Howdy!
Did you know as many as 27% of individuals who are chronically homeless suffer with schizophrenia?
This month, we are interviewing Esmé Weijun Wang, a New York Times bestselling author. In her book, “The Collected Schizophrenias,”, Esmé shares her journey from being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teen to learning she had schizophrenia 12 years later.
(You can register for free using the Zoom link at the bottom of this email).
In this excerpt from her book, Esmé describes experiencing visual hallucinations while working as a lab researcher at Stanford:
For one season, I saw shadowy demons darting at me from all angles, and I couldn’t control my response, which was to jump to the side or duck or startle at things that no one else could see.
If I was with someone, I’d pretend afterward that nothing had happened, and usually my companion or companions who knew of my diagnosis would generally pretend that I hadn’t just ducked, rather dramatically, for no reason. But I was mortified.
It didn’t matter how pulled-together I seemed when I was dodging specters that no one else could see. I knew that I looked crazy, and that no amount of snappy dressing could conceal the dodging.
Because such movements were a necessary concession to my craziness, I responded by trying even harder to seem normal when I wasn’t being assailed by hallucinations. I went dancing. I drank Jameson on the rocks and ate potato skins in Irish bars and pizza joints. I did all the normal things I could think of. (Page 56-57)
Next week, we will share another excerpt of Esmé’s book.
Have a great week!
Peace,
Ryan
