<Benedictine Sisters' Stories: Going from Psychosis and Depression to Hope: Stories from the Battlefield>

Going from Psychosis and Depression to Hope: Stories from the Battlefield

By a bow of the head or by a complete prostration of the body, Christ is to be adored and welcomed in (all). Rule of Benedict

John* was 17 years old when his world was turned upside down. A soccer star who had been looking forward to playing professionally, John sustained a career-ending injury in a moment of searing bad fortune. Then, as he struggled to regain his balance, he was seized with mind-bending delusions and a rage that threatened not only himself but everyone around him. The diagnosis: schizophrenia.

     “The mental health field has changed a lot since I first became a social worker,” says Sr. Norma Reiplinger, OSB. “The medical model used to focus on the limitations of one’s disorder. The thinking was, ‘You have schizophrenia? Too bad. Your life, as you knew it, is over.’

     “Between new medicines and a new recovery model, the prognosis for many disorders has been greatly improved,” Sr. Norma continues. “We believe that the power of the individual is key: you can guide your own life. But it won’t happen overnight.”

     John’s family lived with his disorder for ten years before seeking help. By the time Sr. Norma got to know him, he was living in the basement and uncommunicative. “John was symptomatically active and psychotic,” she says. “We moved him to the residential wing of our facility where he totally shut down. He wore a hooded sweatshirt even though it was summer. He sat two feet from the TV and slept a lot. He refused to admit something might be wrong. It took two years for him to really start coming around. Now he is stabilized and   connecting with others. He is conducting exercise classes for the other residents! And he is beginning to think about looking for a job as a coach.”

    Jobs can be difficult to come by for those who battle mental health disorders: employers worry that they may prove unreliable on the job.   Sr. Norma chuckles and says we all have issues. “None of us are       mentally stable all the time,” she says. “We really need to work on our            open-mindedness. Normalcy is a very relative word.”

    In fact, Ben* looked perfectly normal. About 40 years old, he was well groomed and handsome. But his family was concerned: he never left his apartment, would no longer look at them when they stopped by, and barely responded when spoken to. “Ben was severely depressed,” Sr. Norma explains. “But when I saw him I thought, ‘Somewhere deep inside he has a ray of hope.’      And inch by inch, he began to open up. He began seeing a doctor, went on medicine     and joined our group. After a while, he applied for and got a job.

    “It was like watching a flower bloom!” Sr. Norma continues. “Ben is now working forty hours a week. It took a leap of faith for him to believe that he could succeed, but he did it.” It took a leap of faith for the employer, as well. Many people like Ben have no work history to review, no proof that they are worth investing in. “We all are worth investing in,” Sr. Norma says. “God invests in us every day. God gives us the hope that, no matter how dismal things may seem, things can be different.

    “As a social worker, I’m a door opener,” Sr. Norma continues. “I’m an instrument through which God works. This job has made me more tolerant, not only of my own limitations but of others’ limitations. It constantly reminds me that I am an interdependent being: I am dependent upon others, and I am certainly dependent upon God.”

* Not their real names.