I enjoyed the show for its actors and the story lines. Never the less I always felt uncomfortable with the messages of the show. I grew up with a paranoid schizophrenic mother. Her perceptions did not give her an insight into reality. Quite the opposite. It was not manageable by her trying to control her delusions. It was delusions which did not get better over time. It made her manipulative in that her delusions would over come my family. They became unable to convince and take action. That responsibility fell on me. She was extremely abusive and she knew how to hurt you in your weakest point. This incapacitated the rest of the family. I would insist on dealing with the symptoms no matter how much she abused me. Her disorder could only be managed with medicine and she had to be hospitalized until her symptoms were under control. Always the delusions were a detriment to her. Sometimes they were terrifying. Medicine was the only thing that kept her functioning until it didn't. Then the doctors would write new prescriptions to get the symptoms under control. Her paranoid schizophrenia was not a functional condition and medicine is sometimes the only thing that keeps the patient together.
