with schizophrenia have loving
mothers, and it is now known that
there is a large genetic component
to the illness.
Hundreds of studies, many
of them conducted in Denmark
because of that country’s exten-
sive medical and adoption records,
have shown that if one identical
twin has the illness, then the other
twin (who shares all the same
genes) has approximately a fifty
percent chance of having the same
diagnosis – dramatically higher
than the one percent risk in the
general population. This remains
true even if the twins are raised
apart in separate homes, thus
showing the important role played
by genes. Also, the close relatives of
patients with schizophrenia often
have a mild, sub-clinical version
of the illness known as schizotypy,
which is characterized by uncon-
ventional beliefs and experiences,
such as believing they can read
minds or feeling that part of their
body is unreal. Of course, having
said all this, if the identical twin
of a patient with schizophrenia
has only a fifty percent chance of
having schizophrenia, this means
that the environment must play a
big role too.
This is borne out by research
which shows that a history of
childhood abuse is found in the
majority of patients with schizophrenia. The clear implication is that
when a genetic vulnerability is combined with an early traumatic
experience, the outcome, in many cases, is schizophrenia. This idea of
“I will write a lot because I feel that
I am going to be destroyed. I do not
want destruction...” The brilliant
dancer and choreographer Vaslav
Nijinsky (1890–1950) suffered a mental
breakdown that ended his career in- Diagnosed as schizophrenic,
Nijinsky was unsuccessfully treated by
Eugen Bleuler in Zurich and sent to
a sanatorium in nearby Kreuzlingen.
His diary, written between January and
March 1919, is an extraordinary record
of mental disintegration.
SCHIZOPHRENIA