
None of my friends or family or acquaintances know how I truly look at the world. It’s not pretty, I’ll tell you that. My outlook on everything tends to be incredibly bleak. But, then again, I have a plethora of “mental illnesses” that might contribute to my negative outlook. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD, schizo-affective disorder, and social anxiety disorder, to name a few. I’ve been hospitalized over 20 times since the age of 16 for these illnesses. I don’t feel crazy. I feel quite sane, really, but then again, does the madman think himself insane? I don’t think so. Maybe I am crazy, and am just deluding myself into thinking nothing at all is wrong with me. I tend to blame the unfortunate and tragic events of my childhood for most of my mental illnesses.
What I see when I look at people are creatures that would stop at nothing to bring harm to me or someone I love if given the chance. I see people who care about nothing but their own desires, and will kill and torture to fulfill these desires. When I look at humans, this is what I see usually. But I don’t see every human like this. There are some people that I’m drawn to, and I can sense that they are decent people. Of course, I realize that these words sound as though they are coming from a madman, and perhaps they are.
I’m terrified of police officers, or any person in some position of authoritative power. I just know that they’d ruin my life and send me to jail on a whim, just because they were bored and needed to ruin someone’s life to lighten up their day. And yes, I am perfectly aware that this thought is indicative of typical paranoia brought on by schizophrenia. But I can’t stop having these thoughts.
I realize that I have all these irrational, paranoid, deluded thoughts, but I can do nothing to stop myself from having them. Fortunately for me, I have the cognitive power to analyze these thoughts and understand that they’re not based in rationality. I realize they’re “crazy” thoughts. Most of the time. Sometimes they’re so overwhelming I can’t handle it, and I end up in the hospital.
I hear voices as well. Sometimes I can make out distinct voices, sometimes it sounds like I’m in a crowded auditorium, and everyone is whispering at once. I don’t get voices telling me to do things. If I do hear anything, it’s usually things that make no sense. What really bothers me is when I’m reading a book, and I’ll see the words “kill yourself,” or “you should die,” or “get the gun,” and when I read over it again, those words aren’t there. Sometimes if I’m watching TV, it will seem as though the characters on the show are not only aware of my presence, but unhappy that I’m near them. I don’t watch much TV as a result.
I absolutely loathe public places. People make me incredibly nervous. I can’t stand Wal-Mart, and would rather eat the gun than spend a minute in that place. I can’t stand crowded places. Every human I come into contact with is potential death for me. And yes, I realize how paranoid these thoughts are, and how irrational they seem, but I can’t keep myself from having these thoughts.
Religion has had a lot to do with my neuroses, in my opinion. Every foster family I’ve ever lived with as a child was a fundamentalist Christian family, preaching nothing but hellfire and doom and gloom, and teaching us that we’re horrible beings deserving of this kind of treatment. So a lot of my negativity stems from my religious experiences.
I know that I’m not “normal” by any means, but I don’t know about crazy. I don’t feel crazy. In fact, I think I’m more grounded in reality than most Christians. But then again, I’ve had a lot of practice with analyzing irrational, delusional thoughts.