"The Quiet Room" by Lori Schiller and Amanda Bennett

Essay by mvo5020High School, 12th gradeA-, May 2007

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The Quiet Room“ ‘She must go to hell.’ ‘She will be punished.’ ‘She must be punished.’ ” (151 Schiller, Bennet) Imagine one day, when after living a normal life for years, hearing voices screaming statements of negativity and pure hatred unceasingly throughout the day and night. This is but one of the many symptoms a girl named Lori Schiller had to confront daily during the course of the life altering disease known as schizophrenia.

Like all disorders, in order to be diagnosed correctly, the patient must fall in line with the criteria in accordance to the DSM book. Under Criteria A of schizophrenia, Lori falls under the category of delusions, hallucinations, and grossly disorganized behavior. Under the delusions category, Lori experiences what is known as grandeur, meaning she believes she has abilities which she does not posses. In Lori’s case, she believes she can fly: “‘I know you aren’t going to believe this, Daddy, but I can fly.’”

(50 Schiller, Bennet). Under the hallucination category, Lori experiences both auditory, as well as visual hallucinations: “The Voices were screaming that I was going to die, and not by my own hand this tie.” (136 Schiller, Bennet); “. . .I grabbed a nearby golf club and began beating the dog furiously . . .Then he stopped barking . . .there is one big problem with this memory: It isn’t true: It never happened.” (105 Schiller, Bennet). Lastly, in accordance to the disorganized behavior category, Lori fell into the category of unpredictable and untriggered agitation, meaning at random moments, the patient feels a sudden impulse of anger towards whoever or whatever: “‘Did you say you wanted that on the rocks sir?’ I asked him demurely. Then I poured the whole thing into his lap.”The sad thing about disorders is how much...