VIDEO: What it’s Like to Have Schizophrenia

The videos below are designed to give viewers a glimpse at what it’s like to have schizophrenia, a disorder that affects an estimated 1% of the U.S. population. The first video gives a peek into a day in the life of a schizophrenic, while the second clip attempts to convey what it’s like to suffer from auditory hallucinations.

The likelihood of a person suffering from schizophrenia committing a violent crime is largely overrepresented. According to a study published in PLoS Medicine, the high rates of violence associated with schizophrenia is due to high rates of drug use among schizophrenics, not the disease itself. Another paper concluded that rates of homicide among schizophrenics vary with the homicide rate in their region.

When a defendant is diagnosed with schizophrenia, the mental illness often takes center stage at trial. If ruled mentally ill, a defendant convicted of murder may be ineligible for execution, or even prison, instead being sent to a psychiatric hospital. Some notable killers diagnosed with schizophrenia have included Richard Trenton Chase, Priscilla Joyce Ford, Joseph Kallinger and Jesse Davis.