1. Delusions: Gerald has been having delusions that certain people will electrocute, judge, and kill him. He was also accusing his parents concerning a lot of family issues.
Hallucinations: Gerald’s voices was telling him to do things. For instance, it was telling him to leave because people were going to hurt him. Another example is when he saw a woman, his voice accused him that he assaulted and raped her.
Disorganized behavior: Gerald was showing distinct mannerisms specifically his constant twisting of his hair. His behavior was aimless and he seemed disturbed.
Gerald’s psychiatrist described him as a “textbook case” since he was showing major features like delusions, hallucination, disorganized thoughts, and aimless behavior.
Dr. Bigelow was worried about Gerald’s voices because it was telling him to do things that would cause him distress.
In my opinion, Gerald’s mother was strongly devastated on what happened to her son. It was also frustrating for her that as much as she wanted to help her son, he tends to become hostile and was displeased with the idea of living in an institution.
When Gerald and his mother were discussing her visitation, they seemed to have some misunderstanding. Gerald was also ranting about the attitude of his parents toward him. Gerald’s mother, on the other hand, was trying her best to communicate well with her son but she kept getting interrupted before she could even get her point across. Gerald was suspicious of the actions and intention of people around him.
In the meeting, the psychiatrist showed less empathy and sensitivity in the way he talked to Gerald. He used more of the cold approach than the sensitive one.
According to the psychiatrist, families of Schizophrenia patients are greatly devastated and feel like they have been struck by lightning.
Gerald’s mother felt that someone should have seen Gerald’s illness when he joined the police department. One of them should have detected the illness during the screening process.
Gerald’s father loved his son so much that along with his wife, he tried to give his son what he needed for a good start. However, Gerald felt scared of him and was not comfortable enough to approach him when he had concerns or problems.
Gerald’s father agree to do the video to help educate people on Gerald’s condition as well as help them understand him better.
I think that Gerald had a lot of frustrations in life, some of which he just chose to keep to himself. I assume that he was disillusioned when he joined the police department and felt some displeasure in what they were doing.
