Mike's Story

The reason I share my story is because when a parent has a serious mental illness, especially schizophrenia, no one brings you a cake, no one says sorry about your dad, no one says anything...

I decided to be the change I wanted to see in the mental health field.

So that's why I'm here, to tell my story about having a parent with a serious mental illness and growing up in that situation. I decided to be the change I wanted to see in the mental health field. I have been working in the field for the last seven months. I joined NAMI and other groups, anywhere I could tell my story and hopefully break the silence and stigma that surrounds mental illness. I found a new purpose in life, a new calling. In many ways the silence and stigma took every member of my family away from me, including my mom, my dad and my half-sister, who I haven't seen in 13 years. I love my parents, I love my dad; it hasn't been easy being a child of madness but it's who I am. I went from never talking about my dad to always talking about him. That's what he deserves.

I love my parents, I love my dad; it hasn't been easy being a child of madness but it's who I am.

Hopefully someone reads this and feels like it's ok to talk about mental illness, about their loved one, so it doesn't grow in the darkness, in the silence, where it can do real damage, sometimes the stigma is worse than the actually disease. Hopefully someone reads this and reaches out to NAMI or a co-worker or a friend for help. I'm just trying to find my way in the world, maybe me writing this can help some other child of madness find their way, I hope it does.