Schizophrenia - The Balloon Concept

Schizophrenia is a condition greatly misunderstood by the 'man in the street'. We often hear sufferers being described as having a 'split personality' or believing themselves to be 'someone other' than him or herself. Whilst these descriptions are partially true they describe the condition only in the vaguest of terms. It is indeed a serious mental condition invariably triggered by what is perceived by the sufferer to be an overwhelming threat to his or her very survival.

It is important to appreciate that the body is a chemical machine whose equilibrium is affected by the manner in which the brain perceives particular outside events in his living environment. 'Homo Sapiens' is primarily programmed to survive and procreate. Once this crucial tenet is fully taken on board it can readily be accepted that everything the schizophrenic does is directed towards one or other of these goals. An overwhelming threat triggers the 'fight or flight' mechanism in the vast majority of cases by the production of adrenaline. However, in the case of some people, this chemical reaction 'goes wrong' and instead of fighting or running away, the individual protects himself by escaping into a delusional state far removed from reality. The schizophrenic cushions himself from the 'thing' out there by switching off the normal chemical responses and substituting them with a perceived belief that he has entered another world without emotion, without danger. One issue may be the distortion of body image, such as the swelling of the head. This is the delusional state, or the 'flat affect' state so characteristic of the schizophrenic. This is the result of an improper chemical reaction having taken place which I believe involves abnormal interactions of possibly adrenaline, catecholamines, and histamine. Its a known fact that the goose flesh skin response and the red neck appearance is chemically related. One knows that amphetamines, LSD, and steroids can cause psychosis. One can see the correlation of the chemical involvement relating to stress.

The schizophrenic reaction takes it one step further, which according to this writer indicates a major catastrophic event has taken place in the schizophrenic causing a release of a chemical which has not been identified. At first just like blowing up a new balloon for the first time, our cheeks become sore. But each time we continue to blow it up, it then becomes easy. The initial issue causes one to go into a psychotic state. This is why the importance of early and effective drug treatment in the schizophrenic is necessary for remission to counteract that chemical which has been released. Since that chemical has been released, further stresses of life that may not be major will release this chemical, continuing the chronic schizophrenic process. Most drug treatment is in low dosages. This is wrong. Higher doses must be given to stop the flow of that unknown chemical. Schizophrenia can be treated effectively. One of the issues in treating the schizophrenic is that an adequate history has not been taken to recognize the severity of the stress crisis. Emphasis is currently placed on the current mental status. Plus the fact that many psychiatrists are inadequately trained. They only know to give medication, and then not in sufficient dosages. Psychiatry is basically organized ignorance.

Schizophrenia invariably affects young people under the age of 28. Typically individuals who drink alcohol or take drugs are not susceptible to the malfunctioning of the aforementioned chemicals. We suggest that the 'safety valve' effect of these drugs enables them to cope with stress and that by age 28 or so, the person has learned to cope with the panoply of stressful situations.

By contrast, the potential schizophrenic has no such safety valve and during and beyond puberty, various pressures continue to affect his chemical response until one day the dam bursts. A useful analogy is to compare stress to repeated attempts to blow up a balloon. At first it is strong enough to resist all attempts to the pressure to inflate it. However, if repeated pressure is applied, the balloon loses its ability to resist and it inflates rapidly. Once this natural resistance is broken, comparatively small pressures will change the shape of the balloon and inflate it. We liken the balloon to the human chemical complex. Once broken by pressure it has lost permanently, its ability to resist.

A significant number of people in every country on our planet suffer from that most debilitating of psychoses commonly called schizophrenia. The pain and suffering endured by both the patient and his/her family is heartbreaking and seemingly everlasting. In a world capable of landing men on the moon and exploring the outer reaches of our soar system, we are still seemingly unable to cure or successfully treat many of the problems that affect the human mind and body.

At this time it is useful to be aware that the world's pharmaceutical companies are investing billions of dollars in research and development into discovering treatments for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, lupus, and a multiplicity of mental disorders. Not a week goes by without some research group claiming to have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of a major disease. When the discovery finally comes to market, after several years of phased testing, it can often produce unforeseen side effects or even be sidelined by a new treatment produced by a rival company.

The result we all see right there - in front of us is an apparently never ending stream of treatments but few cures. When cures do surface they are often serendipitous. Take the case of stomach ulcers which was cured by a physician by accident who discovered that ulcers occurred as a result of bacteria and could be cured by the appropriate use of antibiotics. Once the cat was 'out of the bag' it was too late to put it back. All the treatments for ulcer became redundant almost overnight.

What we observe as a general rule is a plethora of treatments for chronic medical issues whilst the actual diseases continue to flourish. Glaucoma and diabetes are treated in a number of ways, yet not only is no cure for either in sight, there exists no definite agreement on the cause of either. So for the present, 'treatments rule'. Until an incentive sufficiently great comes along our prediction that cures will appear comparatively rarely.

The next time you watch a person inflate a balloon by mouth you may be closer than you ever imagined to understanding how schizophrenia develops. The balloon may resist the pressure of the air to inflate several times until finally the resistance breaks down and the balloon inflates quite suddenly and dramatically. Once that initial resistance has been overcome, that same balloon will subsequently inflate very easily. We can equate the pressure of the air to inflate that balloon with stress in humans. Just as balloons vary in their ability to withstand pressure, so also humans vary in the degree and quality of pressure they are able to withstand.

The body is a chemical machine and a highly complex one at that. For example, estrogen and testosterone control our life. If we extend that analogy to include that of a car engine, we know that even after years of stress the engine will continue to function albeit imperfectly, even when many of the parts are worn, but when the electronic messaging components begin to break down the car behaves erratically and fails to function effectively or reliably. It is not possible to predict exactly which component in a car engine will begin the sequence of events which will ultimately lead to the catastrophic failure of the entire system, or referring to our previous anlaogy, which part of the wall of a balloon is likely to give up resistance first.

So it is with humans. What we do know with certainty is that stress is the precursor of psychosis. Each individual's psyche interprets different kinds of stress in different ways. A life event which one individual has learned to cope with may be interpreted as catastrophic in another. When a certain individual perceives an event to be catastrophic, the response is to release a chemical into the body system which overwhelms the normal functioning of the fight or flight response. The result is that a third response is triggered - psychosis. In its own misguided or distorted way this is a coping mechanism, since all mental and bodily responses to significant threat is designed to facilitate survival. The individual perceives various aspects of his being in a strange or distorted manner. He/she may for example imagine that the head is separated from the body. These imaginings are so 'real' that they blot out the event which caused the system to break down.

A chemical is being released into the system which takes the place of those normal chemical releases which the vast majority of humans naturally employ in stressful situations. At this time we are unaware of the nature of this chemical, but in all probability it is secreted in significant and continuous amounts through the adrenal gland which nature designed as that part of the machine to trigger survival activity. Researchers Osmond and Hoffer possibly were on the verge, as well as Hans Seyle, with the answer in their grasp, but didn't recognize it. Lower level responses which emanate through the body are what lay persons commonly called 'goose bumps' or 'goose flesh' or at a somewhat higher level of stress response, the histamine neck rash.

Much human behavior is controlled by chemical response to the overarching human drives of procreation and survival. Everyone is aware of the powerful influences that control our life such as estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline, insulin, and histamine to name but a few. At the micro level, the chemical response to the myriad of interactions which the human may encounter are legion, and it will be many years before all becomes clear and open to potential cure. The third and most negative response is the schizophrenic having a psychotic process.

These writers have observed thousands in the field of mental health and in the field of education. Together, we have been able to pool our joint experiences in our individual fields. We have been able to agree large measure that stress and the manner in which the individual psyche is able to deal or cope with that stress will determine whether or not that person's subsequent behavior will be deemed to fall within what society will term normal parameters.

In former times, when mental health was little understood, individuals who fell outside the norm were locked away in the asylum - sometimes even in chains, and their behavior ascribed to negative influences of the moon or earth spirits. Even today in some quarters mental health issues occupy a low priority in the societal hierarchy. There are exceptions, like the Menninger Clinic, which from our perspective is outstanding in the treatment of the mentally ill.

There are estimates that between 5% and 10% of the population suffer some degree of psychosis. Many are able to live relatively normal lives with the help of mood changing drugs. Lithium is most effective in the treatment of the mentally ill with the appropriate diagnosis. There are the patients who exhibit symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. However, for those whose balloon has burst, allowing that harmful chemical to flow constantly from the adrenal gland and flood the system, there is no agreed cure on the part of mainstream medicine, only treatments which offer partial relief. The medical establishment will admit to no cure. The major pharmaceuticals seem to concentrate their efforts on treatments rather than discovering a cure. Treatments are extremely lucrative because of course they require the patient to purchase the treatment forever! A cure, being a 'one off' event, is unlikely to be anywhere near as profitable. Whilst working in a closed environment for many years and by adapting the various treatments then in common use we were able to effectively treat the schizophrenic. It was possible to repair the balloon. In chemical terms the procedure was able to promote the re-establishment of normal chemical responses to the stresses of the 'human condition'.

We welcome inquiries from individuals and/or organizations who would have an interest in providing a discussion of our paper. Our claim has the potential to benefit greatly millions of sufferers throughout the world.

Robert Jack Eardley, M.D.                                                              Robert Francis Eardley, Cert. Ed., B.A.
3366 Commodore Drive                                                                  e-mail: robertfrancis@eardley.org
Lexington, Kentucky 40502-3602
(859) 229-7714
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