There’s little dispute that schizophrenia is the most devastating kind of mental illness. Typical symptoms include a patchwork of paranoia, hallucinations, isolation, and fear. Treatment is often a regimen of medication and hospitalization. While the disease continues to confound even the world’s top doctors, many in society seem to have made up their minds about it.
Popular myths and stereotypes portray people who suffer from the disease as violent. Uncontrollable. Unable to live a complete life. For a small minority, that’s true. But for most, the diagnosis is quite different. Joe Wklenkski is a graduate student at MIT in nuclear engineering. This fall he is settling into his classes, his room, and research schedule.
Guests:
Joe Wleklinski, MIT student
Stephan Heckers, Director of the Schizophrenia and Bipolar Program at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.