The Molecule of More

CREATIVITY AND MADNESS

gave it the name “ambient abuse.” Everything was becoming too intense, and

he needed a break. He wanted to go someplace where no one could follow him.

By the time he returned home, paying a taxi driver $600 for the ride,

his parents had had enough. They told him that he couldn’t live in their

house unless he saw a mental health specialist. William, who was now

facing the prospect of becoming homeless, agreed. Under the supervision of

a psychiatrist he began taking an antipsychotic medication. His condition

improved, and he decided to enroll in a local community college, where he

studied graphic design. It was early in his recovery, and the plan was too

ambitious. After a few months he dropped out.

Over time, the medication progressively improved his symptoms, but it

was a challenge for his parents to persuade him to take it on a regular basis.

He continued to doubt that he had a psychiatric illness. His doctor switched

William to a new drug that didn’t require him to take pills every day. He

just needed to come in once a month for an injection, allowing him to experi-

ence uninterrupted treatment. On this formulation he improved to the point

where he was able to work full time as a cook and live independently in his

own apartment.

Schizophrenia^1 is a form of psychosis notable for the presence of hallu-
cinations and delusions. Hallucinations can cause a person to see things
that aren’t really there, feel their touch, even smell them. The most
common type of hallucination is the auditory hallucination—hearing
voices. The voices may comment on the person’s behavior (“You’re eat-
ing lunch now.”). There may be more than one voice holding a conver-
sation about the person (“Have you noticed that everybody hates him?”
“It’s because he doesn’t shower.”). Sometimes they’re command hal-
lucinations (“Kill yourself !”). Occasionally, the voices are friendly and
encouraging (“You’re a great guy. Keep up the good work.”) Friendly
hallucinations are the least likely to go away, which may be just as well.
Overall, they have a positive influence.

1 “Madness” is not a psychiatric diagnosis. We use it here as it’s used in conversa-
tion, meaning severe mental illness, including delusions and chaotic or disordered
thoughts. The diagnosis most commonly referred to by the informal term madness
is schizophrenia.