There lives a stranger, unheard and unseen but always in our lives. Travelling every distance we take, every road we cross, every bridge we burn. The stranger slowly becomes our friends, a family person and our companion for a lifetime. But more strangely, understanding this stranger takes time, drains our energies, kill our spirits, torment our strengths and distraught our beliefs. If understanding God without seeing him, talking to him, meeting him, or feeling him, and going ahead with believing him is the way of our culture, religion, custom and way of living, then understanding this stranger also is easy but only if you compare this stranger to God!
Schizophrenia is nothing but living with strangers all the time. Strange silence, strange circumstances and strange illusions. There are mild or paranoid ways of this disease capturing its victims for a life time. Its not just the patient but his or her family, friends and society to accept, understand and support is the most troubled challenge.
Its like having a child with slow learning, but as a parent refusing to accept his shortcomings till its time for the final call and treatment. Making our minds to accept the adversities of life is the most daunting task. Once we accept the adversity, our mind is free from confusion, obligation and tolerance grows and understanding happens. Unless we accept that there is a problem, we will not even be prepared to aim to find a solution. It is like a bug fix- unless you know the root cause of where the issue is, you cannot correct the piece of code.
Acceptance is at three levels- One by the patient himself, second by his dear ones, third by the enlarged society surrounding the troubled minds. Being schizophrenic is not a curse to someone, but not being accepted is definitely the worst curse.
Proper medication, counselling, periodically checkups, keeping physical health in control, proper diet, not taking to any habits like cigar or alcohol are few steps towards managing schizophrenia. The larger picture is that loved ones accept patients limitations, understand their thought process, respect their feelings, rightly interpret their expressions and showing them care and concern is the biggest medication schizophrenics can be blessed with.
They are like babies who need additional care,, hug them with love and they would respond to the world outside their imaginations. Slowly and steadily your love can dominate the illusions and free their minds from the strangers in their lives. Accept adversity and aim for solutions!!!
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