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There’s no denying that much of the content of my experience came from childhood experiences, my sexuality, my culture and situation within that culture, and so on. The content of hallucinations and fantasies is so fascinating it’s easy to overlook the question of how the frame of mind came about in the first place. People suffering from high fevers also sometimes suffer from hallucinations and delirious thinking, but I have yet to hear anyone suggest that understanding the content of such delirium could bring down the fever.

There’s also no doubt that psychologically traumatic events often trigger off a schizophrenic episode. Just prior to my crackup, my parents were splitting up, the woman I had been virtually married to took off with another man, my father was becoming more and more outlandishly famous. But these things and much worse happen to lots of people who never go crazy, and I doubt very much that maturity, insight, or understanding is the missing ingredient. Working out these “traumas” had nothing to do with my recovery. To tell you the truth, Anita, all three issues and lots else still puzzle the hell out of me.

So what is it that’s different about me and possibly you? The only decent answers I’ve been able to come up with are biochemical ones. Admittedly biochemistry is boring as mud next to psychology, religion, and politics, but the objective evidence for schizophrenia’s being biochemical is overwhelming. The literature I sent you via Headly is a good introduction if you’re interested in the details.

Simply realizing that the problem is biochemical can be enormously helpful. That in itself can cut much of the pain and frustration for you and your friends. No one’s to blame. Psychological heroics are not required to improve things. But beyond this the biochemical model gives you many helpful clues about how to get better.

As poetic as schizophrenia is, I know of very few cases in which poetry was of much help. It’s unlikely that any understanding you can reach, or love that anyone else can give you, will have much effect on how things go. As irrelevant as it may seem, what you eat, how much sleep you get, and similarly pedestrian factors are what matters.

While schizophrenia makes keeping any sort of schedule difficult, try to eat and sleep regularly even if you don’t feel like it. I got it into my head that I had attained enlightenment that made me above eating and sleeping. That was no help. My diet before I cracked up probably contributed to my problems. I was more or less vegetarian-macrobiotic for economic-political-religious reasons all mixed in together. While some people thrive on such a diet, it’s a disaster for me and many schizophrenics. A high-protein diet with a minimum of starches and sugars is generally best, though there are exceptions. Simply be aware that what you eat or don’t eat can be terribly important and try to notice which foods are helpful and which are harmful.

Coffee is nearly always bad for schizophrenics. Grass, hash, and especially the hallucinogens and speed can be real trouble. Good old alcohol, interestingly enough, can be helpful in a pinch. A good many alcoholics are probably schizophrenics who drink to keep schizophrenia away. Don’t depend on it too much, however, as there are better ways and you could end up with two problems instead of one.

There is nothing permanent about any of these restrictions. As soon as you get yourself together, you can do whatever you like. I now have coffee occasionally, and could probably eat tons of sugar and smoke lots of dope with no worse effects than anyone else. But for now, give yourself every break you can.

Some of the literature I’ve sent you deals with orthomolecular therapy. It’s a cumbersome phrase which simply means restoring normal brain chemistry with high doses of vitamins and minerals, dietary adjustments, and, more recently, allergy desensitization. This approach focuses on making “normal” behavior possible rather than