Schizophrenic in 2020 (Coping with the Chaos)

Cecilia is diagnosed with schizophrenia and was first featured on SBSK three years ago. While filming she was symptomatic. Since then, she has worked hard to learn new coping skills and improve her mental health. Today, Cecilia is the founder of an organization named @studentswithpsychosis that is helping people around the world who experience psychosis.

This was filmed in 2020 as part of our "How Are You?" series.

SBSK's Socials:

[allie]

She looks entirely different wow! Glad shes doing so well :)

[addykd]

She’s actually looking at the camera this time just that alone is mind boggling

[Elfo_dei_boschi]

The improvement is remarkable, she's more relaxed, after the evident struggle of the first video I saw. I have major depression...it's pretty hard... Never give up, you're a beautiful human being

[christinemanjourides]

I love how this is not a “before” and “after” but rather an overcoming! It’s important that she demonstrates all the hard work put in and that you can OVERCOME and get through!! She still struggles with mental health but yet is showing the positive coping skills and the outcome it has. Great job Cecilia!

[markus]

What an intelligent, articulate, successful and caring person Cecilia is!

[omaltoca]

She shines so bright... I'm glad that she is doing better now and hope that after 11 months from this video she is doing even better.

[aubs]

I’m so happy for her she really looks so much healthier and happier

[sealion]

dude she's doing so well! I wish her happiness for the rest of her life

[katesteinfort]

What a fabulously self aware person. She should be congratulated for how she manages her illness!

[meganhardy]

Such a beautiful person. I also live with PTSD. It does make eye contact so hard and people don't understand till you tell them. I'm so happy for you Cecilia.

[EmoEmu]

Almost like an entirely new person. I've never seen anyone improve that much in 3 years. That's incredibly impressive.

[cutiehatemachine]

I am schizophrenic (schizoaffective, to be precise) and I’ve always loved that interview of Cecilia because she reminded me so much of myself. I’m still in Cecilia “1.0” mode (I hope it’s okay to say that, I don’t mean that in a negative way at all) because I too struggle with addiction and while I have made strides regarding self care, I had a massive relapse the other day that I am recovering from and this video is sort of a “wake up call” for me to really enforce self care in a positive way rather than destroy myself and pick up the pieces afterwards.

I’m very proud of Cecilia for working through everything, I’m very proud of every schizophrenic person who is trying (and even those who aren’t). I’m always an advocate of mentally ill people and I am happy with their triumphs as well as supportive during their worst moments.

I know she’ll likely never see this, but Cecilia has such an impact on her fellow schizo- population. She is very important and means so much to the world, during these triumphs or her struggles.

Thanks for all the work you do, SBSK. You may have an idea about the good you do, but the impact is so powerful that it’s made the world a better place and I’m not sure anyone can fully fathom that. I believe that.

[jerriewebber]

Lovely to see an update on Cecilia! She’s a memorable guest with a beautiful soul. 💜

[anaissainza]

Wow, this is simply amazing. She’s so articulate, intelligent and passionate about helping other people with psychosis. I really admire her work and her strength.

[MrLemmingus]

I really enjoy these videos, as a nurse, it is always good to hear from the ambassadors of groups explain how they feel and what they would like to do. It has been very enjoyable to use what I have learned here and take into our community. Thank you for sharing and allowing us an inside look.

[angelagallant]

Glad to see the comments back on.

I was so happy to see this video last year. Cecilia really seems to be in a better place … definitely exudes a light. 🤗.

[Bojardmommy]

I love how open she is about her struggle. She is incredibly strong and seems to be feeling much better all together. Thank you Chris for bringing these videos out to the public. 🥰

[justaquietbird]

I grew up with a mother that had paranoid schizophrenia, the medications she took ranged from things that fully incapacitated her, to things that made her feel so okay that she opted to forgo medication (wrongly)

Then there were the scenarios where she got medication that worked beautifully, but eventually was discontinued.

Life was an adventure.

I don’t think there’s a mental illness I could be more aware of than this. I’ve seen it and lived it.

Although the illness itself definitely has different experiences and outcomes.

[jessikadewitt]

When she came on to the screen I couldn’t believe it. That’s a whole different person

[capajensen]

Oh my gosh, I am SO happy that I saw this video! Ever since I watched Cecilia's TED talk a few years back, I was touched by her words and her earnest plea for society to stop judging her, and others, by their diagnosis. I have a few mental health disorders and have experienced some stigmatization (surprisingly, the worst was from those in the mental health field), but I cannot say that I have experienced the same thing that Cecilia, or others with psychosis have.
When I saw the SBSK vid, my heart broke for Cecilia - I could see that she was in a rough place and was doing well holding it together as best as she could - but then when I saw Cecilia's update tonight, my heart burst with joy. Seeing you smile and just how much more relaxed you seemed compared to your last video made me really happy.

Chris is right - recovery isn't linear; it's normal for us to have ups and downs. If today is bad, that doesn't mean that tomorrow, next week, next month etc. is going to be bad too. Everyone has bad days and good days; this doesn't mean that your condition is getting worse. I'm a total dork and I am a fan of the Animal Crossing series of games; there's a character called Katrina, the fortune-teller, and one of her pearls of wisdom is really fitting for today: Remember, bad times are just times that are bad. Whatever happens, it doesn't mean that we/you are bad, that life is bad, etc. Bad times are not a reflection of you as a person - they're just bad times - and you are so amazing and strong for making it through the bad times so you can experience the good times too.

From one adult to another, I am SO proud of you; I have some serious happytears goin' on. I'm so glad that you are using your platform and your expertise to help others that have psychosis.

I wish you the very best - you're such an amazing person and the world is infinitely richer for having you in it.