A prolonged, non-drug induced and horrific psychosis

To the ones who don't believe that mental illness is real, I say this: have you ever had to suffer a pervasive, prolonged and non-drug induced "bad trip?" In fact, I never do drugs, yet this evening, I felt as if I were having a bad acid trip, mixed with a heroin overdose. None of these things would be possible were it not for schizophrenia, the dreaded disease of the brain that affects nearly 1 per cent of the population worldwide on any given day. To make matters worse, I was solely responsible for the well being of two sons, one 7 years old and one 3 years of age. There is nothing more humbling than that of having to care for a child while under the mental illness knife, that cuts deeper than a scalpel in an operating room. To the voices, I say, leave this old hat alone- he has weathered enough storms. To the paranoia, I plead, let the peace of mind wash away your caustic inky blackness. And to the delusions and over-stimulation, well, let's not add insult to injury. Wellness begins at home. It takes time. This too shall pass.