PSYCHIATRY

Who Was This Catatonic Schizophrenic Who Wanted to Be a Piano Teacher?

There is this old video of an interview with someone with Catatonic Schizophrenia:

The first thing I notice is how rigid his posture is. Also, notice how he needs to think carefully each time he responds. His responses are carefully worded too. And as the interview progresses, he repeats the same answers with the same words.

It’s almost like he’s speaking rehearsed lines. Not that this means he is an actor and this video is fake. But he might be saying what he’s been told to say. Or perhaps he is listening to voices in his head?

But let’s try to piece together what his story is from what he says.

So, he thinks the reason he’s in the mental hospital is that he is not like other people. He then expands on this, saying he wants to do something unusual with his life. But when asked what that is, he says it’s playing the piano. Later, he elaborates on this, saying that he wants to teach piano at university.