Tracey Higgins joins us on the show today to share how she healed from schizophrenia after losing 19 years of her life to a condition that affects millions of people worldwide. At the age of nine, she was taken from her home where she became a ward of the state. Over the next 19 years, she moved around from hospitals, group homes, a juvenile center, and the streets. In her late twenties, Tracey found the courage to leave her schizophrenic world to help a child who was being sexually abused by her father; she discovered at the same time she too had been sexually abused as a child. That triggered off the healing process from her own dark world that robbed her of her dignity and basic human rights. When describing schizophrenia, Tracey calls it a waking nightmare. Coming out of it is a true awakening of oneself—becoming weller than well, a new version of self. It has been said that schizophrenia is an incurable brain disease, but is it? Tracey says no. She believes it's a survival mechanism brought on by disturbing or traumatic circumstances. Today Tracey is here to tell you that schizophrenia doesn't have to be a life sentence. While some mental health professionals called her hopeless, she went to college, worked in Government, and owned and operated a popular restaurant. We chat about... Where Tracey's mental health journey began What her symptoms looked like Why she calls her symptoms "reactions" What life looked like living with paranoid schizophrenia How she suffered from trauma amnesia What it was like to have the memories of abuse flood back How she navigated living with schizophrenia without medications What it was like to be a ward of the state Tracey's thoughts on what is wrong with our current mental health system Why Tracey's against the brain disease theory What she believes treatment should look like for people who live with schizophrenia Tracey's thoughts on what she believes leads to schizophrenia What she feels would have helped her back in the day Tracey's struggle with suicidal ideations What her mental health looks like today ____________________________ Click here to leave The Courageously.u Podcast a written review and rating. ____________________________ COURAGEOUSLY.U SHOW NOTES: https://courageouslyu.com/tracey-higgins/ COURAGEOUSLY.U INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/courageously.u/ COURAGEOUSLY.U FACEBOOK COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1416219115169393

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