(WHAS11) - Imagine living your life hearing voices in your head.
That's what it’s like for those with the mental illness known as schizophrenia.
Those living with the disorder say making it through a day is a struggle.
There is a national push to bring awareness about mental illness and there is a movement here locally.
Seven Counties Services works to help those living with mental illness and they shared a video with WHAS11 News that helps people see through the eyes of a schizophrenic.
It is a simulation video that shows you what millions of Americans experience every day dealing with constant voices and hallucinations.
This is what many schizophrenics deal with constantly.
While the people in this video are actors, the scenario is very real.
Susan Klusman Turner was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was a teenager.
“When I was 14 and had my first psyche testing they told my mom and dad put me in a home and forget they had a daughter,” says Susan.
She's come a long way since that time with the help of medication and therapy.
Susan can now function with the critical voices in her head. She says she still hears them 80% of the time.
“I want people to know that it’s an illness and not a death sentence,” she says.
She is now a peer support specialist at Seven Counties Services.
During the interview she said she didn't hear the voices but that changed when she started conducting her support group session.
When the voices came back it was more difficult for her to concentrate but as you can see, she carried on with the group.
“I’ve always told you guys that recovery is kind of like that, there is no straight line,” says Susan.
When she feels like the voices are taking over, she holds her husband’s hand and focuses on encouraging others towards recovery and spreading the truth about a very real illness.
“I want people to accept it and stop treating it like its taboo and that we are somebody to be afraid of,” she says.
Susan says she conducts a normal life and that recovery is possible even though the voices she hears are telling her to hurt herself and are extremely critical.
Much of the research now suggests that schizophrenia is genetic and typically begins in early adulthood.
