CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 82

she tells me that people treat her differently
because of me,” stated the mother of three as
her eyes welled with tears.
Irving expressed that community members
treated her negatively as they sought to make
life “more miserable”. They not only jeered her
but also attempted to “sabotage” her business.
“I had a thriving restaurant in the community
before I became ill. But [I] had to close it down.
When my condition improved, I received
assistance from family members to reopen, but
I had no clientele. Everyone in the community
that used to buy from me, stopped… They made
sure to tell others not to buy from me because
I am a mad woman.”
Amidst her struggles, Irving explained that she
had to take steps to market and promote her
business outside of the community. However,
her detractors were determined to influence
those people as well. It was clear that keeping
her business afloat is a priority, as she paused
the interview to greet a stream of customers,
with whom she joked as she attended to them.
“The business has picked up now and I have
customers from all over. I have some that if the
food wasn’t good, they wouldn’t buy. Because
of what they’ve heard dem come pon one big
inspection. Sometimes, I open the [kitchen]
door so that they can see what’s happening
and don’t have to think anything bad.”
This negative attention takes a toll on Irving as
she continues to come to terms with her illness.
“Mi feel terrible. Nuff time mi seh it wudda
betta if ah AIDS mi did have, because mi cudda
have AIDS and people nuh know seh mi have

it,” she reasoned as she slapped the top of a
table before her in the kitchen.
The race for survival
Irving outlined that, despite the social
discrimination, she has worked ha rd to improve
her condition with regular clinic attendance
and correct intake of prescribed medication.
Having lived with schizophrenia for 13 years,
Irving said, she attends clinic every three
months — reduced from every month. She
is also down to two pills per day, which is a
significant reduction from the 15 pills per day
that she took in the initial stages of her diagnosis.
She pointed out to CARIMAC Times that she
feels empowered as a businesswoman and is
comfortable with the support from her family,
including her common-law husband.
“I feel more independent now because I can
operate my business, and it helps my condition
that I have support from my family, even [if it
is] just to talk... My mother calls every day to
see how I am doing and hear what’s happening
with the business,” she said, adding, “People
with schizophrenia don’t just need financial
support, we need strong family bonding as
well, so that we don’t feel like outcasts.”
Based on information found on the National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)’s website,
family and friends are cited as instrumental to
the process of helping those who are afflicted by
schizophrenia, to set practical goals and learn
to function in the world. Each step towards
these goals should, however, be small and
incremental.

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