Managing a Mental Illness

Abstract I was diagnosed with schizophreniaform (a precursor to schizophrenia) in 1988, after my first break with reality, then with my second hospitalization the diagnosis was changed to schizophrenia, and then the next doctor said I suffered from bipolar disorder, or in the language of the time, manic-depression. This last diagnosis stuck, and is how I am viewed by my most recent doctor, Ronald Yendrek, D. O. of Barberton, Ohio. In a word, mental illness is a drag. It drags on me, my mind, my family, and everyone who knows me well, or sometimes even not so well-word gets around you know. Managing something that you have no control over at times is impossible, difficult to say the least. But I try, I have for 15 years.