English Level:
Intermediate
Content Warning:
Mental Illness, Depression, Suicide, Self-harm
Vocabulary
I have chosen not to include the definitions here to give you the opportunity to find the information yourself. The information you find this way will stay with you longer. Please take the time to find out the meaning of the vocabulary.
Schizophrenia / Schizoaffective disorder
Hallucination
Psyche
Possessed
Chemical imbalance (brain)
Diagnosis
Freak
Deranged
Nasty words
Stay composed
Triggers
Therapeutic
Stigma
Genuine
Pet peeve
Pre-Listening
These warmup questions are intended to introduce you to the topic
- What is schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
- Chemical imbalances can affect brain chemistry and cause mental illness
- How can you tell the difference between the voices in your head and real voices?
- Describe the clown from IT
- If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
- What is the stigma associated with schizophrenia?
Listening
As you listen, try to answer these questions.
You may need to listen more than once.
- How does she want to be treated?
- How often does she hallucinate?
- Why doesn’t she answer the question, “Are you having hallucinations right now?”
- How did the hallucinations start?
- Who was the first person she told (outside of her family)? How did he respond?
- Why did she attempt suicide?
- What are her triggers?
- Describe some of her hallucinations.
- Is talking about it therapeutic?
- What would she change about her life?
- How does she separate hallucinations and reality?
Video
Post-Listening
Reflect on what you have learned.
- Compare this video with her follow up video 3 years later (https://youtu.be/6wXCEAXfYco?t=157) . How did she change? Why is she so different?
- Describe some of her hallucinations?
- Cecilia said, “I’m just someone who can’t turn off my nightmares even when I am awake.” Think about your nightmares and having to live with them while you are awake. How would you cope?
- Is this statement true: “You fear what you don’t understand. So, me understanding more about my diagnosis makes me less afraid.” ?
- Cecilia agreed to answer the questions but said she would let him know if she didn’t feel comfortable answering a question. Is it healthy to set up boundaries like this? How do you establish boundaries?
- Identify at least one key issue from this video that you could research more.
Follow-up Video