I often think back to the first 18 years of my son’s life when he was perceived as being the same as everybody else. Then, when things started to change, there were many people called him schizo, crazy, mad in his head. BUT, our family always called him by his name – Doron.
Our son wanted to get well. He wanted to love and be loved but most of all he needed the peace of mind that the rest of us take for granted. That peace of mind eluded him even though he took his medication religiously. He tried every new tablet until there were no new meds to take. So, his doctors gave him what we referred to as a ‘salad of meds’ where they mixed a few together. Later, he returned to the psychiatric hospital once a month to get a long lasting shot.
I have never met a single person with a chronic psychiatric illness who didn’t want to get well enough to have a little of the life they would have had if they had not become ill. I have never met a single person with a psych condition who didn’t want to work, who chose to be on the street, who preferred being drugged to being treated with vocational opportunities and the structured environments that so many of us need. I have not met a single person who would choose suicide over a life with hope and promise. I am so sorry that you lost your Son to stigma.
I don’t think he took his life due to stigma. He took his
Life because he tried for 16 long years to get better and after doing everything he and the system could offer, he proved to be medication-resistant. We all tried to help him. He had paranoid schizophrenia and had no peace of mind. No med helped for long.
I appreciate your comments.
Sincerely,
I understand…in fact I’m glad you commented because I reflected on the comment I made and realized that it was emotional and potentially inappropriate.
I apologize if I said anything that might have intruded on your privacy…
Thank you for your kind response.