Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac: living with Schizophrenia

Peter Green, the British guitarist, founder of the band Fleetwood Mac (the band’s original name was “Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac”) and 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee  was diagnosed with schizophrenia in the mid 1970s during which he spent a lot of time in hospitals undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental condition that results in thinking and emotional deterioration. Although the word “schizophrenia” means “split mind”, the condition is not related to split personality or multiple personality. Instead it refers to a disruption of the usual balance of emotions and thinking. People suffering from schizophrenia suffer from hallucinations, delusions, social and occupational dysfunction. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually start appearing during childhood, and the ability of these patients to take care of themselves decreases over time.

Antipsychotic or neuroleptic treatments can help control the symptoms of schizophrenia, although they may have side effects. There are over 180 clinical trials currently active to find new cures for schizophrenia, some of them being:

• Adult Schizophrenia Medical Study in Maitland, Florida
• Clinical trial to test Efficacy and Safety Study of Escitalopram Augmentation in Schizophrenia Treatment
• Schizophrenia clinical trial to augment Zyprexa With Naltrexone to Ameliorate Metabolic Side-Effects

You can search for these trials by treatments such as Olanzapine, Risperidone, Aripiprazole or by doctors conducting these studies. I also recommend reading the following informative articles on Curetalk:

• Surviving Schizophrenia with John Nash, Jr.
• Clinical Studies Using MRI for Psychiatric Research at St. Elizabeth Medical Center
• What is Schizophrenia (Disorganized, Catatonic, Paranoid Types, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment)?

It is suspected that abuse of LSD might have aggravated Peter Green’s schizophrenic condition. Eric Claption, B.B. King and Jimmy Page have all praised Peter Green for his guitar skills. Peter was ranked 38th in Rolling Stone‘s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”. Singer of great hits such as Black Magic Woman and Man of the World has had great friends that have helped him over the years of slowly get back to a normal life. We admire the efforts, and also cheer Peter Green and his immense contribution to music!