Schizophrenia is a terrible brain disorder to live with.
Symptoms can include everything from hearing voices, to abnormal social behaviors, and losing touch with reality.
There is no doubt that people living with schizophrenia have it hard. In fact, more than half of those diagnosed with this condition also struggle with substance abuse as a means to cope.
But there are some who have turned to something far less harmful to cope with their condition: ART.
The following pieces were created by people who live with schizophrenia. While some of them may be disturbing to look at, for their creators these works help to visualize the unrest in their heads. This makes the harsh consistency of their thoughts a little more bearable.
1. “Electricity Makes You Float” by Karen Blair
2. Notice the variety of moods, the cyst-like creatures growing out of this man’s head, representative of the confusion schizophrenia can sometimes bring.
3. These two photos were done by an unknown schizophrenic artist trying to capture the abstract nightmare of his thoughts.
4. This does look like a nightmare.
5. This insanely intricate drawing was done by Edmund Monsiel, an artist in the early 1900’s believed to have been suffering from schizophrenia.
6. This drawing was found in an old asylum, its artist was a paranoid schizophrenic.
7. A nefarious depiction of the affliction by Erik Baumann.
8. In 1950, Charles Steffen began compulsively making art like this on wrapping paper from inside a mental hospital. His obsession with transformation is very clear.
