When lessons in school become real…

Being exposed to the field of Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychopathology has desensitized me from the bizarre and socially unacceptable behaviors and thoughts psychiatric patients display. For instance, a random greased-up person clad in mismatched clothes, holding a broom as if it were a gun and acting like a policeman in the middle of the road hardly makes me laugh but rather, fascinates me in an academic way. These ‘taong grasa’, which some label as ‘possible schizophrenics’, are a common sight on the route that I usually take when going around the metropolis.

Today, however, was the first time I’ve seen a person that possibly fit under an intriguing type of schizophrenia—

the catatonic type

On the way to tennis this morning, I passed by this individual who was standing across a church. She was bare naked, appeared to be clean with no apparent smudges of dirt (from my vantage point, at least) and was in the posture as if she was either trying to catch or reach for something with her right arm and hand, while the left was crossed against her chest. Her mouth was open and shaped like an “o” in a protruding fashion. The interesting part was she was completely still.

Seeing these cases on film and reading about them books is fascinating enough but witnessing it in the real, everyday context brought up certain states of pity, concern and responsibility. These people are sometimes mocked and made fun of as if exposing themselves is their intentional way of having a good time. I seriously doubt that’s the case. As a psychologist, I wondered if I should’ve done more than just watch and pass by—a tiny part of me felt so, but the rationale side asked in what way. Pathology is not even my field; I wonder how my psychiatry and clinical psych colleagues would feel.

On route home, she was no longer there. Wherever she is, I just hope the world won’t be too harsh on her.