Overcoming the hurdle of mental illness

Ardent about a mission to defy the odds of mental illness, and with the unmatched help of God, prove himself worthy and capable, Jahloui Wright has had to fight many battles.

The St Mary young man named mental illness as one of the many challenges he has had to overcome to achieve some of the goals he set for himself.

“I got baptised at the age of 12 when I was in first form at St Mary High School. I started off well in high school for the first two terms, then I fell ill in the last term. I started struggling with depression and mood swings, and nobody knew what was the cause.

“My mother was a mental-illness patient, and so that later explained it. In second form on my 13th birthday, my grandfather committed suicide, and that was the beginning of something really terrible,” he said.

Wright shared that he and his grandfather had a very tight bond, and the period of loss was especially devastating for him.

“This man was like my father, and he did something like that which nobody knew why. I was hospitalised shortly after that because I was traumatised ... . I wasn’t eating or sleeping. Months passed, and I got over it, but the spell of illness would continue. I was in and out of the hospital right throughout high school. When it was time for me to sit my CSEC (Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate) exams, I had just got out of the hospital the December prior. I was miraculously recommended for seven subjects, which my dad paid for, and I went ahead and did them and passed six,” he said, noting that though his poor attendance prevented him from making the graduation list, he felt blessed to have succeeded in his exams.

His hospital experiences all found him in a desolate place. However, a prophecy, which came through his uncle’s wife, promised that God would deliver him out of his situation.

Wright, who is now 26 years old, shared that he was last hospitalised in 2015 and has since been applying for a permanent job but has not yet received a positive response.

“I am currently working as an administrative assistant at the Richmond Primary School, but that job will end in August. I sat the correctional services exam and was successful in all areas except the medical examination. I have also applied to the Jamaica Fire Brigade and the Jamaica Constabulary Force and was turned down. That is the reason why I am so focused on getting into college. Because of the illness, I have to be on medications, but I am coping. God came through for me in the sense that regardless of all I have been through, I am still functioning. I am working, which is good, but I still want to go further,” he said.

Shortly after sharing his story with Family and Religion, Wright reached out to report that he was later accepted to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work at the Jamaica Theological Seminary.

“I don’t know where the college expenses are coming from, but I am trusting God,” he said.