchangesinmood,cognition,andperceptiontoexplanationsabout
how the brain is affected and how drugs work, this brief but detailed personal
statementandreviewofthestateofthefieldisinvaluable.’’
—DanielR.Weinberger,M.D.,Director,Genes,Cognition
andPsychosisProgramIRP,NIMH,NIH
The Annenberg FoundationTrust at Sunnylands’
AdolescentMental Health Initiative
PatrickE. Jamieson,Ph.D.,series editor
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Forparentsandotheradults
IfYourAdolescentHasDepressionorBipolarDisorder
DwightL.Evans,M.D.,andLindaWasmerAndrews(2005)
IfYourAdolescentHasanEatingDisorder
B.TimothyWalsh,M.D.,andV.L.Cameron(2005)
IfYourAdolescentHasanAnxietyDisorder
EdnaB.Foa,Ph.D.,andLindaWasmerAndrews(2006)
IfYourAdolescentHasSchizophrenia
RaquelE.Gur,M.D.,Ph.D.,andAnnBradenJohnson,Ph.D.(2006)
Me, Myself,
and Them
A Firsthand Account of
One Young Person’s Experience
With Schizophrenia
Kurt Snyder
withRaquelE.Gur,M.D.,Ph.D.,andLindaWasmerAndrews
The Annenberg FoundationTrust atSunnylands’
AdolescentMentalHealth Initiative
1
2007
1
OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther
OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence
inresearch,scholarship,andeducation.
TheAnnenbergFoundationTrustatSunnylands
TheAnnenbergPublicPolicyCenteroftheUniversityofPennsylvania
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Copyright#2007byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc.
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OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,
withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Snyder,Kurt.
Me,myself,andthem:afirsthandaccountofoneyoungperson’sexperiencewith
schizophrenia/byKurtSnyderwithRaquelE.Gur,andLindaWasmerAndrews.
p.cm.—(Adolescentmentalhealthinitiative)
‘‘TheAnnenbergFoundationTrustatSunnylands,theAnnenbergPublicPolicyCenter.’’
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-19-531123-5;978-0-19-531122-8(pbk)
1. Snyder,Kurt—Mentalhealth. 2. Schizophrenics—UnitedStates—Biography.
3. Schizophreniainadolescence—UnitedStates. I. Gur,RaquelE. II. Andrews,Linda
Wasmer. III. Title.
RC514.S565A32007
616.89'80092–dc22 2007016619
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onacid-freepaper
Contents
Foreword ix
Preface xiii
One
A Fragmented Mind: Overview of Schizophrenia 1
My Story 1
Delusions ofgrandeur 1
Theearly days 4
TheBig Picture 8
So what isschizophrenia? 9
Whogets schizophrenia? 10
Where does schizophrenia come from? 11
What are the early warning signs? 16
Two
First Encounters With Them: Symptoms and Paranoia 19
My Story 19
A change ofplan 20
Being watched 21
A newopportunity 23
An unanswered message 26
vi Contents
Toomany coincidences 28
Uncertain assumptions 34
Animaginationrun wild 37
TheBigPicture 40
What are positive and negativesymptomsofschizophrenia? 41
Howimportant arecognitive symptoms ofschizophrenia? 47
Are people with schizophrenia aware ofhow sick they are? 48
What are the differenttypesofschizophrenia? 48
Three
In the Grip of Them: Losing Touch With Reality 53
My Story 53
Getting away 53
Glasgow, Montana 56
Intrusion 59
Lockdown 63
Returninghome 65
TheBigPicture 67
Howdoes schizophreniaaffect everyday life? 68
Whenand why ishospitalization helpful? 71
What are the ins and outs ofinpatientcare? 74
Where can youget help outsidethe hospital? 77
Four
Naming and Facing the Enemy: Diagnosis
and Treatment 79
My Story 79
Thedelusions intensify 80
Back tothe hospital 81
Back tothe outsideworld 82
Giving THEMa name 83
TheBigPicture 84
Howisschizophreniadiagnosed? 84
What conditions often coexist with schizophrenia? 86
Contents vii
Why isprofessional treatment soimportant? 89
What medicationsare used totreatschizophrenia? 90
How does psychological and behavioraltherapy help? 96
What isthe outlook for the future? 100
Five
Beating the Enemy: Recovery from Schizophrenia 103
My Story 103
Accepting schizophrenia 105
A newdirection 106
TheBig Picture 109
What are psychosocialrehabilitation programs? 110
What types oftraining and supportare available? 111
How can you cope with schizophrenia at school? 115
How can you deal with schizophrenia at work? 119
What are options for living onyour own? 121
What are tips for handling social situations? 126
What are tips for coping with stress and change? 130
Six
Putting the Pieces Back Together: My Life Today 133
Epilogue toMy Story 133
Frequently Asked Questions 137
Glossary 143
Resources 149
Bibliography 157
Index 159
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Foreword
The Adolescent Mental Health Initiative (AMHI) was
created by The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunny-
lands to share with mental health professionals, parents, and
adolescents the advances in treatment and prevention now
availabletoadolescents withmentalhealthdisorders. TheIni-
tiative was made possible by the generosity and vision of
Ambassadors Walterand Leonore Annenberg, andtheproject
wasadministeredthroughtheAnnenbergPublicPolicyCenter
of the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with Oxford
University Press.
The Initiative began in 2003 with the convening, in Phi-
ladelphiaandNewYork,ofsevenscholarlycommissionsmade
up of over 150 leading psychiatrists and psychologists from
around the country. Chaired by Drs. Edna B. Foa, Dwight L.
Evans, B. Timothy Walsh, Martin E. P. Seligman, Raquel E.
Gur, Charles P. O’Brien, and Herbert Hendin, these com-
missions were tasked with assessing the state of scientific re-
search on the prevalent mental disorders whose onset occurs
predominantlybetweentheagesof10and22.Theircollective
ix