Part II of the discussion on mental illness presented in the previous issue.
Two Cases
Edward came to therapy because he could not get along with his wife. He believed his wife does not want him to be happy. “She does everything possible to make sure I am not happy,” he said. “I am most unfortunate to have married her. She is ruining my life.” As an example, he narrated how his wife would deliberately rattle the dishes in the kitchen so that he could not sleep. He believed that she is actually the devil in disguise. As he unfolded his story in subsequent sessions, it became quite evident that he had misgivings not only about his wife, but about almost everyone around him as well. He believed, for instance, that all South Indians were against him because he was a North Indian and were trying to get him into trouble. The woman he worked with at the office was deliberately plotting to get him dismissed from the job. Auto-rickshaw drivers were honking as he passed them on the road to deliberately annoy him. His cousin was turning his aunt against him. His mother-in-law was sending him bad vibes, so that he would get sick and die….
Maryann was brought to therapy by her husband. He had been noticing strange behaviours in her for a year. She believed that building contractors in the town were out to poison the water supply. She had to protect people against them. God had chosen her specially to do this. She alone had the power to thwart their attempts. She does this with her own specially concocted water that she carries around wherever she goes. She intrudes into the houses of her neighbours and blesses them, assuring them that they will be protected from an impending disaster. She would also see very big ants and scorpions and other dangerous creatures swarming the houses—her own and the neighbours’. When she visited homes, she would point to these non-existing creatures and warn the family to be wary of them. Her actions have alienated the neighbours and affected her family relationships. These beliefs and behaviours began a year earlier, when her husband, who was in the construction business, faced some serious setbacks. Some developers had cheated him, and he suffered a huge loss. The family was thrown into acute financial distress….
Both Edward and Maryann were suffering from Schizophrenia—Edward with paranoid delusions, and Maryann with paranoid and grandiose delusions, as well as hallucinations.
FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB
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