 by NSSC member Jeff Simpson Warming Up to Life I was born in San Diego, CA in 1958. My childhood development was centered around family, academic study in preparation for college, and sports. I always loved sports and was a pretty good athlete. I played Pop Warner football and little league baseball as a kid. In highschool I wrestled, played tennis, football, and golf. I studied hard and established a 3.8 GPA. I graduated from high school at El Capitan in 1976. Soon, I was a student at the University of California San Diego in La Jolla. At UCSD, I studied hard and was doing well until the end of my second year when my concentration began to falter. I started to do poorly academically and had to drop out and move back in with my parents. The disorienting chaos in my life had begun. Mom and dad knew something was wrong, but we had no idea that a schizophrenia diagnosis was on the horizon. My parents and I thought that for me to “find myself,” it could be helpful to take time off and travel. I decided to relocate to New York City with the intention of possibly finding a job there. After about a month in New York, I realized that I needed to return home. My mind was not doing well. Looking back on this point in my life, I can now see that I was experiencing a feeling of being lost and not feeling connected to anything. I barely made it back to San Diego. About three months later, my dad and I decided that the Army might be the right fit for me. I was still feeling disjointed, but thought this was a good idea as a career. Again, this didn’t turn out as intended. I went to Missouri for basic training and after 8 weeks I returned home, falling further into a feeling of unrest. Getting a Gameplan Eventually, my mom and dad convinced me that seeing a doctor to figure out what was going on with me would be beneficial. I sat down with the psychiatrist and after answering a series of questions, he concluded that I needed to check into the psychiatric ward. Frightened and not believing I needed to go to the hospital, I ran out of the office and headed home. The psychiatrist understood my need for treatment and called security to track me down. When they eventually caught up with me, I was tackled and injected with a high dose of the antipsychotic medication, Haldol, and brought to the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital. This was necessary because I had anosognosia. I didn’t understand that I was ill and needed treatment. I remained hospitalized for three days and was then transferred to what they called a Mental Rehab Unit. This was 1980. My hospital stay lasted for thirty days. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, I was told that I could go home and that I needed to take my medications and meet with my psychiatrist every month. Again, this was 1980 so the medications for schizophrenia were limited. I was prescribed Haldol, which I later learned had major tranquilizing effects. My Cheer Team My parents were critical to my recovery process. My mom was especially hopeful for many years. Initially confused by my behavior, she joined the local NAMI to get advice from other parents and learn about schizophrenia. When I was first taking Haldol, my parents provided me the support I needed just to get through the day. They would come over and clean my apartment and often do my laundry as well. As I was not doing well at this point, my parents were troopers who always showed up for me. As time went by I would go over to their house every weekend and we would go see a movie and afterwards go have some Chinese food. We did this routinely for many years. Eventually, because of my mom’s persistence, I got SSDI and government-assisted housing. After twenty-three years, I reached a tipping point and I stopped taking my Haldol because it “zombied-me-out.” But everyone including myself thought it was just the way schizophrenia affected me. I was sick and tired of feeling this way so I stopped taking it. I called mom and dad and told them what I did. Thankfully, they helped me get back into the hospital, and I was started on a new medication, Abilify. I felt the benefit almost immediately and left the hospital after about ten days. I switched to Abilify and this made a huge difference in the way my brain was functioning. I've been taking Abilify for about twenty-five years and it's been good for me. We are all different and it is important to note that because Abilify works for me and Haldol didn’t, it doesn't mean that it won't work for someone else. Winning with Insight My life began to take off again in a positive way! It was 2005 and I started going to groups and taking the occasional course about schizophrenia and mental illness. I learned about the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) program. Soon I started working again, spending my days in the back room at a local store. Then I had another life changing experience. I learned about peer support work. I signed up for a Peer Employment Training class, and have been doing peer work ever since. I met my wife Joanne about ten years ago and we’ve been married for two. She has given me the love that has been so powerful in my recovery. My mom and dad remained supportive up until they both passed. They gave me so much love. I miss them dearly and use the love they showed me to help others in their recovery process. Celebrating Recovery Today there are many things I do to stay well. These are my “wellness tools.” These tools include exercising, dancing to rock-n-roll with my wife, journaling, working as a peer support specialist, reading, lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, swimming, and walking. I love to hang out with friends and just talk about life. We bounce ideas off of each other to find solutions to our challenges. I am thriving and ready to take on each day with enthusiasm. At sixty-six years old, I am thankful for living a life of meaningful recovery. I realized I was loved and the role this played in my recovery. Now I help others with love and respect.  Photo courtesy of author. Pictured: Jeff Simpson Give all the support and help that I can to the seriously mentally ill.
I worked at Telecare Agewise for 3.5 years. I linked our clients to the appropriate mental health help. I supported all our clients in developing their behavioral health recovery. Now I work at RI International as a Recovery Coach. I facilitate groups and support our peers in their recovery. We use workbooks like WELL or Wellness and Empowerment in Life and Living, WRAP or Wellness Recovery Action Plan and many other workbooks. I’ve been with RI International for a little over a year now. I love watching people recover from their behavioral health challenges.
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