The Dual Myths of "Schizophrenia" and "Psychoses"

I will begin my discussion of schizophrenia with a statement from my book "Psycho'therapy' and the Stories We Live By: "One of the saddest expressions of a ruined identity are the words 'I am a schizophrenic.' To have one's total identity conflated with a fictitious disease that a person believes is incurable is tantamount to tragedy." (P.97) I will discuss the nature of the so-called symptoms of schizophrenia and then deconstruct the concept of the "psychoses" (defined as having lost touch with 'reality") of which schizophrenia is considered a prime example.