A poem explicitly about psychosis by Ann Olson, PhD, one of the most creative poets and writers with schizophrenia. It is based upon “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. The Love Song of Ophelia was originally published in Boneworld Publishing’s Barbaric Yawp. It is explicitly about psychosis. The Love Song of ...

Acceptance of the schizophrenic family member may not be an easy task. Often, schizophrenia transforms individuals in ways that make them unrecognizable to their families. It should be noted, however, that the schizophrenic may feel that their family has transformed into something unrecognizable to him/her. The initial struggle to accept oneself when dealing with a ...

Family therapy and family involvement in the life and treatment of a schizophrenic is highly correlated with the success of that individual in dealing with mental illness. Family members of schizophrenics may perform essential functions in the lives of these mentally ill individuals. Many of these functions stem from monitoring the suffering family member for ...

I experienced my internal self to be in a centrifuge of fear and anger that sucked me into chaotic daydreams, compressing densely any sense I had, and encouraging me to race farther into my delusions, constituted by this dream, this vision. And I allowed myself to hold credible the idea that I was already dead. ...

As I indicated, it started several months ago. I was visited upon by a breakdown, psychological in nature, and the sustaining, but not necessarily exacted pieces that it extracted from my spirit, were essentially accrued by something—one might call them demons, hallucinations or figments of my imagination—but something. Essential to a breakdown that is psychological, ...

Illuminating Schizophrenia: Insights Into the Uncommon Mind is a compilation of the personal experiences of Dr. Ann Olson, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia since she was about 20 years old. She describes her life experiences as well as that of her ex-husband, also diagnosed with schizophrenia, and develops the theme of schizophrenia from the ...