Commentary on the Eden Express III

This will be my final post on schizophrenia. After reading Mark Vonnegut’s memoir, I have discovered how mysterious schiz actually is. The visions, hallucinations, and delusions of an affected person seemingly give them insight into a world of genius. Schizophrenia can also produce extreme bliss. Yet on the other end of the spectrum, the outlandish behavior and completely helpless loss of sanity make schizophrenia a curse that should never be wished upon another person.

There are two factors to solving the problem of schizophrenia: the origin of the sickness and its remedy. Anti-psyochtics and Thorazine seem to help in some cases, but not always. Mark Vonnegut claims that orthomolecular therapy is the way to go – all natural vitamins that correct biochemical deficiencies in the body. Although Mark “very likely owe[d] [his] own life to Thorazine,” he reasoned that the lack of risks with taking vitamins outweighed the numerous side affects of heavy drugs. Your body will simply dispose of anything harmful and will absorb the vitamins it needs in order to heal chemical imbalances. I personally am not well-informed enough to agree or disagree with Vonnegut. 

The origin of the disease continues to be an unsolved issue to this day. Some would say that it’s poetic, meaning that the symptoms occur strictly as a result of environment or socio-economic position. “Laing has called schizophrenia a reasonable response to an insane world.” Maybe some people realize the depravity of their lives, or the world in general, and go insane trying to prevent this existential crisis. Their hallucinations and dreams could even point to the specific environmental factors that led to the sickness. Nationalism, or extreme placement of identity in a specific cause, could also play into insanity. There are so many factors that support the theory of schizophrenia being a purely psychological response to one’s surroundings. At the same time, there is just as much evidence that the illness is purely scientific. It could be genetically inherited or just a result of chemical imbalances. Mark Vonnegut comforts a girl diagnosed with schizophrenia by saying, 

While there is certainly plenty to be upset about in these strange times, and as much as I tried to place the blame there when I went under, there is precious little evidence that our troubled world can be realistically blamed for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia occurs in all cultures, all times, displaying remarkable consistency…Translated to your situation: your mental health is not dependent of the moral, sociopolitical health of the world.

Again, I am not well versed enough to say whether I believe, like Mark, that schizophrenia is purely biochemical. But if I had to say, I would probably lean away from Mark’s hypothesis. If there is some way (and I believe there is) of reconciling the medical and social theories for schizophrenia, I would have to agree with that category.