“I was told I was Schizophrenic.”
After my National Youth Service (NYSC), I was in a relationship that almost led to marriage. But things didn’t go too well so it ended. A few months later, I was jobless and couldn’t do my Master’s because there was no money at the time. Everything was stagnant. I fell into depression. One day, a friend of mine sent me pictures of my ex-boyfriend doing his marriage introduction to another woman (just 6 months after we broke up). I was really shocked. “Wow! Introduction. From where to where? We just broke up.” People saw it on social media and were sending me messages. I didn’t know it got to me, coupled with the fact that I didn’t have a job. I was frustrated then I eventually got a job.
A friend later introduced me to a guy who lives abroad. We got talking a few times, but he wasn’t interested in a long distance relationship, so he withdrew. During that time, I started hearing voices, and all I was thinking of was the guy. People that knew me said I wasn’t myself, that I was always talking about him and it was like an addiction (I’d never met the guy). I also resigned from my job – I told my boss that I was married and was travelling to meet my husband and do my Master’s Degree in America. According to my family, they said that I started to do a lot of funny things. I packed my luggage one morning and said I was going to meet my husband (the guy) in America. I had no visa, no ticket, I just said I was travelling. I kept saying I was married to him, that it was my dad that stood in for him on our wedding day. I did and said some awkward things that showed I was mentally ill.
I was taken to LUTH’s Psychiatric Ward where I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, a mental illness. The doctors said there’s no known cause but sometimes it comes from depression. I spent over 6 weeks in the hospital. I was given drugs and after the 6th week, I became a normal person. The doctors told me Schizophrenia doesn’t have a known cure but it can be managed. So right now, I take my drugs every day.
I go for a check-up every 3 months. I’m now in a good relationship. I also have a job and am doing my Master’s.
A friend later introduced me to a guy who lives abroad. We got talking a few times, but he wasn’t interested in a long distance relationship, so he withdrew. During that time, I started hearing voices, and all I was thinking of was the guy. People that knew me said I wasn’t myself, that I was always talking about him and it was like an addiction (I’d never met the guy). I also resigned from my job – I told my boss that I was married and was travelling to meet my husband and do my Master’s Degree in America. According to my family, they said that I started to do a lot of funny things. I packed my luggage one morning and said I was going to meet my husband (the guy) in America. I had no visa, no ticket, I just said I was travelling. I kept saying I was married to him, that it was my dad that stood in for him on our wedding day. I did and said some awkward things that showed I was mentally ill.
I was taken to LUTH’s Psychiatric Ward where I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, a mental illness. The doctors said there’s no known cause but sometimes it comes from depression. I spent over 6 weeks in the hospital. I was given drugs and after the 6th week, I became a normal person. The doctors told me Schizophrenia doesn’t have a known cure but it can be managed. So right now, I take my drugs every day.
I go for a check-up every 3 months. I’m now in a good relationship. I also have a job and am doing my Master’s.