David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Artist fights stigma of schizophrenia
By LORI CULLEN, Times Union
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
In June 2006, Amber Christian Osterhout learned that her brother, Josh, had been reported missing in Italy. The professor who called from Rome, where Josh had been studying during his last semester of college, had not seen him in class for a week.
"I couldn't help but feel like this was a dream, like this phone call was meant for someone else," said Osterhout, an art director at Shannon-Rose Design in Saratoga Springs. "My family and I spent days trying to piece together this nightmare."
Approximately one week later, Josh called. He was being chased, he told his sister, describing days running through brush, eluding capture in a thriller-like tale complete with plots and bombs. He hadn't called, he said, because he didn't know anything was wrong.
Six months after his return home, Josh was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a biological brain disorder that affects one in 100 people, according to Irene Levine, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and co-author of the newly released Schizophrenia for Dummies.
For the next two years, Josh's family struggled to secure the best treatment and help him accept his illness. Levine says the inability to recognize one's illness, or "a lack of insight," has recently been recognized as a symptom of schizophrenia instead of a patient's denial.
"At times, I thought I was losing my mind," Osterhout said about coping with her brother's illness. "You realize how much information is lacking and how bad the stigma is because now it affects you."
Gaining insight
Last month, Osterhout teamed up with National Alliance on Mental Illness ? New York State (NAMI-NYS) to unveil the educational art exhibit, Gaining Insight: An Examination of the Relationship Between Schizophrenia and Stigma.
"Amber's passion and concern show through her work. Her experience is universal with other family members," said Trix Niernberger, executive director of NAMI-NYS. "Although Josh is one person, he represents 2.4 million American adults living with schizophrenia."
The exhibit ? which features six paintings, three life-sized posters and audio ? can be viewed at http://www.gaining-insight.com. Osterhout hopes to present it in galleries and as the core of educational programs delivered in schools. She will donate 80 percent of print-sale proceeds to mental health organizations.
In the first painting, a human figure is enveloped by an ominous shroud of darkness. It walks toward a mottled, lemon glow. The painting's mood is distinctly different from the others. Lighter.
The difference bothers Osterhout. She wonders if the discord will resonate with viewers.
"When I painted this picture, I was only feeling my emotions," she said. "This painting represents a person being pulled into the disease for the first time. The smaller figure who's lost in the shadow shows the loss of my brother."
A challenge for Osterhout was figuring out how to convey an acute episode.
Usually a surrealist/impressionist artist, Osterhout said the task called for a dose of realism. By giving non-real elements such as hallucinations and voices equal visual weight in the paintings and representing them as concrete objects, she said she hoped to present a more realistic portrayal of the illness.
"To my brother, these things are real ? and very scary," she said. "In the paintings, the images are connected to him. He's flowing into them and vice-versa. This is how it is for him ? back and forth between what's real and what isn't ? between illness and recovery."
Stigma busting
One month before Osterhout debuted her exhibit at NAMI-NYS' annual conference, Josh stopped taking his medication, and his symptoms resumed. Instead of attending the exhibit as they both had hoped, he remained at home, pacing ? an action that tells the family he's fully occupied with the voices he hears, Osterhout said.
Although he missed the exhibit, Josh shared his feelings in a call later from the hospital where he was undergoing treatment:
"The exhibit made me feel as if someone cares," he told his sister. "It's helpful for people dealing with the disease because it portrays them as human beings."
(Because of his illness, Josh was unavailable for an interview for this article.)
Separate shots of the almost 6-foot Josh seated beneath a tree form the subject of each of the three tri-toned prints. His image is surrounded by labels, stereotypes and media portrayals illustrating the most common myths about schizophrenia. Statements supported by experts help tear them down.
In the first print, Josh's face is obscured. He sits head in hands, as if to shelter himself from words set below in a giant, bold, font: "Nut Job." "What if he hurts someone?" "You should be ashamed of yourself." "Lock Him Up." "Looney Bin."
"Some people have said, 'Amber, they're just words', but I don't think so. I think words go deeper than that. ... When you describe someone as crazy or as a lunatic, that's powerful, but not in a good way."
Call for empathy
At a time when his friends look forward to a life ahead, Osterhout sees her brother struggling with recovery. She asks, "Why should stigma make it harder?"
"Stigma is either a feeling about people, or it's downright discriminatory behavior," said John Allen, director of recipient affairs at the New York state Office of Mental Health. "The double whammy of self-stigma and societal stigma affect your ability to interact with people in public and your ability to look at life, love and community roles."
In the last print of "Gaining Insight," a smiling Josh cuddles two pet dogs. There is the brother Osterhout remembers: generous, kind and full of empathy; Josh, who loves to cook, play drums and watch baseball; the one, she says proudly, who is a college graduate.
"The next time someone faces (a person with) mental illness after seeing my exhibit, I want them to look at the person behind the illness," Osterhout said. "The public can choose to help or hurt. When they choose to hurt, they only help to create shame."
Lori Cullen is a Schenectady freelance writer.
Schizophrenia
A mental illness that interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others.
Positive symptoms, or "psychotic" symptoms, are those that add to reality, causing individuals to hear, see, taste, touch or smell things that aren't really there.
Negative symptoms detract from a person's usual way of interacting with the world. These include emotional flatness, an inability to start/follow through with activities, speech that is brief and lacks content, a lack of pleasure or interest in life.
Cognitive symptoms pertain to thinking processes. Those with schizophrenia often struggle with prioritizing tasks, memory and organizing their thoughts.
Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness
By LORI CULLEN, Times Union
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
In June 2006, Amber Christian Osterhout learned that her brother, Josh, had been reported missing in Italy. The professor who called from Rome, where Josh had been studying during his last semester of college, had not seen him in class for a week.
"I couldn't help but feel like this was a dream, like this phone call was meant for someone else," said Osterhout, an art director at Shannon-Rose Design in Saratoga Springs. "My family and I spent days trying to piece together this nightmare."
Approximately one week later, Josh called. He was being chased, he told his sister, describing days running through brush, eluding capture in a thriller-like tale complete with plots and bombs. He hadn't called, he said, because he didn't know anything was wrong.
Six months after his return home, Josh was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a biological brain disorder that affects one in 100 people, according to Irene Levine, professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and co-author of the newly released Schizophrenia for Dummies.
For the next two years, Josh's family struggled to secure the best treatment and help him accept his illness. Levine says the inability to recognize one's illness, or "a lack of insight," has recently been recognized as a symptom of schizophrenia instead of a patient's denial.
"At times, I thought I was losing my mind," Osterhout said about coping with her brother's illness. "You realize how much information is lacking and how bad the stigma is because now it affects you."
Gaining insight
Last month, Osterhout teamed up with National Alliance on Mental Illness ? New York State (NAMI-NYS) to unveil the educational art exhibit, Gaining Insight: An Examination of the Relationship Between Schizophrenia and Stigma.
"Amber's passion and concern show through her work. Her experience is universal with other family members," said Trix Niernberger, executive director of NAMI-NYS. "Although Josh is one person, he represents 2.4 million American adults living with schizophrenia."
The exhibit ? which features six paintings, three life-sized posters and audio ? can be viewed at http://www.gaining-insight.com. Osterhout hopes to present it in galleries and as the core of educational programs delivered in schools. She will donate 80 percent of print-sale proceeds to mental health organizations.
In the first painting, a human figure is enveloped by an ominous shroud of darkness. It walks toward a mottled, lemon glow. The painting's mood is distinctly different from the others. Lighter.
The difference bothers Osterhout. She wonders if the discord will resonate with viewers.
"When I painted this picture, I was only feeling my emotions," she said. "This painting represents a person being pulled into the disease for the first time. The smaller figure who's lost in the shadow shows the loss of my brother."
A challenge for Osterhout was figuring out how to convey an acute episode.
Usually a surrealist/impressionist artist, Osterhout said the task called for a dose of realism. By giving non-real elements such as hallucinations and voices equal visual weight in the paintings and representing them as concrete objects, she said she hoped to present a more realistic portrayal of the illness.
"To my brother, these things are real ? and very scary," she said. "In the paintings, the images are connected to him. He's flowing into them and vice-versa. This is how it is for him ? back and forth between what's real and what isn't ? between illness and recovery."
Stigma busting
One month before Osterhout debuted her exhibit at NAMI-NYS' annual conference, Josh stopped taking his medication, and his symptoms resumed. Instead of attending the exhibit as they both had hoped, he remained at home, pacing ? an action that tells the family he's fully occupied with the voices he hears, Osterhout said.
Although he missed the exhibit, Josh shared his feelings in a call later from the hospital where he was undergoing treatment:
"The exhibit made me feel as if someone cares," he told his sister. "It's helpful for people dealing with the disease because it portrays them as human beings."
(Because of his illness, Josh was unavailable for an interview for this article.)
Separate shots of the almost 6-foot Josh seated beneath a tree form the subject of each of the three tri-toned prints. His image is surrounded by labels, stereotypes and media portrayals illustrating the most common myths about schizophrenia. Statements supported by experts help tear them down.
In the first print, Josh's face is obscured. He sits head in hands, as if to shelter himself from words set below in a giant, bold, font: "Nut Job." "What if he hurts someone?" "You should be ashamed of yourself." "Lock Him Up." "Looney Bin."
"Some people have said, 'Amber, they're just words', but I don't think so. I think words go deeper than that. ... When you describe someone as crazy or as a lunatic, that's powerful, but not in a good way."
Call for empathy
At a time when his friends look forward to a life ahead, Osterhout sees her brother struggling with recovery. She asks, "Why should stigma make it harder?"
"Stigma is either a feeling about people, or it's downright discriminatory behavior," said John Allen, director of recipient affairs at the New York state Office of Mental Health. "The double whammy of self-stigma and societal stigma affect your ability to interact with people in public and your ability to look at life, love and community roles."
In the last print of "Gaining Insight," a smiling Josh cuddles two pet dogs. There is the brother Osterhout remembers: generous, kind and full of empathy; Josh, who loves to cook, play drums and watch baseball; the one, she says proudly, who is a college graduate.
"The next time someone faces (a person with) mental illness after seeing my exhibit, I want them to look at the person behind the illness," Osterhout said. "The public can choose to help or hurt. When they choose to hurt, they only help to create shame."
Lori Cullen is a Schenectady freelance writer.
Schizophrenia
A mental illness that interferes with a person's ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others.
Positive symptoms, or "psychotic" symptoms, are those that add to reality, causing individuals to hear, see, taste, touch or smell things that aren't really there.
Negative symptoms detract from a person's usual way of interacting with the world. These include emotional flatness, an inability to start/follow through with activities, speech that is brief and lacks content, a lack of pleasure or interest in life.
Cognitive symptoms pertain to thinking processes. Those with schizophrenia often struggle with prioritizing tasks, memory and organizing their thoughts.
Source: National Alliance on Mental Illness
