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Thank you for this podcast and for sharing your story!

Time for all of it to see the light of day.

Thanks this was awesome 👏

I was also a young carer at 8 (I think) but I found out at 11 by my school. I feel that more people need to know about this as it is so tough to go through!

My life seems to be getting worse with each passing day

Wow, every now and then I’ve searched for others who grew up with a schizophrenic mother. My story is similar as far as my mom being diagnosed first with manic depression which was what they used to call bipolar disorder but, shortly after that she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. My mom had my sister at 20 years old, then me & my brothers who are triplets at 23. She had started displaying symptoms before me and my brothers were born but it was after our birth that she became severely ill. I was born in 1969 and it was at that time schizophrenics were hospitalized for a month or more with each episode which were very often. She had shock therapy as well.. but I don’t know much about it, but all the different meds she was on that would often get changed when they’d come out with something new. I remember one medication would make her eyes uncontrollably look upward, so they had a pill for that eye symptom as well. She would get debilitating migraines for several days in a row. I hated seeing her suffer and that’s so hard to grow up that way. My mom would often become mute and catatonic. It was very scary witnessing that as a child. My mother would also function great when stabilized but sadly it was too few and far between. When it was mentioned about the cooking and making clothes, that’s amazing because my mom made a lot of clothes, stuffed animals, pillows for us kids when she was managing ok, she was talented with that, and did all the hospital crafts as well.. very artsy and creative. She also was very religious, and I believe the religion thing was a bit over the top. One thing that would upset all of us was that she would go on these “throwing things out” rampages, and throw out belongings, furniture, you name it. It got to the point my father had to make sure he was around on garbage day because even if he took things out she’d put them back when the garbage truck would come that day. We were mostly raised by my father and grandmother, which was unfortunate because they were both extremely abusive. They both blamed me and my brothers for my mom’s illness and so us three were abused and suffered multiple traumas. My father was physically, emotionally, and sexually abusive, and my grandmother was emotionally and psychologically abusive. As you can probably imagine, our lives were permanently altered horribly. Somehow all 4 of us siblings are functioning in society but not without great difficulty. I am the only one of us 4 kids that have been working on myself in therapy for almost 9 years now. I was diagnosed with PTSD, depression & anxiety, and last year a dissociative disorder was added to my list. I thank god for therapy because I was headed down a path that I surely would not have come out of had I not seen the importance of working through all the tremendous amount of trauma. We each struggle with our own things but I am the only one that has not turned abusive myself. Unfortunately all 3 siblings are abusive to their families, and I’ve had to break contact with them as they were abusive to me as well. My mother passed away tragically in a house fire in February 2001, when she was 54, and I was about 28 years old. She was home alone and there was an investigation into her death. It is known that the house fire was caused by an oil lamp she was running, but as far as the events leading to her death we will never know as it was never determined what exactly took place. All of my life so far has been spent in survival, and these days I’m just trying my best to recover and be able to live my life doing the things I enjoy, learning how to make myself happy, and being something other than traumatized. Thanks so much for sharing your story, and just hope you know that you’re not alone. ❤

FYI if you're in the US this is not the norm, there's fights/ arguments sometimes between patients and sometimes between the nurses and the patients, guard etc . A lot of these places have had riots, rapes, some although rare even murder. Look the reviews for yourself on your Google maps or wherever you can find actual reviews for these hospitals. You'll also find a lot of them have lower reviews than your local county jail ( there's a reason people in prison refuse and rather stay in the pen rather than go to a mental hospital . There's a saying that the mental hospital is the middle ground between jail and prison) . Yes there are good ones out there yet even the good ones will still have fights etc

I just found out my daughter who is I her twenties is suffering from this and am trying to get all the information as possible 🙏🏾

As someone with bipolar (plus GAD, OCD, C-PTSD, ADHD), NOTHING has changed. I am slowly going broke trying to look after my mental health. $250.00 a session to see a psychologist as you only get 10 visits which I have burnt through in the first 4 months of this year. $350.00 a session to see the psychiatrist for 10 mins, $250.00 a month on medication. Running out of sick leave because when I am unwell my employ advises I can't come to work even if I am ok just not 100%. It is exhausting trying to keep up. Oh and that's not including the issues I face with my husband and son.

Very interesting interview :)

So happy it's up! Thanks for having me on, Joel.

So happy it's up! Thanks for having me on, Joel.

Sometimes it's hard to learn the environmental aspects

Hello my name is tamera

I have depression

I understand what your saying you make sense

Mashaallah 💕

Sorry for the choppy comments. Yes i have a story!

No nothing has changed obviously either!

This is like a word for word testimony as to what ive gone through here too! (Australia).

Thank you for this. I can relate to this story. My mother was diagnosed with psychotic depression which was triggered by my birth. But I am pretty sure she was not well balanced before that. Funny about the mosaic trays - we had mosaic ash trays around the house that she had made while hospitalized. I too can't look at mosaic art the same as most people.

I needed this video so much, thank you, I lost my mum at age 11, she took her own life in 1999 and I was orphaned and put into foster care homes, being an orphan to parents who had mental illnesses I was treated differently because I was an orphan, it still hurts my last memories are of hospitals and I had found her after school, it's not fair on the children, it stays with us for life and this made me feel less alone in so many ways. I'm understanding she was living a life of hell while alive, I tried all I could as a kid to take care of her, learning this isn't normal still. I have 2 step children and I would nor couldn't put those children through this, I'm greatful for my experiences to be a better person and parent now with more empathy and more sensitivity has made me a calmer person who talks everything through, no yelling or anger in this house, just we use our words and express ourselves on whiteboards, they are all over the house, it's great for all, write out what you think or feeling about and share your thoughts without judgment has been a godsend with a house of males. So I have had to learn to be a parent and learn about mental health for us and them, and the white boards are great for expressing anything for us as parents, and also good for us as adults, write it out is a great idea I got from the mental hospital walls now there's small white boards all over but it helps us be better parents and also more expressing our thoughts and feelings. So we can see if we're all doing well mentally. I never want our kids to feel alone. Like us who were brought up with mental illnesses and addictions in our parents. Great video. Im saving it because it's so helpful thank you. ✌️ 🇨🇦

I can really relate to this. Amazing podcast, you're doing an admirable thing sharing your story and bringing awareness for kids and younger generations. My mother was diagnosed with BPD/Bipolar in a time and age when mental health was heavily stigamized, and instead of helped she was labeled as crazy. As kids my brothers and I grew up in a whirlwind childhood of drama and emotion believing this narrative until we gained awareness and realised we too had mental illness. Other unfortunate kids find other ways to deal and cope turning to drugs and crime.

My story is almost identical to hers. Thank you for sharing.

My whole life I've 'dealt' with what I thought was mums depression. Im starting think at the age of 35 that maybe she's bipolar. Im currently going through an extremely difficult time in my life and, yet again, she has tried to take the focus and make it about her and been abusive in the process. Are there any meet up groups in Victoria that I could join for insight and support?

❗ P R O M O S M

Made me tear up, so touching

My mom was recently diagnosed with bipolar 1 in 2022, although she started experiencing mania at the start of 2020. She had to be in the hospital 3 times during the last episode of mania, they couldn’t keep her in due to New York State law. Still mad that it took so long to get her in the hospital for the final time and longest time.

So happy there’s others like me who want to publicly talk about growing up with a schizophrenic mother! It’s such a lonely, lonely way to grow up.

Same!!!

Your comments are insightful and helpful. I am an 80 year old mom with bipolar II, and a 60 year old daughter who has suffered through her own trauma with my illness. Our lives feel stable and fulfilling now, but we had so many issues to work through on our journey. Hearing your story helps me interpret our struggles through another lens. Since bipolar is a highly heritable disease, I wonder if you notice bipolar tendencies in your own life?

My Mam gad psychosis sinxe i was 11 until i was 25. My keyboard isbt working

its so important to share the varying experiences of OCD, as its not just being neat and tidy, or washing hands.

I'm sorry if i am blunt with this question, but would you have preferred to be in foster care? Now as adults? Then as children?

Thank you! i'm a mother and have a mental illness. my question is if people avoid me, should i avoid going outside together with the child? The stigma to mental illness is heavy here and i am concerned that my child will put it on himself that people avoid us at the playground et cetera. He is still too young for us to talk about this. Dad says avoid going outside with him. Dad is healthy and we love the children very much. i'm not acting out when i feel ill. i keep it inside of me or leave home.

Thursday Aug.30,2023 thank you for your support of people who suffer from mental illness also. It is hard for me to explain why I do certain things but you just put it in words great. I also sleep for days. I also get delusional about a certain thing that I know is not possible but it seems so true at the time. I now don’t accuse anyone of anything but I do tell my husband when it happens, lol. I am sorry to my children for their terrible childhood experiences.

My mom had bipolar disorder and other mental health disorders as well and this video was immensely helpful

Thanks so much for having me Joel - loved sitting down and chatting about my lived experience of mental health. Keep up the great work!

Great channel, brother. I’ve invented a technique that helps with intrusive thoughts that involves “blowing them away” before they strike a nerve and affect you emotionally. Would you like to collab someday?

You dummies voted back in the tyrant who turned Victoria into a prison. So stupid

Thanks for sharing your experience. It resonates with me. Felt better just listening to this.

What actually did he invent

Thank you for speaking up about this ridiculous go referal crap

Wow!...that WOULD be lovely

Do/Can you guys work with West Aust, country kids?

8(

PS: Had no idea Anthoney took his own life . ...seems very suss; considering what he knows and has seen ... Hmmm

WoW! ABSOfknLOOTLEE!! Deceitful "help" s a HUGE problem for those who REALLY need it, Especially with this zilllion dollar, tax PAYER funded, govnmnt NDIS Scheme ) This is a massive issue ,!. YOU sound like a (rare) genuine advocate! well done fer SPEAKING UP n OUT

♥ Thank YOU!

You are GOOD at explaining this