Erin Lynn Hawkes is a neuroscientist and author of the book, When Quietness Came: A Neuroscientist's Personal Journey With Schizophrenia. Before being diagnosed with schizophrenia in her early 20's, Erin considered herself an average person. After all, everyone has a little voice in their head, right? She did not know that her paranoia and delusions were outside of the normal experience.

Coming out of the closet as someone with a mental illness was challenging for me. Even so, I wasn’t a successful psychotherapist with a nearly 25 year career under my belt. Dr. Carolyn Dobbins, however, is. Dr. Dobbins has schizoaffective disorder and her recently published book, What A Life Can Be, gives us all a revealing look at what that’s like for her.

Caring for an adult with mental illness is like walking a fine line. On the one hand, the person is an adult and probably doesn't want to be coddled or told what to do. On the other hand, an adult with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe anxiety or major depression may need help and support to remain stable or stay out of major trouble.

When Marvin Ross' son was diagnosed with schizophrenia, it was a relief to finally know what was wrong. Still, Marvin says the stigma of schizophrenia prevented his son from being diagnosed earlier, delaying treatment.