Being Crazy is Noisy (Revision)

For those not familiar with website stumbleupon.com, it is a sort of search engine in which the user selects from a wide variety of personal interests, and the engine takes the user to various web pages based on those interests. It is a great way to pass the time and even learn more about subjects you are passionate in. Stumbling through my 'psychology' interests, I came across a very interesting article about a man who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, chronic depression and chronic anxiety.

John Sterns, the author and subject of the article, talks about his many difficulties he faces in life. Schizoaffective disorder, according to John, is a co-diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In my high school psychology class and even a little bit in this semester's course, we've talked about disorders, hallucinations, and other disorders related to the brain. What's really refreshing about this article, is the fact that it is written through the eyes of one of these patients and how his disorders impact his life. It's a breath of fresh air seeing the more "human" side to psychology.

Since John was four years old (he is now in his forties), he's heard voices (auditory hallucinations) in his head that tell him to do rather disturbing and hateful demands. Most of the voices tell him to kill himself or attempt to influence him that he shouldn't be alive. He mainly talks about one particular stay in a mental hospital and his difficulties finding any meaning or purpose in an art therapy class. Although he never really personally cared for any of his work, it was the hope and determination to return to his wife and son that really pushed him. Despite his still frequent hallucinations and thoughts of suicide, he "passed" his class and was moved to an open ward so that he may see his family.

I found some comfort, as well as distress in this article. Coming from a rather large skeptic of the scientific community, again, I found this article incredibly refreshing. As helpful as medication and therapy can be to those with serious mental illnesses, it can only do so much. It was Sterns' inspiring inner strive to be with his family again that got him through his stay in the hospital. If you read on to the comments section below the article, you can see just how inspiring this man is to those with other mental illnesses and disorders. A lot of these other readers say how they no longer felt alone after reading the article and praised Sterns for his brevity.

Here is a link to the original article if you are interested: http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/being-crazy-noisy