Treatment Stabilized Me, Support Empowered Me

My name is Neesa, and I live with schizoaffective disorder. Since 2012, I have taken clozapine — and that treatment, along with strong professional and community support, has completely changed the course of my life.

Before I found the right treatment, I was unable to work and was considered disabled. I cycled in and out of hospitals because the medications I was given were not working. I lived with constant psychosis — delusions, paranoia, and command hallucinations — that made me feel unsafe every moment of the day. I also experienced severe sweating and physical distress that made everyday life feel unbearable. At that time, stability, employment, or a future felt impossible.

Everything began to change when I was placed on clozapine and surrounded by the right supports. With proper treatment and monitoring, I was able to stabilize, rebuild my life, and begin rehabilitating. I returned to work and eventually took on full-time employment as a peer specialist, helping others who faced the same struggles I once lived with.

In 2020, I earned my master’s degree in social work. From 2021 through 2025, I worked as a clinical therapist under supervision as a licensed master social worker. Today, I am pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Salford in England on a full scholarship through the Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub. None of this would have been possible without access to effective treatment and a coordinated system of support.

My recovery did not happen because of medication alone. It happened because I had access to qualified prescribers who monitored my treatment carefully, the support of therapy and a community clubhouse model, and the encouragement of family and friends. Treatment gave me stability, but support gave me a life.

It is important to say clearly: care should not mean overmedicating someone until they become a zombie. That is not recovery. For many years, even on clozapine, I was overmedicated because my providers did not take the time to refine my regimen or consider how it affected my functioning. That is unacceptable. People living with serious mental illness deserve expert, thoughtful care that is aimed at rehabilitation — not sedation.

Good treatment should help a person reconnect with their community, build relationships, pursue education or work, and develop a sense of meaning and purpose. With the right care, people with schizophrenia and related illnesses can live full, productive, and meaningful lives.

My story is proof that treatment saves lives and that neglect costs not only individuals and families, but society as a whole. When people are given access to high-quality medical care and sustained support, they do not just survive. They contribute, lead, create, and thrive.
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We deserve the best in healthcare so we can participate in society fully and meaningfully.

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Neesa’s story shows what is possible when people living with severe mental illness receive the right treatment, expert care, and sustained support. Recovery is not only about symptom reduction — it is about restoring lives, families, and futures. When treatment is delayed, denied, or poorly managed, the costs are measured in lost potential, repeated hospitalizations, and human suffering. When care is accessible and effective, people do not just survive — they contribute, lead, and thrive. Treatment saves. Neglect costs.