Health Spotlight | Shattering the stigma of schizophrenia

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Millions of Americans are living in a world that doesn’t exist. They hear voices, see things others can’t, and hold beliefs that defy logic.

The condition is called psychosis, and it affects three out of every 100 people. The term includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. One man is letting us inside his mind, to help others who may be diagnosed with it.

“It was in March of 1984. I was 29, almost 30. I was a captain of the United States Army,” said Darrell Herrmann, who suffers from schizophrenia. “My specialties were field artillery and nuclear weapons. And I began to fall apart. I had delusions that I was drugged to produce super soldiers. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I knew something was wrong.”

Herrmann was a college graduate with a degree in physical science, a military officer, and diagnosed with schizophrenia.

“They just gave me pills and said, ‘here, take them,’” Herrmann said.

Given a military discharge, Herrmann went back to college, earned a computer programming degree, got married, and was feeling good. So good, he stopped his medication. The voices, paranoia, and hallucinations all returned. He got help and changed antipsychotic medications.

Motivated by his personal experience, Herrmann committed himself to advocating for people suffering with psychosis, and shares secrets to his success.

“Number one, you have to take your medications as prescribed,” Herrmann said. “Number two, you have to stay away from alcohol, don’t do drugs or marijuana. And number three, you have to cooperate with your treatment team.”

Herrmann has written a book called Straight Talk about living with severe mental illness.

“The big thing I want people to get out of it is an understanding of what it is to be psychotic and how you’ve got to change your life to live with that,” Herrmann said.

Another key element to his recovery has been finding a support group with people dealing with psychosis where they share information about new medications and help each other deal with obstacles.

Herrmann wrote his book not only for people with mental illness, but their family members as well, so they can understand who and what they are dealing with.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.