[.ca] Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, ... (ISBN 0060842598)

the good the bad and the fricken holy mad:
As the adult daughter and only survivor of a mother/brother team of schizophrenics, let me say this: While the info is welcome, Torrey's plea to families to be understanding and compassionate made me want to get up and start shrieking in the subway. If you happen to be upper-middleclass and everyone involved is smart and educated this is a great book. I feel that thanks to this book and other stories like "Beautiful Mind" and "Proof" everyone can now safely assume that schizophrenia is a disease of brilliant white men. You can not sacrifice one group to save another. What I mean is that by cleaning up this disease and getting the good PR and all that, there is another group that is being disenfranchised - the children of schizophrenics. Yeah, it's a delicate issue, I'll admit, but what I don't need in this lifetime is another doctor telling me I should be compassionate. You tell that to some other little girl who's mother believes in Demons, ok Doc? And look in her eyes while you say that.

Very, Very Helpful:
SURVIVING SCHIZOPHRENIA has to be one of the most helpful books ever written. When I first read an earlier edition in the 1990's until this latest edition, I have found many suggestions that benefit my life, the life of my friends, and the life of my family. Fuller Torrey makes clear that there are many illnesses that resemble true schizophrenia, but will later be diagnosed otherwise. As patients and families begin their journeys with the medical profession, it is good to have a copy of SURVIVING SCHIZOPHRENIA in their pockets.

A great place to start:
While there's a plethora of fiction and/or memoir type books on mental illness (think "A Beautiful Mind" or "The Bark of the Dogwood") there's a lack of those which strive to help the average person or family member of someone with this illness. This insightful book was first published some twenty years ago, and it's STILL as useful today as it was back then--more so, probably. Schizophrenia IS treatable and needs to be understood. This is a great place to start.

Understanding Psychosis.:
If you have ever had problems with anxieties, fears, paranoia, manias, hallucinations, visions, confusion, catatonia, or delusional thinking, then maybe this book can help you. I generally don't really believe in diagnosis (other than as the only tool currently available to get insurance companies to pay for psychiatric medications), but at various points in my life (probably at 8 different points, 6 of which lasted for over a month) I have experienced rather severe existential crises (otherwise known as psychotic breaks) beginning at age 21 and have usually been advised to see a doctor by a family member. I have tried different psychiatric medicines, and have generally found that antipsychotics combined with depakote seem to work best for me. I'm sure that I have a mild case compared to many and indeed I count myself fortunate for that. Generally though I find myself somewhat less secure (in existential terms) in my being than most. Also, I can relate to some of what is written here, particularly regarding thought disorders (thought blocking and such) which I have at various times tried to describe in terms of "brainwashing", "thought control", "feeling other people's feelings", or other terms. I have also experienced what I like to call "robot mind", a sort of out of body experience where the soul seems to separate from the body, and routinely draw diagrams of individuals trying to understand the "control relations" between them. I believe these constitute some of the more common forms of thought confusion found in severe depressions, under stress, or as part of a psychotic break. Generally, I live existentially apart from most other people, sometimes almost entirely within my own world. Although I can still function, hold down a job, and go to school, though I am very introverted. If you can relate to any of this then maybe this book will help you, although you probably have sought other means by now to relieve your life crisis. _Surviving Schizophrenia_ is written with a great deal of compassion, from the perspective of mainstream psychiatry. I can't say that I agree with everything in it, or even with its largely scientistic bias (I tend to think in terms of mystical experiences and religion, though my training is in the hard sciences originally), but it may provide some useful guidance if you are prone to these sorts of existential conflicts or if you know a loved one who is so. You may find it helpful also to consult some of the available literature on mysticism as well as working through art and literature to relieve the tension of your so called "illness". I have found in particular my religion, Roman Catholicism, the works of Carl Jung, and Gurdjieff, as well as the writings of Julian Jaynes to be useful (at least interesting) in framing my understanding about certain things and experiences which I have undergone. Otherwise, the book is useful at least in that it attempts to categorize illness, is written with compassion, and gives advice on various psychiatric medications and designer pharmaceuticals which have tended to improve life for millions. Although this illness can indeed completely "ruin" a life, it is perhaps more positive to think in terms of "transformation". Perhaps "schizophrenia" is merely a transformation or stage that certain individuals must go through to reach unto the next level on the Great Chain of Being.

"The apple...it seems, doesn't fall to far from the tree":
My son was diagnosed this past January(2004)with "Acute Schizophrenia". I immediately began my research at the local library. Inundated and very naive, I checked-out any/everything related to "Schziophrenia". When I got to Dr. Torrey's book, I felt a sense of "understanding". He writes about the "common" everyday encounters one can have, as well the, "not so pleasant" issues in dealing with schizophrenia. I feel his book is consumer/user friendly and easy to read. My journey is far from over, but Dr. Torrey's knowledge and insight has made the "light at the end of my tunnel" seem much brighter and hopeful! My "Heartfelt" love, truly goes out to all who are dealing with mental illness.