During the periods when my mother would fall into a cycle of laughing, babbling, and crying to herself Mamastella would say, “She’s having a nervous breakdown,” or “She’s having a spell.” What exactly did that mean?? Bewitch was in syndication during the seventies and I knew that the main character Samantha casted spells and so did her witch relatives. Were the “spells” a curse? A form of witchcraft? Could someone put a spell on me?? When your 8 years old, you have to figure it out for yourself. For the readers of this blog however, I will offer the explanation below.

So what is Schizophrenia? How is it defined by professions in the field of mental health?  I will use small portions based on the symptom description in the (DSM IV) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental Disorders ed 4. First, Schizophrenia falls under the category of “Psychotic Disorders.” Some (but not all) of the symptoms are: distortions in thought content (delusions); perception (hallucinations that can be audio or visual); language and thought process distortions; and restrictions in the range and intensity of emotional expression (affective flattening) (APA, p. 299).

So during my Ruby’s episodes of riding an emotional rollercoaster, where was she? She seemed far away. I would pull her on her dress and ask, “Momma what’s wrong?” Sometimes, the answer was short and coarse, “Nothing!” Her face would evolve from a jag of laughter as if she was listening to a friend telling a good joke and I had been the interloper who walked in at the wrong time.

Other times, the tears would rip out my heart. “Momma, what’s wrong?” Ruby’s response, “Nothing,” but without the bitterness and pain. I would sit silently waiting for her to return.

by Deviant Art at http://vipinraphel.deviantart.com/art/tears-of-the-son-243850668

BTW: Do not use the short definition provided above to diagnose friends or relatives or yourself. The entire description for Schizophrenia in the 4^th edition ranges from pages 297-314 +.