23 Jan Elinor Greenberg

“I had the opportunity to speak with…people who I believe had some form of schizophrenia and were very self-aware. [They told] me about their hallucinations and delusions in detail and that they knew what they were experiencing was not “real.”

The College Student—I walked out of one of my classes and saw another student from the class by the water fountain. I asked her why she left. She said:

I am struggling with schizophrenia. I still get hallucinations despite taking medications. The teacher and all the other students look as if they have the heads of animals. Even though I intellectually know that this is impossible, it was still disturbing. I couldn’t concentrate, so I left for a bit.”

We all suffer from personal and collective delusions, beliefs that are contrary to all evidence. Self-awareness is realizing what seems real is just a delusion and laughing it off.