Change of Life

Change of Life

by Noelle

Seroquel, Zyprexia, Clozaril…over the past three years these antipsychotics, and the challenges they represent, have permanently altered my outlook and reactions to life. When I was entering my sophomore year of high school doctors diagnosed my brother Jacob with schizophrenia-a mental illness that left my then uneducated family searching for a cure. My development towards accepting Jacob's illness has affected me more then any other experience-it has changed my views about my family, myself, and the people in my community, as well as provided me with a definite purpose in life. The antipsychotic medications pictured are the material objects that most closely represent the situation that has shaped the way I will lead my life.

Living with a mental illness has changed almost every aspect of my personality. When Jacob was first diagnosed I was intolerant of his condition and could not accept the challenge my family faced. To cope with the situation I flooded my life with rigorous academic classes and extracurricular activities; I became too busy to deal with problems at home so I avoided them. Unfortunately this attitude neither solved my problems, nor helped my relationship with my family. Gradually, though I began to recognize the severity of my brother's condition and what an impact I could make on my family just by being available.

Accepting Jacob's condition exposed me not only to his challenges but to the challenges of the entire mental health community-I began to reach out to a group of people I had previously sought to avoid. Aside from the challenges they represent, the medications present a completely different adversity of their own: each person's brain functions differently, generating a situation where a medication could be successful for one patient and ineffective for another. Every medication requires at least a two-month trial period before a decision can be made-often Jacob would try a medication, living through two months of horrible side effects only to have to start over with a new drug. It has been witnessing this process that inspired me to pursue a career in the neurosciences-I feel I can make a difference for the mental health community. There remains plenty of room for advancement in our method of treating the mentally ill. Jacob's illness, and his medications have provided my with a purpose I can feel passionate about.

Antipsychotics have played a major role in my life- both the medications themselves as well as the challenges that they represent. Although I do not feel any affection to the drugs I do value the new strengths the situation has instilled in me.

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