![]() As Robert Bayley, a musician and author who has lived with schizophrenia for the past 40 years, has explained: ‘It is often forgotten that there is a person behind the condition, with a fundamental need to be understood … We must be seen as individuals and not regarded as just a collection of symptoms.’ But why do these stories matter? How might they impact mental health and wellbeing? And how might they change through treatment and recovery?Īt the most basic level, these stories matter because many people living with schizophrenia want their life stories to be heard. In short, people with schizophrenia tell unusual life stories about unusual kinds of personal experiences. Their life stories might even include vivid, emotionally intense experiences of psychotic symptoms themselves – for instance, vivid memories of being spied on, conspired against or chosen by God to save the world. ![]() People living with schizophrenia also tend to include unusual kinds of experiences in their life stories, focusing on psychotic episodes, hospitalisations and traumatic events. These experiences seem to curtail the reminiscence bump: rates of personally significant memories might steadily increase in the teenage years, then drop sharply following a diagnosis of schizophrenia. People diagnosed with schizophrenia often become unable to care for themselves, lose valued roles and relationships, and undergo treatment. However, schizophrenia causes profound disruptions during these same years. These events become centrepieces of our life stories, defining who we are for decades to come. For instance, we might form memories of graduating college, getting a first job, or starting or ending significant romantic relationships. Most people experience a ‘reminiscence bump’ in early adulthood, with many personally significant and relatively well-remembered events occurring between ages 15 to 30 (and especially between ages 20 and 24). First, the basic chronology of the life story is shifted. When asked to tell their life stories, people with schizophrenia tend to tell unusual ones. Our life stories help us to define and communicate who we are as people This is because schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling condition that manifests early in life – it is commonly diagnosed between late adolescence and the early 30s. ![]() Although it affects fewer than one in 100 people, schizophrenia’s worldwide disease burden, in terms of years lived with disability, is roughly equal to that of Alzheimer’s disease and alcohol abuse combined. Schizophrenia is a rare but serious mental illness. ![]() These are excerpts from the stories of people living with schizophrenia, a psychotic disorder that can include delusions (strongly held beliefs that do not seem to fit reality), hallucinations (seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not there), disorganised thought and speech, loss of motivation, blunted emotional expression and social withdrawal. Here are a few things you probably would not say: ‘… what scared me the most was a sense that I had lost myself …’ ‘I couldn’t relate to the world around me, as my reality became increasingly fractured and confused.’ ‘My illness eradicated my sense of self, and now I am engaged in the lifelong process of obtaining, maintaining and slowly modifying my sense of who I am.’ You might talk about your childhood experiences, your education or career, significant challenges or accomplishments, important relationships, or themes that connect your experiences together. What would you say if I asked you to tell the story of your life? If you are like the thousands of people who have participated in life stories research around the world, you could probably tell a pretty good story about where you came from, how you became the person you are today, and where you are headed in the future. ![]()
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