Sean C. Harrison chronicles his journey (Part II)

“ My need of you, my friend, is great

When all about me issues hate.

I can face their rancour, sure

If I know one whose heart is pure.”

‘Stand With Me’, Sean C. Harrison

Battling paranoid schizophrenia in what are considered a person’s most life-defining years was no easy feat for Sean C. Harrison.

Harrison, in Part I of this article, shared that he had made the decision to remain in Jamaica while his immediate family migrated to the United States.

Following this decision, he had to fend for himself emotionally and socially, having been diagnosed only a year before.

But for his great and small victories over the mental illness, the now poet, songwriter, and singer credits the love and support of others.

Reminiscing on his darker days, he said, “Much concern was expressed at my deterioration in a way that was unprecedented as the constant pressures escalated and the forces of darkness concentrated their efforts to destroy me.

Homeless

“There was widespread shock at the spectre of my walking naked at long distances in my community, as well as sleeping on the streets, resulting from having been driven from my home by the same young man I reared under the instruction of relatives abroad.”

Harrison told Family & Religion that in that time, he suffered much stark abuse, ranging from ridicule to physical assault by community members, as well as having to resort to begging on the streets and displaying verbal aggression that, according to him, wasn’t typically how he behaved.

But among the unwritten, yet official healing qualities of love is its ability to reach people in the darkest and lowest of valleys. Harrison was no exemption.

“The prayers of the saints and the urgings of good friends, as well as their kindness – some of whom professed no faith – would have eventually helped me back to the world of sanity.

“To be integrated into a community is one of the greatest sources of help any mental-illness sufferer can find, and I found that in the church community. I am now no longer an attendee to church, but I do look back with gratitude upon the genuine love I was shown by so many who would have, among other things, spent quality time – many hours – encouraging me and lifting me up in prayer, as well as discussing the scriptures with me. All that gave me a deeper insight into the things of God,” he said.

Sean C. Harrison is a poet, author, singer, and songwriter whose work can be found on Amazon and on his various social-media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com