Originally Posted by Mutt

yep - a good childhood friend of mine developed schizophrenia - i came back from school and he called me up and I went out with him, just for a burger and beer - and it was obvious to me something was very different and wrong with him. his parents and mine were close friends so his mom called the next day and asked me if I had noticed a change in him - i said most definitely and told her how he seemed to be off in another world, as if listening to voices that weren't there and he was mumbling to himself. I told my parents that from what I saw he was schizophrenic - all the classic symptoms and my mom told me about other things his mom had told her had been happening. They hadn't been able to get him to agree to go to a doctor. Not long afterwards he went further downhill and they did get him admitted and that was the diagnosis - schizophrenia. A horrible diagnosis - the past 20 years have been a sad hell for him - he was put on meds and they help a lot but he won't stay on them and then he goes off into his strange world again - a tragedy. He had the world by the balls - wealthy parents, good looking, good athlete, lots of friends. His friends deserted him fast.