This Is What It Feels Like To Have Schizophrenia

It's important to put yourself in someone else's shoes sometimes to be a better ally.

Schizophrenia is a serious brain disorder that typically begins in early adulthood, with as many as 51 million people diagnosed worldwide.

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Hairam's brother was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, and Daniel has family members who have dealt with the disease so they both wanted to learn more about it.

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Watch these two experience what it's like to have schizophrenia!

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This is Autumn. She's an artist, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2015.

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She says she can identify two particular voices that she used to hear from her past.

Autumn said one voice called her name multiple times, while another told her to go to places.

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Auditory hallucinations are just one of the things people with schizophrenia may experience.

Hairam and Daniel started the auditory hallucination simulations, and after just minutes, Daniel found it extremely hard to concentrate.

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The simulation was developed by Dr. Patricia Deegan, who has a history of auditory hallucinations.

Meanwhile, Hairam noticed she couldn't get sentences out as she heard all the voices in her head. It was hard to put words together and explain what she was thinking.

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"Wow, one of them just told me I'm disgusting."

The next day, Daniel said he could still hear some of the negative phrases he kept hearing in the auditory simulation, like "you eat shit" or "you stink."

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He noticed all those negative thoughts had really affected him.

Hairam said she discovered how difficult it is to hear through the voices, and it wore her out.

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She also said it was a totally eye-opening experience that made her feel closer to her brother.

We should all learn more about this disease so we can be more empathetic to people with schizophrenia.

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