Schizophrenia, Family Estrangement, And The Holidays

It’s a dreadful time of year, for me at least. I’d had have to say the last time the holidays were really at all enjoyable I’d have to have been 9 years old, and I’m 24 now. As my family has fallen apart and I have had to distance myself from my “loved ones”, the season has lost its charm and become a time of grief and volatility. While the Holidays are not pleasant for many people, my Schizophrenia has played a specific role in my family’s disintegration, and that adds an extra layer of bitterness.