Since childhood, I’ve been in constant contact with a close relation diagnosed with schizophrenia. Seeing medication fail to resolve symptoms like the hearing of voices and mood swings confounded and piqued my intellectual curiosity to the point that I wanted to understand the root cause of schizophrenia. From years of study and personal reflection, I currently hold the perspective that the root cause of schizophrenia–which in my opinion is only a psychiatry term to describe a repeated set of observed behaviors or actions–isn’t purely a biochemical imbalance but a way of being that stems from one’s thinking and belief system. With this perspective, schizophrenics have agency and can change how they experience life if they wish by examining and modifying their thinking patterns and beliefs about themselves and the world. Encountering someone with schizophrenia inspired a curiosity to understand the inner worlds of humans and is a major reason I desire to solve problems dealing with beliefs and thinking patterns.
