I know he did, at times, or maybe even many of the last years. I am no expert on schizophrenia, but I imagine those with the positive symptoms may have an easier time than those with more of the negative ones. Anyway, I think bipolar disorder (the severe types) can be harder to manage, in some ways, without medications. And yet we with bipolar disorder have the advantage of sometimes enjoying periods of remission, even years of it.

I think that "medication" for mental illness has to be looked at far beyond just pills or injections. The significance of "other" treatments is often overlooked or minimized. I'm not talking about snake oil, though. I don't regard my thoughts further above as snake oil.

By the way, I have a true story some here may not believe. [That's their choice.] My husband once gave Nash a ride to the local train station. My husband, in typical European way, picked him up because he was hitchhiking. I used to work within walking-distance of his house. We'd see him around the area, every so often with his wife. I'd see his son walking around, too. Unfortunately, Nash and his wife died in a car crash on their way home from the airport. Nash had apparently traveled somewhere to receive an award. His life was apparently enriching enough, I believe - despite his mental illness. The question is: Can we find a way to make our lives enriching enough, despite our challenge(s)?

My answer has been "Yes"! And I stick by that. When I fall, I get up and dust myself off and move forward again. Repeat. Move forward. Repeat.

So what if someday I become the town's "nut case" in a small Czech or French town? So what, if I'm enjoying my situation and doing the best that I can do. Nash certainly had his times, over the years. There are stories of him doing wild stuff at the university. Yea, people were sometimes shocked (and maybe some even laughed), but he was a brilliant man. He surely let those isolated incidences roll off his back. Why not let them roll off your back? C'est la vie!

I'm about to set off on an adventure in the not so distant future. I was frightened about it for a while. Now, I seem to have a peace about it and am excited, in a good way. Not that I won't have some rise in anxiety as the train draws closer, but that's not a bad thing. What's bad is digging a hole and climbing into it.

There is a popular old Czech song, called "C'est la vie". [Other songs have the same title.] The famous Czech singer Karl Gott sang it. The lyrics are of an older man looking at a youthful woman. She tells him he's too old, but he says that it doesn't matter to him because he has no fear of aging or death. He always feels young enough. He enjoys life as if he wasn't old or frail.

Let us enjoy life and not let our illness drag us down. We are well if we tell ourselves we are well enough, and enjoy the moment and what's good, because there's plenty of good and wellness, and gifts out there to be had.

By the way, later in life Karl Gott sometimes changed the lyrics a bit with the young lady telling in, in the end, that "Maybe you're not old enough for me! "