My family was a very conservative, but dysfunctional family, my personal family more so because my father was mentally ill. Because of this, I suffered a nervous breakdown at nineteen and was hospitalized; I saw a psychiatrist in my mid-twenties who helped me enormously.
In those days, mental illness, and its victims, also suffered from stereotypes and stigma.
As I began to understand myself, I grew as a person and have had many unexpected enlightening experiences. That journey is far from over.