Schizophrenia

W hen Molly first got home from the hospital, she felt great. The medication was finally work ing, and the angry voices in her head shouting at her and telling her to hurt herself were gone. She no longer believed that her room was bugged with microphones and that spies were trying to steal her thoughts. She was beginning to feel like her old self again, and she was ready to go back to her old life.

However, Molly quickly realized that returning to her old life would not be as easy as she had thought. The antipsychotic medication that she was taking frequently made her feel sleepy, and she had also begun to gain weight. When Molly catted up her old friends from high school, she realized that they had moved on with their lives while she had been in the hospital.

Her best friend, Bernice, had gone off to col lege and now had a new social life that did not include Molly. Also, Molly noticed that Bernice seemed awkward when they talked on the phone — as if she was afraid that Molly would begin talking about spies again or something. As for Molly's parents, well, they seemed to be walk ing on eggshells around her, as if they were afraid that she could “snap” at any time.