The drama of the self: a case of schizophrenia

The Drama of the Self:
A case of schizophrenia

Tonight’s Maalala Mo Kaya episode, dubbed #MMKmalikmata is another case of paranoid schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by hearing voices, delusions and even seeing surreal eerie ghostly visuals. In the case of Victor played by Zanjo Marudo, he and his spouse Marites mistakenly assumed he is cursed by Aling Maring, the “mambabarang.”

Self-destruction is the constant theme of schizophrenia that often leads to suicide. In one scene, Victor is about to jump off the bridge because those tiny voices inside told him to do so. It is an invisible battle of the self.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month with RA 11036 or the Philippine Mental Health Law paves the way to possibly end the stigma of this invisible sickness while mental health is now being integrated to the government health care system.

I have no idea about schizophrenia until 2009 when I had the privilege to watch a play, SAAN TAYO IHAHATID NG DISYEMBRE at Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) in Manila. This two-act play was a closer look to what’s inside the head and what’s in a mind of the schizophrenic. Even a large projection of an MRI hemorrhaging brain was displayed onstage all throughout Act 2. As the curtain falls, I had a lot of questions then, about schizophrenia kicking for immediate answers.

Now, that cases of schizophrenia have been attended to, the medical world highly suggested that regular medication in a mental health facility is needed for a gradual recovery of the person. And, family support system is a big help, too.

The lesson I learned here is that, everytime I saw people in the streets and side walks na parang abandoned, nawawala na sa sarili in their greasy and tattered clothes, I quit calling them “baliw” as I used to. My brain tells me not to mock or judge them because once in their life they might have suffered too much depression and I’m sure they are still struggling to cope with that invisible voices and delusions – those enemy in their minds. If we can’t help them, at least, don’t hurt them.