It's got to be said, I don't know anyone with a schizophrenic spectrum disorder who didn't have some stress in their background. My mother had a terribly traumatic childhood, and mine, while not as materially deprived was no bed of roses. My first memory that I'm clear on is the front windscreen of our car blossoming out as a silver spiders web, then collapsing in on us as the bullet intended for my father passed through. Later that day they firebombed our house, and we had to leave the country. That wasn't even the worst of it.

If I'd been raised in a cultural background where I didn't feel alien, if I wasn't worried about people murdering my parents, and if my mother hadn't been "mad," would I have ended up "mad"? It's hard to know. My brother survived. Perhaps he was stronger, or perhaps it is just that he is younger, and can't remember some of the stuff I do.

Anyway... yes, I think I am still working through some real baggage.