Please hear this: There are not 'schizophrenics.' There are people with schizophrenia.
The schizophrenic mind is not so much split as shattered. I like to say schizophrenia is like a waking nightmare.
Some people say I'm unique, that there aren't other people with schizophrenia like me. Well, there are people like me out there, but the stigma is so great that they don't come forward.
My experience is that when one is in psychosis, you're on a mission and nothing is going to stop you. At some level your brain is telling you you probably shouldn't be doing this, but you're on a mission.
Occupying my mind with complex problems has been my best and most powerful and most reliable defense against my mental illness.
In a way, I had a very good and normal childhood. I had loving and caring parents. But I had a lot of quirks or problems when I was growing up. I had phobias and obsessions.
