meghan

When I was a freshman in college I started hearing voices and people's faces began looking like insects.This wasn't my brain on drugs!!!!!No--this was schizophrenia, and I had it really bad. That was how it began , and so for many years my life consisted of going in and out of hospitals and taking really heavy duty medications to control the psychotic symptoms. There were even shock treatments. Of course, I made art to express the way I felt about the pain in my life and the angst in my soul. Art alone could tell people what I was going through. You know what they say, one picture is worth....... Anyway.......it is nearly thirty years later at this point in my life. About seven years ago I got into a clinical trail for a new medication and it works well with out all the horrendous side-effects that most of the medications have. So now, basically for the first time in my adult life, I am feeling free, free to be who I really am, free to live how I want to live, and to have a life that has beauty and quality. I don't go to the hospital anymore. My soul is not torn apart. So, what I am trying to do is redefine the public image of what is possible for persons who have schizophrenia. I want to change the stereotype of what schizophrenia is. It's a big goal. I just finished the rough draft of a book that tells my story. And I'm painting images that attempt to convey graphically how it is to be in the body of a schizophrenic person. That work isn't on my art website yet, but I hope to have it there soon. You can see some of my art at http://www.meghancaughey.com/ Anyway, I want to reach out to persons who are having problems with their brains and who may be discouraged with how life is proceeding. It is possible to overcome very hard circumstances and conditions and I want people to know this!