| One of the best things parents can do when their | | | | spirits. There is a calmness and acceptance in these |
| child receives a diagnosis of schizophrenia is to not | | | | countries. Time moves slower. From a Western |
| "freak out." This is easier said than done because the | | | | perspective, we always have one eye on the clock. |
| forces all around you if you live in an industrialized | | | | Contrast this under-resourced approach with the |
| Western country are conspiring to make you do | | | | Western medical diagnosis of schizophrenia as a brain |
| exactly that. The doctor delivering this diagnosis will | | | | disease. A 1997 Auburn University research study has |
| be grim-faced and un-encouraging, you can count on | | | | found that, rather than increase the sympathy and |
| it. Just repeating the term "schizophrenia" evokes | | | | kindness directed towards the patient, the opposite |
| horror movie images in most people's mind. So, from | | | | is actually true. People who believe that schizophrenia |
| the outset you've been dealt a double whammy with | | | | is a brain disease become more stigmatizing towards |
| the diagnosis and the way the doctor handles it. | | | | the person, thinking that they are actually helping. |
| The World Health Organization conducted a long term | | | | In fact, over-emotional involvement (freaking out) |
| survey of schizophrenia outcomes around the world | | | | may be because we in Western industrialized |
| and discovered that people with the best outcomes | | | | countries, particularly North Americans, do not have |
| (lowest relapse rates) often came from the poorest | | | | much of a belief system to fall back on. Instead, we |
| countries, the countries with the least resources to | | | | let others tell us what our beliefs should be. This |
| throw at the problem. Why is this? Author Ethan | | | | creates a tension within ourselves that spreads |
| Watters recently wrote in the New York Times that | | | | worry to those around us. As nations of immigrants, |
| these resource-poor countries coincidentally are the | | | | we long ago lost touch with the lives of our |
| same countries where there is low "expressed | | | | ancestors. We disparage shared myths. Pagan rituals |
| emotion" or EE. EE boils down to emotional | | | | are for the hopelessly ignorant. We conduct |
| over-involvement. Most parents, mothers especially, | | | | ourselves and our society as if we miraculously |
| are emotionally over-involved, and to be fair to us, it | | | | sprang from the head of Zeus, no messy loyalties to |
| seems necessary at the beginning in order to sort | | | | worry about. Rather than taking comfort that the |
| out what is going on. Intuitively necessary, perhaps, | | | | world has certain immutable truths, we have |
| but counter-intuitively I have found that my son | | | | fashioned our belief system on the latest science, |
| fared best when I just took a vacation, so to speak, | | | | sadly, which is no belief system at all. You may have |
| from meeting his every need as I imagined them to | | | | noticed that science has a habit of changing its mind |
| be. | | | | quite regularly. For the past forty years we are of |
| As an example of why emotional over-involvement | | | | the belief that schizophrenia is a brain disease, point |
| often leads to relapse, I offer myself up as a shining | | | | finale. It is a hopeless belief, rich in nothing. What do |
| example. After my son finally began to get better | | | | we have to take comfort in? That our relative has |
| and was able to slowly get off his medications and | | | | an unfathomable disease that bares no relation to the |
| start back at university by taking one course here | | | | complexities of the world in which we live? |
| and there, my husband and I got carried away too | | | | So, rather than freak out, get a life affirming belief |
| quickly by how well things were going. We began to | | | | system. It's that simple. Your belief system will carry |
| envision him back at university full-time, living away | | | | you through, when there are doubters all around you. |
| from home. We would speak positively to him about | | | | You will begin to see you relative in a rich glow of |
| the need to find something to do with his life along | | | | understanding. My belief system is moving closer to |
| the lines of what he was particularly drawn to, which | | | | the belief system of other cultures. Yes, I believe |
| is music. We began to push him to consider certain | | | | that our ancestors exert their influence over our |
| colleges. We took him on a college tour. We were his | | | | present lives. I believe the person who has been |
| cheerleaders. We quickly got relapse in response. He | | | | labelled "schizophrenic" is taking on the psychic burden |
| was not ready. | | | | of his environment. I believe that there are certain |
| These resource poor countries also have their own | | | | ceremonies that one can do to move the person |
| belief systems about mental illness. It may be that a | | | | forward. For parents, a quiet, but strong belief |
| bad spirit has invaded the person. This is | | | | system that has foundation in affirming the human |
| understandable to the family members and they feel | | | | spirit, goes a long way to helping your child come |
| that they can do something about it. There are | | | | through his crisis in better shape than when he went |
| ceremonies that can be undertaken to exorcise the | | | | in. |