One Family's Story
SeizingPsych was founded by a family who understands the challenges of living with mental health first hand. Whether from the experience of someone living with a diagnosis, a parent, or a sibling, all of their paths relied on their perseverence as a family. This story cannot be told in full on a single webpage, but we do hope that their experiences provide you with hope and that our community provides you with a place where your experiences are understood and valued.
Will was a gifted student and athlete, not to mention a social butterfly throughout his high school career. He held titles as the varsity team captain of lacrosse and cross country, student representative on the Harford County Board of Education, and National Honor Society President, as well as having maintained positions in up to six offices. A graduate of Harford Technical High School, he looked foward to a full 4 year scholarship to John’s Hopkins University to pursue politics. A brother and son, he was an active member of our family with a bright future ahead of him, he hoped to one day run for president.
Unfortunately, Will only attended one year at Hopkins. Not long after he
started at the university, he began with many strange accusations and beliefs. He blamed our father for poisoning our dog, and claimed that someone was injecting meth into his lizard. He believed he had both gangrene and AIDS and refused to drive above 10 mph. His grades fell to failing and the dean of the university called home expressing concerns. We thought he was trying to be funny, but we could not understand why he would jeopardize his future and relationships with family and friends in the process. Then, one morning, we got a phone call at 5 AM. Will was standing in front of his car, more frightened than we had ever heard before: He wassure someone had stolen his car then brought it back, parked it in exactly the same spot he had, flattened his tires, put sugar in his gas tank and run off, only to return at that moment, watching and stalking him, out for him. His paranoia and delusions lead him to legitimately fear for his life.
We told him to go to the counselor’s office where his treatment journey began. In June, of that year, after being referred to the emergency room, where we received the first of over 48 schizophrenia diagnoses. It was obvious that the voices in his head insulted and aggravated his every waking moment. Unable to fill out a job application or even cook a grilled cheese sandwich, he was dependent entirely on his family. Living with a single mother there was little to no income as his safety became among a top concerns for our family. Will was treatment resistant and most of his prescriptions provided only limited relief from his symptoms, if any at all.
Eventually, Will began treatment at the National Institute of Mental Health where he underwent a two month suicide watch. At the time, four types of schizophrenia were recognized by the diagnostic manuals, and he displayed symptoms of all of them. Voices told him that his family had been murdered and that he should kill himself - if he didn't do it, then they would. When nothing else would help, doctors at NIMH prescribed clozapine, a medication usually considered a last resort in the US. Finally, on clozapine, Will found some sanctuary from his delusions and hallucinations, and was released from NIMH after staying for the longest duration patients are allowed as research participants. From NIMH, Will moved to a rehabilitative group housing facility called Alliance and began participating in research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC).
Today, Will has graduated from the Alliance residential housing program. He still receives attends a psychiatric rehabilitative program and receives care at the MPRC. He takes his medication by his own accord on a daily basis, and he remains an inspiration for SeizingPsych and his family.