Nelson C sez, "Daryl Cunningham (a student mental health nurse based in London) is working on a comic book called Psychiatric Tales, due out in early 2010. On his LJ he posts a chapter on schizophrenia."
Schizophrenia (Thanks, Nelson!)
Mental health nurse's comic about schizophrenia
Nelson C sez, "Daryl Cunningham (a student mental health nurse based in London) is working on a comic book called Psychiatric Tales, due out in early 2010. On his LJ he posts a chapter on schizophrenia."
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This is a really well done and sensitive portrayal of schizophrenia. I've got a very good friend who developed schizophrenia in his late teens, and I can affirm that this is absolutely spot on.
Thanks for posting it, and I look forward to the book!
Noble idea, seemingly well executed.
Good on you, sir.
I'm glad you posted this.
It is very well done and concise.
awesome. very near and dear to me.
This is very nice, very accurate. Could be a useful resource for people with schizophrenia, or their families :)
Schizophrenia is a disease that affects perception through the five senses - how the outside world is perceived, the qualia.
If your world as you perceive it, were to behave in the way a lot of schizophrenics perceive it, you'd go crazy too. Mailboxes that talk to you, biblical visuals that accompany speech from your friends, dining room tables that seem to have no top on them.
Whenever your local news reporters use the term as a shorthand for 'split personality', call them up and berate them. Do it over and over and over, until they're scared of using the term incorrectly.
This is a beautiful piece of work. It doesn't talk down at you and yet it encapsulates the key points about the illness so well. I hope when published, the book gets the awareness it deserves. It certainly can be a good education tool about Schizophrenia.
Since submitting the suggestion, I've realised that Daryl Cunningham has put up chapters on other disorders on his LJ. Check out the one on self-harming.
so doing crosswords gives you schizophrenia?
just kidding, an excellent comic, unfortunately too many people see it as a jeckyl and hyde illness, education is the key and this comic is going in the right direction.
As a psychologist who specializes in schizophrenia, I found this quite a nice depiction of the disorder.
I did my MA thesis on schizophrenia and violence, and while the author of the comic is pretty accurate in most of his contentions (e.g. that schizophrenics have the same demographic propensity for violence as healthy individuals, specifically drug use), there are studies which suggest that schizophrenics are more likely to be minorly violent against family members (like hitting or biting), and of course health care workers, though a lot of this may have more to do with frustration rather than the symptoms of the disorder itself.
As sad as it is, sometimes people don't shun people with mental problems because of the stigma. Sometimes it's because they have mental problems.
Thank you for posting this. It is easy to read, well illustrated and compassionate. I hope that when it is published BB will have another post so that we don't forget to pick it up.
As one of the commenter's on his site pointed out- We have cured Mental Illness in the US by getting rid of Mental Health Hospitals.
looks heavily indebted to David B.'s Epileptic.
Self-referential FTW!
Which came first, this find or the later post about comics in the classroom? This looks like a good example of the type of comic book that would be useful.
This comic is very touching. In the past 2 years I have learned more about mental illness than I ever thought I would, and it is a relief to see schizophrenia presented in this way. Too often it is not, and misinformation abounds.
That is pretty accurate with one exception. Friends and family don't drift away, they're driven away. A relationship with a schizophrenic eventually requires more time and effort than any one person possesses. My sister dated a schizophrenic. She was extremely patient but it wasn't good enough for him. He decided that his wellness was her responsibility. She had to drag him to the therapist and nag him to take his meds. One night they went to a party where he met a girl, they declared each other soulmates and ran off together. My sister and their friends spent 2 weeks looking for them before giving up. I have no idea if either of them are still alive.
I had a couple of schizophrenic coworkers when I worked in the hospital. They stayed on their meds, at least for the fifteen years that I was there. They were a bit odd affectually, but two of the pleasantest people you could ever hope to meet. As the Frankenstein monster would say - Drugs good!
stay close to your people and the disease eventually relinquishes control.
It's heartening to see so many positive comments about Psychiatric Tales (out from Blank Slate in early 2010). The article needs one correction. I'm not a student nurse. I did two years of a mental health nurse course in the UK, but was unable to finish the final year, because of my own mental health issues (anxiety/depression).
I have worked for many years in the health sector though, and currently work at a residential home for the elderly.
That's a fairly insensitive and broad generalisation. I lived with a schizophrenic friend for about 4 years moving from one place to the next together because we enjoyed each others company.
Whilst there were times that his illness did require me to adjust how we lived (taking the $5 fold up chairs inside so they wouldn't get stolen from our 2nd story balcony whenever I wasn't using them) he was certainly a far better flat mate than a lot of people I've lived with. He also remains a very close friend of mine. Just wish I saw him more often.
The bit about difficulty in earning a living really hit home. I've been bullied out of just about every job I've had. Maybe it's my fault for choosing the jobs I did: office jobs full of "alpha male frustrated standup comics" who specialize in put-down humor, and mean-spirited women who specialize in cigarette breaks and gossiping about whoever they perceive as strange or different.
I've tried ignoring it; it just got worse. I tried complaining to mgmt, that made it REALLY worse.
Now I'm unemployed, and wondering if I can find a job as a lighthouse keeper, far away from abusive co-workers.
The bit about difficulty in earning a living really hit home. I've been bullied out of just about every job I've had. Maybe it's my fault for choosing the jobs I did: office jobs full of "alpha male frustrated standup comics" who specialize in put-down humor, and mean-spirited women who specialize in cigarette breaks and gossiping about whoever they perceive as strange or different.
I've tried ignoring it; it just got worse. I tried complaining to mgmt, that made it REALLY worse.
Now I'm unemployed, and wondering if I can find a job as a lighthouse keeper, far away from abusive co-workers.