Elfy scott mum

When journalist and author Elfy Scott reached the age of 14, she started to consider that her mother might be experiencing something that other parents weren't. It was a conversation with a school counsellor that first introduced Elfy to the word 'schizophrenia' and set her on the path to understanding what her mum was going through, elfy scott mum.

The stigma surrounding complex mental health is such that Elfy Scott completed a psychology degree to learn more — but even that fell short. W hen I was told that my mum was living with schizophrenia — by my school counsellor, when I was about 14 — I had almost no concept of what that really meant. All I knew for sure was that it felt dark, scary and taboo. In other words, my understanding of complex mental health was almost entirely defined by the stigma that surrounds it. I had begun to suspect that there was something rather odd about Mum, beyond the normal eccentricities. Putting a name to the diagnosis made parts of the puzzle fall into place — but it also opened the door to more questions: What was schizophrenia, actually? Who else was living with it?

Elfy scott mum

In April of , my mum sent a message to our family WhatsApp group. In any other family group chat, a message like this would be a horrifying, shattering thing to receive. Mum, however, remained insistent on her initial theory. The rest of the time, we spoke about it surprisingly little. For readers who share these cultural backgrounds, this brand of repressed family discourse will likely need no further explanation. She has a tanned complexion, with a bob of silver hair and a broad smile. Mum is also a deeply private person. As it turns out, she was really pleased by the idea and agreed to participate on the basis telling her story could possibly help other people. One of the first ways that she helped in my research along was to hand me an exercise book, which she had used as a journal to document her memories of psychosis. A post shared by Elfy Scott elfyscott. It took me days to work up the courage to even begin reading the journal. Mum was obviously petrified by the appearance of the voice, and she was also plainly hurt by what it had to say. Caring for my older siblings Maddy and Mike had been hard enough, and having another child on the way seemed like wholly too much to handle.

And they must have known, but I never asked them about it. This article is more than 2 years old.

The drugs belonged to her mother. Eccentric, sure; even a little odd. But not crazy. People including her mother. As Elfy learned as a teen, her mother has schizophrenia, a mental disorder that affects roughly one in every Australians.

Elfy Scott grew up with a mother with schizophrenia — and it changed her perspective on mental health. Many can relate to a lack of communication within families. Sometimes we talk about everything else, but avoid the things that really need to be said. But it really never went further than that. Of course, kids are perceptive. For Elfy, this helped her understand that what her mum was doing, and her medical team was all pretty banal.

Elfy scott mum

In April of , my mum sent a message to our family WhatsApp group. In any other family group chat, a message like this would be a horrifying, shattering thing to receive. Mum, however, remained insistent on her initial theory. The rest of the time, we spoke about it surprisingly little. For readers who share these cultural backgrounds, this brand of repressed family discourse will likely need no further explanation. She has a tanned complexion, with a bob of silver hair and a broad smile.

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I had begun to suspect that there was something rather odd about Mum, beyond the normal eccentricities. Sign up to Mamamia Daily. I think that's a pretty strong signal in itself about the stigma that still surrounds it. Image: Pantera Press. Your top news stories of the day, in your inbox every weekday. One night, late in her pregnancy, as she watched television in the downstairs living room, Dad quietly ironing clothes on the other side of the room, the voices came on in a particularly hateful onslaught and Mum was forced to acknowledge out loud for the first time what had been happening to her. Later I would complete a psychology degree, so hungry to learn more about the mind and complex mental health diagnoses. Very Peri. Back to top. This article is more than 2 years old. Despite stubborn myths, it does not typically involve 'split personalities' nor cause the person to be violent. Duration: 21 minutes 32 seconds 21 m. Listen Now.

Too many people with mental health problems fall through the cracks because of socioeconomic disadvantage. Life just goes on and for most of my life our family household, while full of obnoxious noises and heated arguments about inconsequential topics, was always relatively functional. This is, of course, extremely lucky.

Images: Supplied. Really thoughtful commentary and opinions. The cause of schizophrenia is not fully understood, but genetics are believed to be the biggest risk factor. And, so, it became a secret. The truth is, the schizophrenia many of us think we know fails to reflect the reality of the schizophrenia that most people experience. It was a conversation with a school counsellor that first introduced Elfy to the word 'schizophrenia' and set her on the path to understanding what her mum was going through. Image: Pantera Press. In addition to this, our family was financially stable enough to afford mum long-term, regular care with psychiatrists, with whom she formed meaningful bonds. Parent Opinion. A GP I recently spoke to about mental health treatment of patients with schizophrenia told me that he saw vastly different outcomes at different ends of the socioeconomic spectrum. View this post on Instagram. These systemic failures contribute significantly to the stigma and misunderstanding that surrounds schizophrenia. Too many people with mental health problems fall through the cracks because of socioeconomic disadvantage.