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W I T H O U T M A S K
Developing Schizophrenia
© Sandra Kelsey 2001
The language of the schizophrenic is unique to them and is the key, not only to their survival, but to reaching them. The schizophrenic sufferer has cleverly crafted this unique language in order to distance themselves from a world they've learned not to trust. And the language is the same, basically, with all schizophrenics, which is why they can talk to each other; they all use the same symbols, images, words, numbers, etc., to represent the same fears.
Their world is very imaginative and brilliantly crafted, so brilliantly crafted, in fact, that they have collectively mystified the most educated and brilliant minds of our time, or any other for that matter. There are those, however, such as Dr. Jack Rosberg and Dr. John Reid, and a host of other insightful compassionate humanitarians, who've managed a glimpse into their world enough to realize there is hope for them, that it is not biological in origin, and that somehow, someday, the breakthrough will come. But, I don't think anyone ever dreamed it would come from someone making a break through from the other side as has Tracey May. And the proof of the pudding is not only the fact that she has completely recovered but that she can talk to and communicate with other sufferers because she knows the language; because she's been there.
In the case of Tracey May, the language was developed from a very early age, probably about the same time most kids are learning to communicate with those around them in order to find out more about their world. Since age three is as far back as Tracey can remember and the fact that she was already so traumatized by then, and because of the nature of the events that were occurring at that time, we are assuming that she had, very possibly, suffered emotionally since the day she was born. It's highly unlikely that her family would nurture her in a loving way for the first three years and then suddenly abandon her. In other words, by the time Tracey was three years old she was already using the language as an escape mechanism. She was already familiar with the need to run and hide, and because at three she could not do that physically, her only recourse was to escape into her mind.
Which is why the language develops in the first place; a young child cannot get up and run away from it's parents or guardians. They cannot talk back authoritatively. They cannot make demands and have full confidence that the other person will comply if they don't want to. Of course, if a child is living in a loving environment the demands, even the unreasonable ones, will likely be met in an appropriate manner. But, if a child is in an environment where their caregivers are unbalanced, as in Tracey's case, they are completely at their mercy; except in their mind.
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