SYDNEY — THERE IS LIFE AFTER SCHIZOPHRENIA.That was the message that speaker Bill MacPhee brought Wednesday to a conference dealing with mental illness presented by the Cape Breton District Health Authority.
MacPhee detailed his long battle with the illness and how he was subsequently able to obtain proper treatment. He said he spent 5 years of his life essentially “on the couch,” and after he began emerging from the grips of schizophrenia to come back to reality, he discovered that in that reality he had lost his job, his home and all his friends.
The illness comes with both positive and negative symptoms, he said — positive meaning they are added to your personality, such as hearing voices or having delusions and negative meaning you are lacking them, such as lacking joy, energy or motivation.
There are 3 legs to schizophrenia, he noted, with components including genetics, bio-chemical and triggers.
MacPhee, who is from Fort Erie, Ont., frankly detailed his lengthy battle with mental illness, with his symptoms beginning after he got a woman pregnant and began studying theology in an effort to find forgiveness.
As he read, he noticed words would float off the written page and he would see faces in the knots of wooden siding on the wall. He felt that God was trying to communicate with him and he became increasingly paranoid.
He recalled once, on the coldest night of the year, finding himself walking in front of traffic on a busy four-lane highway because he had to prove himself to God. While he, like many other schizophrenics, did attempt suicide, that night MacPhee didn’t intend to kill himself.
“I didn’t want to die, it was just my sick mind that brought me to that situation that could have took my life.” After leaving the roadway he stripped off all of his clothes, was picked up by the police, and was hospitalized.
By eventually starting to pursue new social relationships, MacPhee began putting his life back together. He went on to found Schizophrenia Digest and Anchor Magazine, and is now married with 2 young children.
“I know that if I went off my medication, as much as I know about the nature of the illness . . . I would fall back in to a psychosis,” he said.
“There is life after mental illness.”
Because he was struck by the illness when he was 24, he already had some work background and had developed some social skills, MacPhee added.
“I knew what a good quality of life was and I wanted it back,” he said.
Also at the conference Wednesday, the Dr. M.A. Mian Award was presented to the Mental Health Family Working Group and Crossroads Clubhouse member Trevor Duffy.
The award was established in memory of Mian, who was dedicated to improving the lives of people living with mental illness. Award recipients are chosen based on the impact they have had on the lives of people living with mental illness.
Established in 2002, the group is a partnership between Mental Health Services and family members of Mental Health Services clients. The group works to make information about mental illness available for families and caregivers, increase awareness of services, decrease stigma, and identify the needs of families. It is also responsible for the Living with Mental Illness conference. Duffy has been a leader for people living with mental illness.
Through his membership at Crossroads, he has been involved in activities that have impacted the lives of his fellow members, the public’s understanding of mental illness and the development of new programs.
He is president of the Missing Lint Co-operative, a program dedicated to developing work for people living with mental illness, and is a mental health educator, peer supporter and program developer.
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