How to Conquer Schizophrenia

I am currently 60 years old, working at a megabank, enjoying my leisure time, and living life to the fullest. I developed schizophrenia at the age of 26, and after a six-month hospitalization and three months of recuperation at home following my discharge, I returned to work and have been there ever since.

I have previously written about "The Half-Life of a Megabanker Who Faced Mental Health," "The Onset of Schizophrenia," "The Darkness and Light of Schizophrenia," "Encounters Under Schizophrenia," and "Schizophrenia and Christianity." Here, as a culmination, I will write about how to conquer schizophrenia.

Around the age of 30, I discovered the true pleasure of reading, gained a best friend, and became a Christian, which began to form the core of who I am today. At the same time, due to the medication for my schizophrenia, I was extremely sleepy even during work hours, and I spent about 10 years performing my duties while battling that drowsiness.

Back then, when I got home, I would eat dinner and spend my time reading the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, books by Konosuke Matsushita, or books about Christianity. Also, after work, I would take private English lessons from native speakers and enjoy talking about various things with friends while having meals together.

Looking back now, I cannot help but feel that the accumulation of such a lifestyle was also useful in the treatment of my schizophrenia. Of course, there is no medical basis for this, nor was I told this by a doctor, but in a sense, I think that living positively helped to brighten and stabilize my state of mind.

That said, it was by no means the case that everything went smoothly. When I was in my early 30s, I felt so good that there was a period when I stopped taking my medication without getting permission from my doctor. Then, gradually, states of mania and depression began to become prominent.

I would suddenly feel high-tension, and then there were times when I would fall into deep depression. When I told my doctor, I was scolded and told, "You must absolutely continue taking your medication." Since then, the dosage has been gradually reduced, and now I am taking the minimum amount to prevent a relapse.

However, I have not been completely cured even now. Even today, at work, I sometimes feel that what I have in my mind is known to my colleagues, and I sometimes feel that what I have talked about with people in my private life is known at work.

When I tell my doctor, I am told, "It is because of the illness," but when I talk to my best friend of 30 years, she clearly denies it, saying, "That is absolutely not true!" Because I place my full trust in her, this one sentence helps me sort out my feelings.

From the time I turned 40, the drowsiness during work also weakened, and I became able to perform my duties smoothly. Also, with age, I think that my long years of reading and my Christian faith have gradually made my personality more well-rounded. Of course, even now at 60, I have by no means become a saint, but the sleepiness during work has disappeared.

One more point I must touch upon is English. When I was a student, I attended an English conversation school. It seems different now, but 40 years ago, English classes at school were centered on reading, and although my grades were good, my conversation was completely hopeless. At the English conversation school, I could not understand "How old are you?" and I started from the introductory course together with junior high school students and elderly people.

When I was a senior in university, I was in an advanced course at the English conversation school, but I could not say that I had improved much. However, the Japanese teacher there told me, "Go travel around America by yourself," so I traveled alone in America for two weeks.

With "Chikyu no Arukikata" (a Japanese travel guidebook) in one hand, I traveled from New York to San Francisco by plane, and on the way back, I crossed the American continent from San Francisco to New York by Greyhound bus. Of course, I made the reservations for the plane and the YMCA by myself. I wanted to experience the vastness of the American continent, and I inevitably had conversations with Americans.

When I returned to Japan after two weeks, I was talking about my experiences for 30 minutes to an American teacher at the English conversation school. Indeed, it was a meaningful trip.

Even after I started working at the bank, I continued to take private lessons, but there was no significant progress relative to the tuition fees. However, around the age of 40, I began to show my face at the activities of the English community at my church. These include the English choir, Sunday Reading Faith Sharing, Faith Formation, Praise and Worship Meeting, and Rosary Prayer Meeting.

I would prepare in advance for each of these, and I began to enjoy having lunch in the church cafeteria while conversing in English with Filipinos and Americans, and my English ability gradually began to improve. All of these activities are carried out free of charge within the church, and I feel very happy because I often learn from them about Christianity, which I am very interested in. As my English ability improved and I became able to converse with Filipinos and Americans, I gained confidence.

Some readers might wonder, "Weren't you going to talk about how to conquer schizophrenia?" For me, the way to conquer it is to take the prescribed medication, work at the bank, be close to my best friend, read books, deepen my Christian faith, speak English, and enjoy life.

Some of you may think this is an unreliable way to conquer it, but if it is of any help to you at all, there is no greater joy than this. Thank you for reading this far. (End)