Schizophrenia

[Brian Profit]

From Wikipedia:

``Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. Distortions in perception may affect all five senses, including sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, but most commonly manifest as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood,with approximately 0.4–0.6% of the population affected. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior. No laboratory test for schizophrenia currently exists.``

Normally, I would agree with Tom O'Donnell who recently wrote that he considers the source when people are saying untrue things and he only responds if they are considered "normal" or "reasonable". However, at a certain point, even the biggest idiots need to be confronted.

Kevin Spraggett is currently being one of those idiots. He consistently comes up with these conspiracy theories and attacks those he once supported. There should be no doubt of what he suffers from. He should go back on his meds and live his life in Portugal and leave decent people living here alone. Even though he has been very pleasant to me in the past and helped me write an article on one occasion, I cannot overlook his behaviour now.

On his blog today he responds to something Lynn Stringer wrote on Chesstalk. So much for his claim he does not visit this site. Kevin, when you read this, stop picking on an 81 year old lady. Go see your doctor and get back on your meds.

I for one am glad that he no longer plays in Canada or wants to represent us. He is an embarrassment to us all.

Brian Profit

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Schizophrenia

Kevin Spraggett is currently being one of those idiots. He consistently comes up with these conspiracy theories and attacks those he once supported. There should be no doubt of what he suffers from. He should go back on his meds and live his life in Portugal and leave decent people living here alone. Even though he has been very pleasant to me in the past and helped me write an article on one occasion, I cannot overlook his behaviour now.

On his blog today he responds to something Lynn Stringer wrote on Chesstalk. So much for his claim he does not visit this site. Kevin, when you read this, stop picking on an 81 year old lady. Go see your doctor and get back on your meds.

I for one am glad that he no longer plays in Canada or wants to represent us. He is an embarrassment to us all.

Brian Profit

Very well put. I agree.

[Duncan Smith]

Re: Schizophrenia

Why do so many chess players insist on seeing everything as absolutes ( black or white ), and insist of making everything into a highly polarized competition ?

Kevin's approach can be overly aggressive but so is your post here. In fact, it is very interesting that in this situation Peter Stockhausen has garnered almost no criticism of this type at all from most of you. This heavy bias bothers people, so it is only natural that emotions will be in play.

But carry on with your game if you must.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Schizophrenia

Why do so many chess players insist on seeing everything as absolutes ( black or white ), and insist of making everything into a highly polarized competition ?

Kevin's approach can be overly aggressive but so is your post here. In fact, it is very interesting that in this situation Peter Stockhausen has garnered almost no criticism of this type at all from most of you. This heavy bias bothers people, so it is only natural that emotions will be in play.

But carry on with your game if you must.

The only heavy bias is people like you insisting that the rest of us TAKE A SIDE - especially in this situation where there are almost NO facts.

IF (and that is a BIG IF) Peter has done anything close to what his wife is claiming (which runs the gamut by the way...) then he is despicable and lower than pond scum. All we have so far are the obviously looney rantings of Spraggett and the claims of Peter's wife about the situation. Since there seems to be CONSIDERABLE doubt about some of the allegations flying about, I don't see how any rational decisions can be made.

[Duncan Smith]

Re: Schizophrenia

Actually, I have very clearly expressed a middle ground view on this. I have never insisted you take a side. I am not on either side. A little insight into my position though. If there is in fact someone in the chess community helping Peter hide, and that's a big if, I actually think they are more unethical then Peter is. Because I believe Peter ( if he is alive ) is not fully capable of taking care of himself and making rational decisions. I came to this conclusion because all evidance suggests Peter not so long ago was a decent person.

I will agree though that argueing for a compassionate proactive approach to the ongoing crisis was probably more pain then it was worth for me. If I could roll back the discussion I think I should just let the Chesstalk crowd duke it out with the two blogs and stay out of it. The situation remains a little bizarre, for all the negatve information on the wife's blog she clearly wants him back. So I'll drop off the discussion.

[Kerry Liles]

Re: Schizophrenia

Actually, I have very clearly expressed a middle ground view on this. I have never insisted you take a side. I am not on either side. A little insight into my position though. If there is in fact someone in the chess community helping Peter hide, and that's a big if, I actually think they are more unethical then Peter is. Because I believe Peter ( if he is alive ) is not fully capable of taking care of himself and making rational decisions. I came to this conclusion because all evidance suggests Peter not so long ago was a decent person.

I will agree though that argueing for a compassionate proactive approach to the ongoing crisis was probably more pain then it was worth for me. If I could roll back the discussion I think I should just let the Chesstalk crowd duke it out with the two blogs and stay out of it. The situation remains a little bizarre, for all the negatve information on the wife's blog she clearly wants him back. So I'll drop off the discussion.

Fair enough... I am not sure she wants *him* back but I think she would appreciate at least 50% of the family's assets... In any case, this is all speculation - I no longer bother reading Spraggett's blog nor checking the stockhausenvanishes 'blog' either...

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Schizophrenia

I will agree though that argueing for a compassionate proactive approach to the ongoing crisis was probably more pain then it was worth for me. If I could roll back the discussion I think I should just let the Chesstalk crowd duke it out with the two blogs and stay out of it. The situation remains a little bizarre, for all the negatve information on the wife's blog she clearly wants him back. So I'll drop off the discussion.

Quem deus vult perdere, dementat prius.

Some of you are following this closer than I used to follow professional wrestling.

I stopped visiting the blog which has an agenda sprinkled with some chess. Whoever writes it seems to understand the entertainment business and how to keep them coming back. Personally, I'm not amused by rantings which prey on seniors.

Does not a relatively young man causing an elderly lady distress bother you at all?

[Heather Carbone (Nickolof)]

Re: Schizophrenia

I have had dealings for many years with schizophrenics-Bryon's sister Donna and Mike Williams to name a couple.There are characteristics they have in common which Mr Spraggett does not possess.They do not lie and they are not malicious by nature.For the most part any harm they do is to themselves.Donna is one of the most emphathetic and loving persons I have ever met despite her disability.Perhaps a better term for the type of behaviour we are witnessing would be psychopathic,a complete lack of empathy for other people but the inate ability to mimic "normalcy" on occasion.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: Schizophrenia

Why do so many chess players insist on seeing everything as absolutes ( black or white ), and insist of making everything into a highly polarized competition ?

Kevin's approach can be overly aggressive but so is your post here. In fact, it is very interesting that in this situation Peter Stockhausen has garnered almost no criticism of this type at all from most of you. This heavy bias bothers people, so it is only natural that emotions will be in play.

But carry on with your game if you must.

Duncan are you still chewing on that same bone? Give it a rest you are doing the Stockhausen family absolutely no good.

Also all these armchair psychiatric assessments on this post are worse than useless. I'm a caseworker and deal with a certain number of people that have mental health issues. I don't attempt a diagnosis nor do any of us. We get medical reports from the real professionals. If you've had long experience in dealing with a particular person who has a particular diagnosis then so be it but that doesn't mean every person with that diagnosis behaves in the same general way.

I was considering taking a certificate in mental health and addictions at Ryerson but even that 10 course program would not qualify me to remotely diagnose someone over the internet that I have never met, nor would a psychiatrist attempt to do so either.

Mental health is a serious thing, know your limits before throwing labels around.

The only chess player I've ever heard of qualified to make a diagnois was Reuben Fine.

[Jason Lohner]

Re: Schizophrenia

I have a cousin who is Schizophrenic and I would not characterize K.Spraggett as suffering from a mental disorder.

What he does 'suffer' from is pettiness. He and PS obviously have had a major falling out and he seems to think its ok to destroy anyone's reputation to get back at Peter. He also seems to suffer from Hypocrisy... He loves to scream 'censorship' and 'cyber bullying' but doesn't seems to see those flaws in his own actions! Although I have enjoyed his sights Chess material and its humor, his Conspiracy theories have become the main theme of his blog... He would do much better if he would actually read the title of his blog... 'Spraggett on Chess' and stick to that.

[Bob Armstrong]

Peter's Hiding

Unfortunately, having Kevin support Karen/Silken is like the kiss of death - he is creating more problems than help.

I, for one, believe that the chess community generally does not support Peter's actions, though admittedly there are two sides to every story, and we have not heard Peter's. But it would seem that he should be willing to face the courts and make his case on support and division of assets. Hiding out so the wife/daughter cannot start legal process is quite despicable in my mind, regardless of the merits of Peter's case, especially when this leaves them in dire circumstances, with no remedy.

Bob

[Steve Douglas]

Re: Peter's Hiding

Unfortunately, having Kevin support Karen/Silken is like the kiss of death - he is creating more problems than help.

I, for one, believe that the chess community generally does not support Peter's actions, though admittedly there are two sides to every story, and we have not heard Peter's. But it would seem that he should be willing to face the courts and make his case on support and division of assets. Hiding out so the wife/daughter cannot start legal process is quite despicable in my mind, regardless of the merits of Peter's case, especially when this leaves them in dire circumstances, with no remedy.

Bob

To my knowledge, Karen can easily start legal proceedings whether Peter chooses to hide or not. It becomes more difficult if he chooses to hide (because he would need to be served with the court documents) but eventually she would be able to make her arguments before a judge. She would then be able to have the assets frozen and/or temporarily divided.

Duncan says the chess community has some sort of obligation here. I disagree (and disagreeing with someone is not showing "bias"--a nice weasel word to use here since it implies that somehow there is unfairness involved). Nonetheless I will contribute something to help the family: free advice (and worth every penny).

My advice to Karen is to consult a lawyer. Even if you cannot afford to be represented, you can at least afford a couple of hours of advice and they can point you in the right direction to handle the rest of the process yourself. You can always choose to end the process later if you wish.

My second piece of advice to Karen is to stop the nonsense with the blog. It is almost certainly doing emotional harm to your daughter. Posting what you are posting, and involving your daughter in your postings is not in her best interests, and other than "venting" I don't see how it's helping you.

My advice to Peter would be to deal with these issues in an open and direct manner. And by "open" I do not mean posting on here, but by dealing with Karen. Post here if you want, but this is not really any of our business.

My advice to Silken would be to hold on tight and hope that this works out ok. Whatever you do, don't blame yourself for anything that's happened.

Steve

[Steve Douglas]

Re: Schizophrenia

Actually, I have very clearly expressed a middle ground view on this. I have never insisted you take a side. I am not on either side.

Duncan, you have clearly taken Karen's side. You did so when you:

a. suggested that Peter had committed a crime

b. referred to the "remaining family"

c. stated that Lynn Stringer had an obligation to publicly clarify things and that she was extending the suffereing of the family

d. ignored the harm being done by Karen to Silken with her blog

e. ignored the mud-slinging comments being made by Karen in her blog

Steve

[Brian Profit]

Re: Schizophrenia

I have a cousin who is Schizophrenic and I would not characterize K.Spraggett as suffering from a mental disorder.

What he does 'suffer' from is pettiness. He and PS obviously have had a major falling out and he seems to think its ok to destroy anyone's reputation to get back at Peter. He also seems to suffer from Hypocrisy... He loves to scream 'censorship' and 'cyber bullying' but doesn't seems to see those flaws in his own actions! Although I have enjoyed his sights Chess material and its humor, his Conspiracy theories have become the main theme of his blog... He would do much better if he would actually read the title of his blog... 'Spraggett on Chess' and stick to that.

Unless you have spent more time with him that I think you have, you are a little quick to dismiss what might be his problem. The things that he does and that we can observe fit the bill. Who knows what he does in Portugal.

[Brian Profit]

Re: Schizophrenia

Duncan are you still chewing on that same bone? Give it a rest you are doing the Stockhausen family absolutely no good.

Also all these armchair psychiatric assessments on this post are worse than useless. I'm a caseworker and deal with a certain number of people that have mental health issues. I don't attempt a diagnosis nor do any of us. We get medical reports from the real professionals. If you've had long experience in dealing with a particular person who has a particular diagnosis then so be it but that doesn't mean every person with that diagnosis behaves in the same general way.

I was considering taking a certificate in mental health and addictions at Ryerson but even that 10 course program would not qualify me to remotely diagnose someone over the internet that I have never met, nor would a psychiatrist attempt to do so either.

Mental health is a serious thing, know your limits before throwing labels around.

The only chess player I've ever heard of qualified to make a diagnois was Reuben Fine.

In fairness to Duncan, I threw the label around. I stand by it. From what we can see from here, it could be his problem. Personally, I love the fact we are discussing him and his mental problems and limitations. He would do it to you and me in a heartbeat.