January is Schizophrenic

Though I missed most of the specials for psych week on Discovery Health, I was able to catch “Born Schizophrenic: January’s Story”.  This is the story of the Schofield family and their daughter January, called Jani, and their battle with childhood schizophrenia.  Jani is one of the youngest children to ever be diagnosed with schizophrenia.  Her family has been on a wild ride, to say the least.  An article about the show can be found here.

This scary disease has touched my life and has always fascinated me.  I had a good friend that became schizophrenic after the suicide of his mother. Though he always had emotional issues, it was confusing, frustrating, and frightening to watch him spiral downward into a world of hallucinations and bizarre thoughts.  He was a drug and alcohol abuser, so his medication was never taken correctly and did not help very much. He started out as an outgoing, oversexed, but disturbingly intelligent guy and became a violent cocaine addict, an alcoholic, and criminal that died in a state prison just a week before his 33rd birthday.

I had encounters with other schizophrenics, such as one of my college roommates that came to me straight from a stint at the institution.  That girl was the best roommate I ever had! She was the only one that could handle my eccentricities, shared common views on things, and left me alone! Plus, she had a TV. That is always a plus. 

What I have learned through the years is that this disease waxes and wanes like the moon.  It is a chameleon. It is a shark and a mouse.  It manifests itself differently in everyone affected.  If you’ve met 50 schizophrenics, you haven’t seen it all. With each individual there does seem to be a disjointed cycle of lucidity and madness. You get to know the signs and understand what they are saying in times of utter madness. You learn to brace yourself and put on your “dealing with a schizo” persona. But sometimes, like a scorpion hiding in the sand, it strikes without warning leaving you feeling panicked and paralyzed.

This is definitely what Jani’s parents are feeling.  From seven days after her birth when she completely stopped sleeping, Jani was not a normal child.  At first they thought she was just a genius, pointing to different body parts at 5 months.  From what I’ve learned over the years, it seems severe biological mental illness (especially schizophrenia) accompanies a high level of intelligence.  Here are just a few famous schizophrenic ‘geniuses‘:

John Nash, subject of the film A Beautiful Mind.
Jack Kerouac, American writer and artist
Syd Barret of Pink Floyd
William Chester Minor, creator of Oxford English Dictionary
Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist

Unfortunately, Janis illness got her removed from school permanently in first grade.  Violence towards herself and other children was the main reason for this.  She has been known to choke herself and try to jump out windows.  The family actually has two apartments so that her younger brother Bodhi is safe from her. 

After years of different diagnoses, at age 6, Jani was finally diagnosed with schizophrenia.  Jani goes to school now an hour a day by herself, but still has trouble concentrating for that long.  Her parents have created a group for parents of schizophrenic children. As a result Jani has been able to spend time with children like herself.

I can’t imagine the hell that parents of these young children go through on a daily basis.  I have only encountered schizophrenic adults. They became schizophrenic as a result of a trauma in their teens.  Children haven’t the life experience to understand what is ‘normal’ to properly separate what is real and what isn’t.  We can only hope that someday effective treatments become available.