A Schizophrenic's Brief Lucid Moment

From a Reddit discussion about living with schizophrenia:

“More people need to see things like this.

“I worked with people with schizophrenia for 3 years. I could tell you stories all day but one stand out.A man named “Wally”. He was nearly never what anyone would call coherent. He’d blurt out song lyrics and anything that came into his head. He masturbated in the day room. He’d yell things like “You can DIE!” over topics like lunch and getting dressed (he thought those things were dangerous). But you never know on what levels the brain is functioning. So I always spoke to my clients like nothing was amiss.

“One day, I asked Wally “How’s it going?” like I always did. His reply that day?

Good now, but that will change later. This is really fearful, you know. I wasn’t always this way and people don’t understand that. I used to be a welder. I had a beautiful home. I have a 12 year old son that won’t see me because he’s afraid of me. I hope I haven’t passed this on to him. And I want to let you know that I appreciate that you treat me with respect. Even if I can’t respond appropriately, I want you to know I notice.

“First and last time I ever saw him lucid and it will haunt me forever.”

Full discussion https://np.reddit.com/r/WTF/

Photo from Christiaan Tonnis via Flickr under Creative Commons.


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