Schizophrenic hoping for better days
Former high school athlete’s life derailed after devastating diagnosis
Published:Sunday | March 30, 2025 | 3:25 AMRochelle Clayton - Sunday Gleaner Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
Robert George*, a former high school athlete with big hopes of owning a record label, was devastated when diagnosed with schizophrenia at the age of 19. A decade later, George continues to fight to get his life “back on track” as he deals with the lifetime mental disorder.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines schizophrenia as a mental disorder characterised by significant impairments in perception and changes in behaviour. The symptoms may include persistent delusions, hallucinations, disorganised thinking, highly disorganised behaviour, or extreme agitation. The disorder reportedly affects “approximately 24 million people or 1 in 300 people worldwide.”
George told The Sunday Gleaner that he lived a “normal life” until his diagnosis in 2015. He was a talented student athlete, having competed in basketball and track competitions for his Trelawny-based high school. He was well on his way to establishing a music career. He even attended community college.
However, George explained that things took a turn after smoking marijuana in Montego Bay, St James, one Saturday night. Notably, he said that his father is also living with a mental illness, so he was predisposed to the condition.
“I was at a place in Montego Bay. I was smoking. A lady sold me the weed. I am not sure if it was laced, but after I smoked the weed, my head felt like it was swelling, and I blacked out,” he recounted.
“I saw some security guards and told them I wanted to go home because my head was swelling. They weren’t listening to me, so I ran off. After that, it was like I couldn’t run anymore, so I just lay on the ground for a little while. I felt cold. I felt like it was my last time on earth.”
He was eventually taken to the nearby Cornwall Regional Hospital before being transferred to Bellevue Hospital in Kingston, where he reportedly stayed for two weeks. After being released from the hospital, George remained in Kingston for two years, working in a store on Spanish Town Road. He returned to western Jamaica and landed another job, but that was short-lived.
“It was a forced resignation because they found out about my illness. I wasn’t acting violently, but I was so overworked and stressed, I would space out sometimes,” George told The Sunday Gleaner during an interview on his veranda on Friday afternoon.
Though visibly nervous, the young man kept his composure while detailing the traumatic incidents he had experienced since being diagnosed with schizophrenia. George explained that he lost his last job in April 2024 and has been struggling to land another.
At the same time, George said he has experienced multiple relapses due to not being consistent with his medication. His last relapse landed him in the hospital last December for two weeks.
I just felt overheated
“Last December, it had been close to six months since I was off the medication, and I just felt overheated. I was walking with my mom after church. I started hearing some thoughts and was unable to control them. I went to [a family member’s] house and was just chilling, but then I felt like the house was burning. In reality, it wasn’t, but I felt hot, so I rolled in the dirt. People were there looking at me, and they didn’t know what to do. I went by the cemetery. I lifted somebody’s grave, and some guys were running after me, but I was fast,” he recounted.
“I just want to get back my life,” George murmured.
Concerned family members took him to a neighbouring hospital for treatment, but George told The Sunday Gleaner that he was left with physical and emotional pain.
“I heard that it was about 11 of them holding me down to tie me up. I was pulling off the bed, but you know how they deal with people who have mental illness, they tied the sheet under my arms. A doctor said that my lymph nodes are damaged, so I have this nerve problem now. I feel a lot of burning, and my arms are numb. I am doing therapy for my hands, but it has been two weeks because the lady who does therapy is sick,” he said.
“They tied me up some nights. Sometimes I still feel chest pains because they tied me right around my chest too. I was telling them that I couldn’t breathe, [but] they tied my chest and arms,” said George. His claims were also backed up by his sister, who told The Sunday Gleaner that she saw him being tied up inside the hospital.
Meanwhile, George said he now religiously takes his medication and is hoping for better days. He shared that his family and friends have been great sources of support during this journey.
“I feel like I have missed out on a lot of things. I was always wishing good for people, and somehow the good never did a reach me. It’s not a badmind thing, but maybe I wasn’t trusting God enough. There is a scripture about the fruit of the spirit, and long suffering is a part of it, so maybe I just got a lot of long suffering,” he said with a chuckle.
“It has been hard for the past few years. I have been isolating for a little while, but I want to tell everybody to go out, especially when they have mental issues or depression; go out and talk to people. A lot of people are suffering from mental illness, but we can’t open up because people use it against us, so I also want people to treat those with mental illness better, even the ones on the streets,” said George.
Professor Wendel Abel, a consultant psychiatrist and therapist, told The Sunday Gleaner that, while Jamaica’s public health system has improved its services for mental health patients, there is still more to be done. He also pointed out that the National Health Fund (NHF) offers many of these medications free to Jamaicans.
“In today’s world, we’re able to offer them many options. We can offer them less medication, long-term injection, therapy, and natural approaches to treatment. We try to tailor our treatment to meet people’s preference and their needs, and I really want to emphasise that because that is important.”
“The reality is that a disorder like schizophrenia is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, and a major part of the treatment will have to be medication. There are newer medications on the market that are more effective and with fewer side effects. These drugs are available in Jamaica and the best news is that almost all of these drugs are covered under the National Health Fund. Therefore, people can get them for free in the public health system,” Abel said.
Abel, who is also professor of mental health policy and head of the Department of Community Health and Psychiatry at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus, said people living with schizophrenia will soon have an additional treatment added to the NHF.
“There’s one particular injection which is becoming very popular. It’s given every month, and we’re trying to introduce another version of it, which can be given every three months. It costs J$70,000 per month, and people will get it free of cost in the public sector.”
Abel further emphasised the importance of all Jamaicans being aware of the patient rights charter, which can be found on the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ website and provides information about a patient’s rights and responsibilities.
Physical restraints
on mental health
At the same time, he acknowledged that there are worries about the use of physical restraints on mental health patients in the local health sector. He pointed out that this is a traumatic procedure that may have long-term consequences for the sufferer.
“I know there are concerns about the use of restraints and this has been a major issue. We’re shifting our care to make it more patient-centred, rights-based and recovery-oriented. It means that we put the patient at the centre of what we do and we listen to people’s voices. And we give them choices,” Abel said. “Unfortunately, in many settings, I personally think there is an overuse of physical restraints, and this is something that needs to be looked at. We must be mindful that this could constitute a violation of people’s fundamental rights, and it could also be re-traumatising for them. I hear the complaints about clients being put in restraints, and it can be traumatic and in many instances, it may not be necessary.”
Noting that a large majority of people living with mental disorders are not violent, Abel is calling for additional resources to help them lead normal and fulfilling lives. He believes that social investments and training programmes will be beneficial.
“One of the things I would want to see moving forward as we focus on the recovery-oriented model is for us to do more investment in giving persons living with mental disorders more access to training, so that they can enter the workforce and become more productive. A lot of people with mental illness are living with family, and you find a lot of times it’s the older family members, usually the mother, who is providing care. When that parent dies, the person could end up in poverty, so we have to find a way to provide a social safety net for persons with mental illness,” he said.
“This would be good for their self-esteem and will help them to function as a contributing member of society,” Abel added.
*Name changed to protect identity.
On Tuesday, WHO published new guidelines to “help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems”.
According to WHO, “Mental health services worldwide remain underfunded, with major gaps in access and quality. In some countries, up to 90 [per cent] of people with severe mental health conditions receive no care at all, while many existing services rely on outdated institutional models that fail to meet international human rights standards.”
1. protecting and upholding human rights, ensuring mental health policies and services are aligned with international human rights standards;
2. promoting holistic care with an emphasis on lifestyle and physical health, psychological, social, and economic interventions;
3. addressing social and economic factors that shape and affect mental health including employment, housing and education;
4. implementing prevention strategies and promote population-wide mental health and well-being; and
5. ensuring people with lived experience are empowered to participate in policy planning and design to ensure mental health policies and services are responsive to their needs.
The guidance identifies five key policy areas requiring urgent reform: leadership and governance, service organisation, workforce development, person-centred interventions, and addressing social and structural determinants of mental health.