Mental Health

Schizophrenia Might Affect Famous and Wealthy People Too

Here is a summary of what we know about this mental health condition so far and what we can do about it.

Introduction

I am inspired to write this piece after reading the poignant yet insightful “Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky,” edited by Joan Acocella. The book has many editions in English and several other languages, as documented on Goodreads. Here is the summary to give us a context:

“In December 1917, Vaslav Nijinsky, the most famous male dancer in the Western world, moved into a Swiss villa with his wife and three-year-old daughter and began to go mad. This diary, which he kept in four notebooks over six weeks, is the only sustained, on-the-spot written account we have by a major artist of the experience of entering psychosis. Nijinsky’s diary was first published in 1936 in a heavily bowdlerized version that omitted almost half of his text. ” Source

I also loved reading a different version in another language translated by Orçun Türkay who said “Nijinsky’nin Günlüğü, saf bilincin sınır tanımayan akışıyla, yeryüzü medeniyetine ilişkin derin bir sorgulama fırsatı sunuyor.” — [Nijinsky’s Diary offers an opportunity for deep inquiry into earth civilization through the boundless flow of pure consciousness.]

Schizophrenia does not discriminate against people’s status. It affects people from various different backgrounds, such as scientists, artists, philosophers, and businesspeople. It even affected famous, insightful, and wealthy people. Like the legendary Nijinsky, many more famous people experienced this condition.

For example, Vincent van Gogh, Syd Barrett, Eduard Einstein, Mary Todd Lincoln, Charles Bolden, Zelda Fitzgerald, Peter Green, Jack Kerouac, Veronica Lake, Rufus May, Gene Tierney, John Nash, Lionel Aldridge, Ingo Schwichtenberg, Skip Spence, Darrell Hammond, and Tom Harrell are just a few famous people who deeply suffered from schizophrenia as recorded in the literature and news.

According to the World Health Organization, schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder affecting 20 million people worldwide.

A Review of Schizophrenia

After many years of scientific research and despite growing technologies in neuroscience and mental health fields, we still don’t know the root causes of schizophrenia. Worst of all, there is still no cure for this condition.

Schizophrenia is a mental health disease that can lead to a lifetime of suffering upon diagnosis. However, the symptoms are treatable with medication and mental health therapies.

Schizophrenia was identified as an illness over a century ago. However, as pointed out in this paper, “the first relatively specific treatment of schizophrenia started about 60 years ago with the antipsychotic chlorpromazine. All currently approved antipsychotic drugs block dopamine receptors, indicating that manipulation of dopaminergic function is fundamental to therapeutic response in psychosis.”

Even though the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, some studies associate it with a genetic predisposition. Other hypotheses include changes in brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) such as dopamine and glutamate, viruses, and environmental effects such as toxins that may affect brain chemistry.

Common symptoms reported in the literature are hallucinations, delusions, abnormal motor behavior, social withdrawal, lack of noticeable motivation, lack of ability to enjoy life (anhedonia), irritability, disturbed sleep, disorganized thinking, and speech.

The common risk factors are a family history of schizophrenia, exposure to viruses and toxins, birth and pregnancy complications, and the use of psychoactive and psychotropic drugs.

It is a problem that those who have schizophrenia might not be aware of their situation. Therefore, it is essential for their partners, parents, relatives, friends, colleagues, and medical professionals to refer them for assistance. In addition, it is known that suicidal thoughts are common for people living with schizophrenia.

Some patients might show subtle signs, and some depict overt symptoms. The critical point is to create awareness with care for loved ones who experience the symptoms.

To prevent harm in extreme situations, we need to use the utmost care to help the patients using emergency procedures. Many countries have emergency processes and procedures for mental health patients. For example, in the US, we can call 911, and in Australia, 000.

If untreated, schizophrenia may result in severe issues that affect many aspects of our lives. The most common ones are depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, alcohol and drug abuse, financial problems, social isolation, and homelessness.

Even though there is no known way of preventing schizophrenia from its manifestation, mental health care professionals can create treatment plans to address symptoms, prevent recurrences, and reduce intensifying symptoms.

Conclusions

After reading the biography and diary of the famous Nijinsky, who was the most famous male dancer in the Western world, I understand that Schizophrenia does not discriminate against people whether they are fit, unfit, rich, or poor. Nijinsky was so fit that spectators couldn’t believe his floating moves defying gravity. He also had a sharp intellect and a loving personality.

Despite a century of research, there is still no cure to eliminate schizophrenia. However, there is excellent progress in understanding the symptoms and creating treatment plans. Fortunately, pharmacologists design medications and medical practitioners use mental health therapies to reduce symptoms and prevent relapses.

By considering the documented risk factors for schizophrenia and knowing that some substances cause temporary psychosis, in my opinion, refraining from addictive drugs that change the brain chemistry might be a useful precaution to reduce the risks of developing mental health conditions.

Recognizing schizophrenia can be an issue for people who have the condition. Hence there is a critical role for the people around them to create awareness and take necessary precautions.

Our mental health is critical for our survival and well-being. Unfortunately, mental health conditions such as schizophrenia affect both the patients and the people around them, such as loved ones, caregivers, and community members. Therefore, we need to see this as a social issue and approach the problem with care, empathy, compassion, and collaboration.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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