Incessant noise, a constant babble of voices pounding in my head - and competing for space in my brain.

Some are critical and highly vocal - others urge me to get a gun and end my life.

The whole world appears to conspire against me and as I walk down an otherwise deserted hospital corridor I am bombarded with terrifying images.

I stare at a reflection in a mirror and am greeted by a gaunt face, with bleeding eyes.

'The floor falls away'

...

Using the experiences of people with the condition, Dr Peter Yellowlees, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, has harnessed the popular simulation world of Second Life to give an insight into living with the condition.