BACKGROUND

To give you some background, I am just an ordinary girl who had no known mental health issues prior to my first bout of ‘psychosis’ (which consisted mostly of paranoid delusions and muddled thinking) in 2018. I haven’t had any episodes since 2020 and have lived a normal, amazing and fulfilled life for the most part after this. Further, I know that if I were to have another episode down the track, I will be able to get through it with the right supports, as I am a fighter.

I was born in Queensland, Australia, and grew up with my sister and parents in a four-person household. My heritage is Fijian-Indian, and we would go to Fiji every couple of years to visit my paternal grandparents, but other than that, Australia was home. Despite our ups and downs, we held strong family and life values, and most of my confidence and self-esteem came from the fact that I was a nice person, tried not to hurt others and was kind and compassionate.

Secondary to this was that I always felt ‘smart’ growing up, and this contributed positively to my self-esteem. I enjoyed various friendships throughout my life, and enjoyed my schooling years too. I enjoyed life in general, and was an overall very happy girl. Fast forward a few years later, year 12 was one of the best years of my life. I had some great friendships, I was becoming closer and closer to my sister who was living interstate to attend medical school, my parents were fighting less, I had been elected Academic Captain, and I was just at the happiest and most confident stage of my life.

A few years passed, and I lost some of the close friendships I had made in high school upon commencing a double degree in law and business, and was finding the change in environment from high school to university difficult, but had made some great new friendships too. Little did I know what was to come…