As a parent of a 28 year old with schizophrenia, who lost his job due to Covid, and recently moved home again, I’m so tired. I’ve not been able to sleep. He is awake all night and then sleeps while I’m working from home. Tired of being yelled at for making too much noise in my own house. How is this going to ever work?
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#mental illness #mental health #therapy #schizophrenia #submission #SupportShe was 24, graduate of GMU after working hard around her Epilepsy & it’s side effects, only to go down with a mental illness. Paranoia beyond reason, debilitating, crippling, causing hospitalization, twice. Now, at 26, she is dependent on my presents and that is all, just dependent.. 24/7 she lives in fear. Therapy & Medication seem more like an extra curricular activity more than a sizable help or resolution. She is not getting better. I have such deep sadness that also surfaces as raging tears of anger in the private confines of my shower. I have fear, while I press on hoping. We need a cure. We are both in bondage. She, within her mind and I, within her shadow.
Mental illness and addiction runs rampant in my family. Mostly on my mothers side where it can be traced back for generations. As for me I feel lucky that my mental health seems to be centered around depression. I say lucky because my brother has been institutionalized with schizophrenia for over 30 yrs. I have two cousins who are gone now that also had schizophrenia that lived on the streets mostly and who are an example of the poor mental health care system we have in the US. Don’t get me wrong, their are scores of wonderful folks out their doing great work in helping the mentally ill but the resources they have are limited. My uncle and grandmother committed suicide which is something I have thought about almost daily for many years. My grandmother walked in the ocean back in the 1930’s 9 months after giving birth to her 6th child. PPD was probably the reason but unfortunately back then it wasn’t recognized.
My history includes lots of alcohol and drug abuse. I look back and see that I was treating the symptoms of depression without even knowing it. Alcohol worked really well and I had many fun and enjoyable times in the beginning although like most alcoholics I drank irresponsibly. Long story short those substances stopped working and the spiral down continued. I am clean and sober now and depression and it’s systems are a daily occurrence. Support groups have been helpful and medication has given me temporary relief but like all the substances I have used, medications turn on me. Lots of anger and thoughts of suicide occur after a short period of taking medications so I gave up on them. Today I use the tools I have learned over the years. Focusing on gratitude is the most powerful. I am grateful my illness isn’t so severe that I would be unable to access the part of my brain that sees normality. Thanks for letting me share.
My name is Joseph Parham and I’ve been dealing with mental illness since I was about 5 feeling sad alone afraid scared not knowing why I was hearing voices and seeing things. I have self harmed and tried to take my own life.
Poem 33 Voluntary Work Helps My Life
VOLUNTARY WORK HELPS MY LIFE
I have been doing Voluntary Work for Many Years now.
My Mental Health Problems which are Also,
Mentioned about in my Poetry Book,
“SOME OF THESE MAKE SENSE, SOME OF THEM DONT,
BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT LIFE IS.”
Post Traumatic Stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
Depression not Clinical and Schizophrenia.
Pricing Books for a Local Hospice and working on the Till,
Another Charity Shop Pricing Dvd’s, Computer Games and CD’s.
Welcomer at a Cathedral, telling History,
from Roman Times to the Present.
18th Century Church near my Address, again talking History,
Which is what my Degree was in.
My name is Jennifer and I am a recovered mental illness survivor—
I have endured severe mental illness for over half my life. During that time, I suffered from clinical depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and borderline personality disorder.
Due to the depression, my behaviors ranged from excessive crying to excessive sleeping to suicide attempts. I felt feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness. All I thought I wanted to do was die. But in fact, what I really wanted was help with overcoming my severe sadness.
During my manic states, I endured impulsive, spontaneous, and irresponsible behaviors. I felt on top of world. I felt excessive amounts of energy. I had racing thoughts. I had delusions of grandeur. I’ll be honest. It felt great to be so high, but it is also very dangerous. Risky behaviors can lead to much endangerment of self and others.
Everyone struggles with something in life. Some struggle for brief periods of time and some struggle every day. I belong to the some who struggle every day. Since I was 5 years old I have constantly struggled with mental illness. I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD, PTSD, and attention deficit Disorder. My dad, step mother, and Step Father physically abused me for most of my life because they didn’t understand what I was going through and my Mother was the only person in my life to try to help me through everything I was dealing with. Unfortunately I did not trust anyone around me due to how I was treated at home and because I was constantly bullied at school because I was different. Eventually the abuse I was facing at my step fathers house led to me going into a state of shock and I tried to hurt my mother because I was so out of it and thought she was my step father. I was 15 at this point and was detained.
Dealing with a situation concerning my 19 year old son who suffers from psychosis due to schizophrenia. I had a TDO placed on him last month and while at the hospital a altercation happened and after my son spent a week in the psychiatric hospital we find out he has a warrant for his arrest for assault and strangulation against a police officer. So now he sits in a jail cell I ask how did this happen and when this happens who are we to call its a lose lose situation. You called the police for help and either the mentally ill are being murdered or sent to jail. Society has to do better. This shouldn’t be happening. It’s not fair to a person who was out of touch with reality
I was first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia when I was 30. I’ve been surviving for 15 years. I feel it is not broadcast enough that mental illness patients need a support system that recognizes when they are having an episode. What everyone should know about mental illness is that medication can stop working after a few years. You can take your antipsychotic medication religiously, every day, but it can just stop suddenly. I have suffered four times when my medication just stopped working and I was struck with a psychotic episode each time. It’s always scary. It is important to have a continuing relationship with your psychiatrist. To avoid ending up in the hospital, it is important that your psychiatrist monitors your prescription drugs and sees you on a regular basis. Schizophrenics don’t always recognize what is happening to them, or they are overwhelmed by their delusions. Family and friends should keep a list of psychotic symptoms to recognize whether their mentally ill family or friend is suffering a relapse despite their medication.
My husband has suffered from mental illness for approximately 30 years for paranoid schizophrenia,manic bipolar,anxiety,depression and now diagnosis e early stage Alzheimer disease.
He has never received adequate treatment when he would get off his medication and get in trouble with the law and then sent to prison.
He got off his medication because he couldn’t find help to pay for it then he called 2 state hospitals and a crisis center for help they told us that if he’s not suicidal the could not help so eventually he went out of his mind and committed a crime now after 3 years awaiting trial pursuing the insanity defense he was basically force to enter a plea of guilty to avoid a possible life sentence for habitual offender. yesrsI mandatory .but we are seeking time served and civil commitment to mental hospital and get him treatment without incarceration because he’s never been given treatment just thrown in jail and released w 30 day medication and become I’ll and right back In prison system Now he’s awaiting a sentencing hearing where the judge can give him 0-15 .can anyone speak for him at his sentencing hearing to make the judge understand the importance of treatment for his mental illness and incarceration is not the answer to this problem
Just saw the play “Twisted Melodies” (singer/musician Donny Hathaway Mental Heath Struggles) in New York today. Wow, what a beautiful way to share, educated and bring to life the importance of understanding and lifting the stigma of mental illness, specifically schizophrenia. Please Support this production so that it can reach every state in this country. Thank you!