You are not alone, and you are in the right place. You may have never planned to be where you are in your life right now, but that's okay. It's not the end and can really be a beginning. You can find a new normal, and you can want your life again and be happy with yourself.

I went through the intense pain, shame, and fear of experiencing psychosis multiple times and being diagnosed with schizophrenia, where I felt isolated and alone. But you don't have to be. I write in my posts with Psychology Today what I needed to read in my early days of recovery and beyond. All I want is for my experiences to not be in vain, if I can reframe them in a way that helps others.

I blog, write poetry, and am working on creative nonfiction memoir. I am currently working on my memoir, "Threads of Truth: An Emotional Battle to Move Past Schizophrenia and Into a New Life." It's about my own battle with schizophrenia, how I survived emotionally, and how I am living a life close to the one I had always had in mind.