By Savana Robinson
March 8, 2023, I was released from a psychiatric facility with two diagnoses: schizophrenia and bipolar I. A year later, I’m doing better than ever. I’ve got a nice job as a multimedia journalist, I’m close to graduating, and I have a great group of people who care about me. Getting here wasn’t easy – I had to reconstruct myself as a person. It took a lot of support, therapy, and medication, but I did it.
I went back to the fundamentals of me. I left Humboldt and moved back into my childhood bedroom in Redwood Valley. The pink walls with pastel butterflies and flowers, my rock collection, and my numerous stuffed animals helped gently bring me back to where I needed to be.
The first few weeks of being back in the world were scary. I wasn’t in psychosis anymore, but the paranoia and hallucinations of onset schizophrenia were still present. I had been started on medication for it a few days before I was released, but it still took some time and help to be manageable. I’ve been in therapy since the day I got out of the facility, which has helped tremendously. Of course, I chopped off my hair. Some people believe that hair holds on to memories, so I got a bob. I loved it for a while, but I eventually mourned my long hair.
Per my routine-abiding father’s suggestions, I started by waking up early, making my bed, walking the dogs, and making breakfast. I took it one day at a time and eventually, I was thriving. I had to drop advanced photojournalism, and I couldn’t use the school’s camera anymore, but I love taking photos, so I bought my own.
Photography is another form of therapy for me. It’s relaxing and lets me express my creativity. I got a job doing photography and blog writing at a mini golf course in Ukiah. I continued with a few of my classes from home, doing online work when I wasn’t taking pictures. I finished out the semester and by the summer, I felt that my medications had leveled out enough to feel “normal.” I didn’t feel like I was moving through jello anymore.
Halfway through the summer, I decided that I wanted to go back to Humboldt, despite my parents’ protest. I found out my friend had a vacant room, so I moved back to Arcata and went back to school in person. I was a bit nervous, but I was confident that I would be fine. I worked on The Lumberjack and continued to take photos. I started doing sports photography and made some money doing it. I even did my first wedding photography gig. In January, I got my job at Redwood News. I’m just getting started in my career, but I’m optimistic for the future.
After being released from the psychiatric facility, I had no idea where I’d be in a year. I was hopeful that I’d be somewhat successful, but I didn’t expect to be working as a professional journalist. If I had to do my year of healing all over again, I’d do it the same, because I’m very happy with how I turned out.