Interview: Catatonic Schizophrenic

What blows my mind is that these two men could never have imagined that their brief conversation in this small room would be seen by 22 million people 61 years later.

“Could you make that clearer for me “ “No” I felt that

His body language and eye movements give off a vibe of being uncomfortably trapped in a prison of one's own mind and body that no matter how hard you try, you cannot escape. May he rest in peace.

I love his outfit and his calm demeanor. I want to give him a hug. I wish I could hear him play piano.

"People dislike me because I'm not completely like them" That is so sad

This is an old comment about this man that seems to have been lost: This man was my uncle. I'm not going to give any names, but for those of you who are concerned with how things turned out for him, not well. There's so much to address here. First let me say that he was being treated in this video with meds. Without the medication his mood ranged from complete delusion to catatonic. As for being gay, I don't think he had much of a sex drive at all. With or without meds. As for the idea that he was put here because he was gay by some unloving family, that's ridiculous. I don't have time to say all the things my family tried just to make his existence somewhat peaceful just for his own sake. My family had a couple of openly homosexual and lesbians in it even back in the sixties and with the exception of my mother's father no one gave a shit. My uncle suffered with meds and even more without. After forty some odd years, most of which he spent in institutions, he took his own life by way of drug overdose. By the way, the comment about the plot twist, he never had a piano was funny because he didn't. His seeming obsession with piano came and went as did obsessions with religion, especially the Catholic Church and government. As far as I know he couldn't play a lick. He was very ill at his best and a living shell at his worst. I hope that answers some questions because that's all I have to say on the matter. He's been gone since the late eighties and I really hope that other members of my family don't see this video, mostly because of the comments from people that somehow think they understand him better than the people who suffered with him. One last thing, I think people thought that he was talking about sitting or standing effeminately or something. No, he was talking about sitting or standing motionless for hours. Usually not even his facial expression would change but when it did it was usually related to something in his mind only. I really can't begin to tell you all how heartbreaking the whole thing was. He did seem intelligent and with meds he did remind me of a high functioning guy with autism I once met.

Watching this is so incredibly difficult. His internal preoccupation is palpable, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to focus on and answer the questions. From the beginning, I felt he spoke his truth, that he was there because he was "not like other people." I have worked in the field of mental health for over 20 years, especially with people with schizophrenia. And he is not wrong. Obviously, schizophrenia is a complex illness with both genetic and environmental risk factors. But, from a social perspective, one of the main experiences people with schizophrenia suffer from is that of not feeling quite like everyone else. And in many cases, the way they are treated by society and institutions, often as a nuisance or a menace, contributes to the sense of alienation. The loneliness of the illness is often what ends up killing them, and many people end up taking their own lives, either passively or actively. Also, I don't know if the interviewer is a psychiatrist or a psychologist, but his line of questioning is such bullshit, and he treated the guy with cold indifference, hostility, and suspicion. The interviewer knew exactly why the patient was there, but instead of trying to learn about his experience or provide him with comfort, he wasted his time by grilling the poor guy and condescending to him. UNACCEPTABLE! My heart is heavy with the grief for these people's experiences and with their families as well.

He has a great vocabulary! Schizophrenic or not, most people can’t talk in a kind of way this man does even for that time.

He speaks as though each word was a dollar and he is spending every word carefully.

Our son lost his battle with schizophrenia in 2015. The voices were always negative but, through his immense suffering, he remained a very gentle, kindly soul totally empathetic for people and animals. I love you son and am sorry for this terrible affliction.

Depression haunted my life from a very young age, and I was put on a bunch of SSRIs as a child in attempt to deal with it. None worked. Psychedelic mushrooms was brought to my attention. It was the first thing that actually had real effects. They should only be used with great care and respect.

"as soon as I express the belief that I do not belong in this hospital... which is a mental hospital.. then... those who dislike me want to find a worse place for me..." I find this line from the patient very heartbreaking in particular, because it goes to show how he was considerably aware regarding the world around him... Medicine and psychiatric science has come a very long way undoubtedly, although, I can't help but to feel we're all just as ignorant regarding schizophrenia as we were 50+ years ago. so subjective from patient to patient, and such a very complex disorder without a doubt.

“People dislike me because I’m not completely like them.” This line though…

This guy looks traumatized and extremely nervous and fearful. Can't help but feel sorry for him.

I was actually suffered schizophrenia from my teenage. Also suffered severe anxiety. Not until my dad's brother recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 6 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

I have watched the older videos of "therapy". Not one time has the therapist have any guidance or validation of his feelings. Just to be able to hold this man's hand and hug him, just to let him feel peace and happiness. Heartbreaking!!

"As soon as I express the belief that I do not belong in this hospital, which is a mental hospital, then those who dislike me want to find a worse place for me." That's so sad.

It's like he is listening to multiple answers in his head and then responds with the best answer.

To watch his eyes as he struggles to process and respond in spite of whatever voices or intrusive thoughts he struggles with breaks my heart. I feel so bad for people who are hindered their own minds like this.

It is amazing how you can see in his eyes that he is hearing seeing things, etc. and when he begins speaking about piano you can see his eyes be able to focus and move less, this makes me feel like speaking about something you love calms you and that calms his mind. It is just so interesting to see, this is amazing.