"Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined” is a groundbreaking podcast brought to you by the BC Schizophrenia Society and supporting partners. Host Faydra Aldridge, CEO of BCSS, and co-host Melissa McKenna, Marketing and Communications Manager at BCSS, speak with medical experts, families, and people with lived experience of mental illness to dispel myths and get to the truth. Be prepared for frank conversations, up-to-date medical information, immersive sound design, and stories of hope and resilience. This podcast is for anyone whose life has been touched by mental illness. In other words, it’s for everyone.
https://www.bcss.org/lookagain
episode 3: Me & My Three Mothers: Life with Schizophrenia
If you’re the child of a parent who lives with mental illness, you can be faced with a lot of tough challenges. You may feel overwhelmed, sad, scared or even angry. You may resent your parent for not being like the other parents. Or you could also wind up as a caregiver and try to fix everything. In her lifetime, Dr. Grace Cho, author of her memoir Tastes Like War, says she has had three mothers. The mother of her childhood, before schizophrenia. The mother of her adolescence, a woman who is visibly deteriorating mentally. And the mother now, a woman trapped by schizophrenia and the voices and delusions that it brings. In this episode, Dr. Cho reflects on her journey from teenager to adulthood and how her mother’s schizophrenia shaped the direction of her life and her work. She talks about the social factors that left her mother feeling vulnerable and the stigma that prevented her from getting treatment. And how she found a way to build a loving relationship and connect with her mother.
Resources:
Grace Cho's Book: Tastes Like War
KIC Children's Booklet
Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre
Supporting Children of Parents with Mental Illness in the Classroom (Heretohelp)
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