My name is Michael. I live in Falmouth and I have schizophrenia. I was studying chemistry at Acadia University. It made me feel that I was the only one who was out of step. I withdrew into a world of delusional thinking and was bombarded with hallucinations, real only to me.
Schizophrenia is a very insidious disorder, full of suffering, loneliness and unhappiness.
The way people perceive schizophrenia in our society has a terrible effect on those of us who develop it. It affects us so much that we deny having the disease. Because of this very strong social stigma, we feel that we are the helpless and useless of the earth. Schizophrenia is a very cruel illness, not only from the point of view of the person who suffers it, but of the way that society sees us and treats us. Because of a very special mother who showed me tremendous tolerance, love and patience, I have been able to get to a stage of my life where I can help others as my mother helped me.