Don’t let anyone take that fire and light from you.
I have schizophrenia and anxiety, yet I live a pretty good life and manage as well as I can. Is it perfect. Definitely not. But whose life really is?
Since my recovery, I have talked about my illness openly. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. I’ve never been married. No kids. Lot’s of independence. I am extremely happy. I love my life. But I always have room for more.
In my life and my recovery, I try to be a good and decent human. I am definitely not perfect and make so many mistakes but I hope I get points for really trying.
I have a chemistry degree, an applied mathematics degree and an MBA from McMaster University. I was also told I would never graduate. Three degrees later, I guess they were wrong.
I have a full time job that I don’t really speak of much. I do work quite a bit though. My blog and advocacy work are on the side. You can follow me here on LinkedIn!
This Blog…
This blog will tell you everything you need to know about my illness, my recovery and my life. I suggest you discuss any and everything you read here with your doctor or health professional and/or fitness professional before doing anything. I am only a person sharing her story, I am not a professional.
I believe in every movement and stay neutral, you can call me mad, you can say I have a lived experience, you can say anything about my illness, just remember everyone, no matter what you call them, really experienced a mental illness, and their story matters.
My Story…
I wrote my first book, titled Embracing Schizophrenia. Want to know what the title means? Basically, I think it’s unintelligent that you put a label and make assumptions about me by one word, because there is so much more to me than my illness. My illness is something I have, it is not who I am. And the book was very therapeutic for me and a lot has changed, so there may be a second book!
Promise me you won’t give up. It won’t be easy. The odds will likely be against you. They will tell you, you may not recover. Or even ever live again. Don’t believe any of it. You keep going and you keep fighting.
samantha mercanti 