Category: Schizophrenia

I hope my story inspires and helps people who are suffering to feel less alone and know they will not always be in a dark, frightening, despairing place. We can rise above and every day I am so thankful for the science and medication that have given me my life back.

With the support of my therapist and a good psychiatrist, both of whom prioritized a commitment to self-care, I went back to graduate school in social work. Within two years, I graduated from SUNY Binghamton — the same college I had withdrawn from years earlier after a mental health episode — with a Master’s in Social Work.

My personal experience, I found, actually benefitted me early on in my career. As a young licensed social worker, I taught my clients about the self-care concepts that had served me. Later on, I would teach self-care at the graduate level. Returning to the classroom as a teacher served as a powerful reminder that I had come just about full circle since my initial illness. Many of my students would go on to become therapists, reinforcing the importance of self-care to their patients, similarly to the way my therapist had done a decade prior.

I started making artwork in the form of photographs and films that expressed in some ways how I was feeling. I could communicate more through those mediums how I was feeling than I ever could in words.

I started volunteering for a local mental health charity which helped me get more skills and experience. They pointed me towards some proper talking therapy which became instrumental in my recovery. Sadly, the organisation had a lot of its funding cut and the branch I was working in was closed, to much dismay from the staff and service users.

I was very lucky though. Before they closed, they helped me apply for an MA at the Royal College of Art and I began to take on some teaching work so that I could enable others to develop their own creative skills. I am now pursuing a PhD.

He says people with poor mental health are often depicted in media and films as violent, spontaneous and gruesome. That’s how I pictured it, too, so I kept saying that I wasn’t supposed to be there and that I was fine. But I wasn’t well of course. I attempted to take my own life and was hearing voices.

Antonio feels the storyline in EastEnders is crucial to breaking down barriers for black people and hopes it provides “openness, empathy and understanding”.

I’ve shared my story at events, with politicians, in the media – because I don’t want people to experience the same stigma and discrimination that I have over the years.

I try to find the positives in my experiences. Through See Me, I’ve set up the See Me, Hear Me choir, bringing together people from all different backgrounds. I’ve recently been involved in a project with King’s College London and the University of Glasgow too, working on avatar therapy for people who experience psychosis.

I believe that my purpose is to help people with various challenges and give back to the community. Over the past year, I supported a child with complex needs, media volunteered for Rethink Mental Illness, and looked for opportunities to encourage others going through similar problems.

I was lucky enough to be able to return to university where I have spent the past seven years training in Psychology to become a counsellor.

I’ve learnt about acceptance, understanding and compassion, not only of others but of myself.I know what it’s like to struggle. I know what it’s like to be in desperate need of that one person to hold your hand and let you know it’s going to be OK. And now I’m able to be that person and be part of someone else’s recovery, which gives me more joy than I can describe.

I have managed to find meaning to my life and discovered my purpose – to help others.