Day 5

I'm already beginning to recognize each and every person in the ward. The place is becoming more personalized for me, and many of the individuals are coming to recognize me as a recurring face. It feels great to walk down the aisle and greet people based on my individual interactions with them. To reiterate what was mentioned in a previous post, the people I've encountered here are among the most kind and humble I have ever come across. That being said, there are a few I have learned to actively avoid.

I was somewhat disappointed by the group I attended today. It was supposed to focus on coping skills and problem solving, but the discussion leader didn't seem too into the task at hand. He never stayed on one topic, constantly yawning and looking at his watch. The topic of hearing voices came about at one point. Most of the individuals attending the session attested to hearing voices, and some specified what their voices told them to do. One man stated that his voices told him to harm people, but that he did the best he could to suppress it. Another indicated that he was actively hearing voices at the moment, but that he could do a fairly good job of keeping his focus elsewhere. This is a great feat, I imagine, and one that probably takes a lot of effort and skill to master. At one point in the session, nearly half of the people attending began dosing off. This may either have occurred because the leader wasn't too enthusiastic and directive, or because of overmedication.

Though I have encountered people speaking aloud when no one is near them, today was my first encounter with a woman who was actively hallucinating a conversation. Whenever we spoke, she was very attentive and kind, but when left to herself, she began having conversations that involved multiple people and roles. She responded for each person involved in the conversation. At times, however, the voices in her head responded for her, so to the observer, it was like hearing only one side of a phone conversation. She was very sweet and had a lot of interest in talking.

My lesson of the day was learning that many of those suffering from schizophrenia are not completely detached from the world as we are led to believe, but rather, socialize in manners that are very similar to everyone else.

Oh, and don't get involved in competitive volleyball matches if you don't know what you're doing. Bruising is a likely side effect. :P