This narrative is not only exaggerated, but it’s also inaccurate. “My doctors gave me a prognosis of ‘grave.’ That is, at best, I was expected to live in a boarding house and work at menial jobs.” Saks, for example, was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young woman after multiple visits to a psychiatric hospital. That the best-case scenario is a sub-par existence where every goal they have is limited by their mental state. Unfortunately, when someone starts having these frightening experiences, doctors and medical professionals often tell them that their life won’t ever be the same. It’s like “having a nightmare while you’re awake,” describes Elyn Saks, a legal scholar and mental health-policy advocate.
They may believe things that aren’t true. They might see or hear things that aren’t there. Each year, about 100,000 youth and young adults experience psychosis for the first time.
