The article that follows is part of the Schizophrenia Bulletin's ongoing First Person Account series. We

hope that mental health professionals—the Bulletin's primary audience—will take this opportunity to learn about the issues and difficulties confronted by con-sumers of mental health care. In addition, we hope that these accounts will give patients and families a better sense of not being alone in confronting the prob-lems that can be anticipated by persons with serious emotional difficulties. We welcome other contributions from patients, ex-patients, or family members. Our major editorial requirement is that such contributions be clearly written and organized, and that a novel or unique aspect of schizophrenia be described, with spe-cial emphasis on points that will be important for pro-fessionals. Clinicians who see articulate patients, with experiences they believe should be shared, might encourage these patients to submit their articles t