Life with schizophrenia is hard enough without others looking at you like you are crazy. Just because they know that everyone isn’t plotting to kill you doesn’t mean to say it’s any less real for you.

You are constantly walking through a world where reality is far from what it seems—but to you, this is reality and nobody gets it.

Schizophrenia is often associated with the word delusional, but isn’t that just as bad as labeling someone crazy? For any atypical person, the things we believe may not be possible, but for us, they are as real as the words you are reading right now.

And this is exhausting, draining, and even terrifying. According to the University of Oxford, we are at greater risk of committing violent crimes, not because we want to, but because we genuinely fear for our lives.

Having all of this on our shoulders with few people to genuinely understand what we physically and mentally go through daily is lonely.

There is no doubt that science, therapies, and medication may be a significant part of your experience with schizophrenia, however, the light can also come from a different source—one where faith and spirituality guide you on a path to a greater life, constantly accompanied by the warmth of God.

You have suffered alone for long enough. It’s time to step away from the freaking out and into a blessed world. But you are going to need guidance from someone who has walked in your shoes. Free on Kindle.