What a great video! I was looking forward to it, and you didn't disappoint. My only criticism is I wanted more. It's such an interesting perspective; few daughters would have been able to reconcile this behaviour, let alone forgive and make a documentary. The picture of your dad as a young, handsome man really brought home his transformation into a mental illness, comparing it to the later photos. You have been incredibly strong and compassionate, and it shines through in your delivery, showing the very real emotions you're still dealing with. Thank you so much for sharing this story. I am currently doing a human and social sciences degree, so I am very aware of the on going research into this mystyfiying mental illness, your video is a very compelling addition to that understanding. I'm going to share it with my tutor. I'm sending gratitude, love, and healing...
Wow, wow, wow! I am so touched by everything you have shared. I LOVE that you are studying human and social sciences and know you will add so much to our world with your passion!!! Keep shining!!!
Thank you Heidi! I couldn't agree more with Kiwi's work, the brilliant editor and animator. It was actually her first time doing animation and I am in awe of her work!!!
I grew up in chaos with a schizophrenic mother in the 60s & 70s, your documentary isn't the kind of thing I'd seek out to watch but it's something I need to see!
Thank you so much for sharing. Feeling the fear, the sad, the anger, the frustration. Standing in the center, looking back, looking forward, looking all around, feeling the limitless possibilities grounded in hope, love, and awareness.
I cried through this whole video. My son is schizophrenic and I've been having the hardest time ever dealing with it. I love him with all of my heart, but I'm still in the angry stage. Not so much at him but at the disease. This video was good!
Dear Janet, I so honor your journey and for sharing from your heart. I really hear your anger and hope you know it is okay to be angry. It can be a very hard path. I still find my owner anger from time to time too. I will share that through the healing work I have done it is much less than before. I share this so you know it is possible for you too. For me it has been a process as opposed to a singular moment that all of the sudden everything was okay. If you don't have a support system around you yet, I would invite you to consider doing so. While healing is something you have to do for yourself, it does not have to be done alone. Also, there are so many ways to get there - therapy is just one. Nature, reading books (spiritual ones helped me, but I don't want to push that on to anyone), massage helped with moving the energy that was stuck in my body, movement (again to move energy), and so much more. I hope this helps you even if just a little. You are not alone. All my best, Jessica
No other words other than beautiful. Touched my heart and soul. Truly a wonderful reminder that our parents also deal with their traumas, and it's for us to heal our own, yet still love them. Once this is understood, love is so much stronger than the anger and hate.
I met your partner today at sprouts farmers market and he told me about your documentary. I have a brother who suffers from schizophrenia, and your experience is deeply relatable to me and you’re so brave for giving others out there who have a loved one going through it in life by giving more perspective. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your story. I can't imagine the strength and courage it takes to open up about something so deep and personal with the hope of helping others. It truly takes an incredible person to be so vulnerable, yet so brave at the same time.
This is such an honest and powerful story. Thank you for sharing your light and I’m so proud of the courage you’ve chosen and that you use your experience to uplift others ❤
I am so touched with your reflection and I know it is because you have walked this path of courage too!!! Thank you for showering light in our world the way you do too!
What a beautiful, healing, and inspirational story you've created. It will bless many who have experienced similar challenges when faced with schizophrenia. Your authenticity, acceptance, and love for you and your dad is so powerful.
I am beyond grateful for you stopping by that one day to befriend my dad and all the blessings that have come from that moment on! What a model of love that Liz and you are to this world!!!
Jess, this is incredible! Thank you for your courage in sharing your story. You are truly inspiring and empowering. Your words will give others the strength to share their own journeys. I am so grateful for all that you have done for me and what this documentary will do for so many more! You should be incredibly proud of yourself! 🤍
Thank YOU for all your help in launching this and the bright light you are in this world!!! I can't wait to see all the ways your pour your love into this world!
Inspiring story of acceptance and masterful demonstration of sharing one’s vulnerability with the world! We have our work cut out for us in addressing mental health… Genuinely personal and widely relatable, this film gifts authentic insight and provides a powerful springboard for discussion.
I know you are pouring so much of your love and light to change this world in magnificent ways!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It is together we all heal and reach new heights!!!
Hi Jessica, I loved your film! It gives me such heart, you are fantastic for sharing your stories. My dad too, carries such duality in his life, both loving and terrible. It was so touching to see you applying nail polish (his favorite colors?), I will be thinking of you when I give my dad his next manicure. Thank you, thank you❤
Awww, Rebecca, I love that you do manicures for your dad too! With my father being a proud Marine, maroon and gold are his go to colors. I appreciate you hearing you navigate through the loving and terrible. What a gift for both of you!
That touches my heart that you wanted to know more. I will do my best to share more here and wherever else I can!!! Thank YOU for being on my team of spreading love!!!
My heart aches for you yet having lived through the madness of it all with my adult son, I see hope for a calmness on the horizon in this film. I wonder how to get there.
Your note means everything to me and exactly why I did this - I want you to have hope! Without knowing all the details of you and your son's journey, I don't want to make assumptions of where you are in your journey. I will share a couple things in case it helps...First, ask for help. It sounds like you are on a hard path and it can feel even harder alone. NAMI is a great place to start. They have soooo many resources, including other parents walking your path. Second, please know there is no right or wrong path for healing. It is an accumulation of love that eventually overpowers the pain. I get it in nature, loving friends, smiles with strangers, music, yoga, journaling, and more. All you have to do is keep trying. Big hugs to you!
This helps me see into my son's soul a bit more. Altho we are close everyday. The bit about genius, he was. It's sad to have our brilliant loved ones brains slip into this darkness. I'm glad he never lost his love and compassion for the family and friends that love him. He is sweet and gentle. And still enjoys life.
Wow. Wow, wow. Many. many congratulations on such a beautiful piece of art you created. Raw & deeply touching, it evokes tenderness and inspires reflection with the challenge of removing the limitations of only our own experience; our own perspective. I loved how the graphics/art evolved as your words unfolded and continued to describe or explain. That was so beautifully paired. I know it is only a mere glimpse into your journey of healing and unpacking all of those many years, but the honesty and openness you shared with me (the veiwer/audience) was so palpable. Your choice of acceptance and ability to move through it all in reconnecting, interacting, all of it, was so deeply inspiring and profoundly lovely.
I’m here after seeing you on Soft White Underbelly. What an incredible story. I don’t know your full experience but I do wonder how much of the terror was brought on by the reactions to your dads illness from the adults around you when you were a child… I can only speak from my own experiences and say that it has been my experience that from what I’ve witnessed, it seems that the reactions to mental illness can really exacerbate the situation and breed more fear. I don’t deny there was violence, threats and stalking but I do wonder how much of that was because of the reactions to his illness. Thank you so much for sharing your story and memorializing your dad in this way. ❤ beautiful job Be blessed, beautiful soul 💜
Such an important point you are making! I do believe we can be influenced by other people's fear. I also believe those fears can perpetuate behaviors as well (e.g. everyone thinks I am crazy so I must be >> that then influences their choices, etc.). How beautiful you came to that awareness so you can see the world through your own experiences as opposed to others. Keep shining your beautiful light!!!
Jumped hear from Mark's channel. I had 6 older siblings. Most with some form of a mental illnrdd and all that comes with it from incarceration, psychiatric wards, overdoses, self-harm, alcoholicism, drug addiction. A sister went to prison for murder when I was three and my mom was never the same and died when I was 12. Life with the siblings was hell. I walked away intact (or so I thought). It wasn't until I lost my dad (who I adored) and had to find some way to help find a living space for my 44 year old sister that I was told her bizarre behavior was due to schizophrenia. I was crushed as I researched and realized none of her behavior was her choice. Couple of days later, I lost another sister due to self harm. The previous year I had lost my nephew and then my brother due to AIDS. Well, I went into full-blown meltdown, I thought I escaped and didn't love them because of the horrors they had made in my life. I was so wrong. Took me 2 years to recover and have never been the same for 30 years. Short story, so much better to face things head on and not run away. And better to love than bury it and pretend it doesn't exists. Denying both eat your emotions alive until a crushing blow or blows leave you unable to cope with your own life. 😔 What a privledge to see it done the right way. Kudos.
I am so touched by your courage and your wisdom. Your vulnerability in sharing your journey will help so many see what is possible! Thank you for shining your light!!!
Thank you for this. Have you read any of John Weir Perry? His life’s work focused on treating schizophrenic patients through non pharmaceutical treatments. If you haven’t I would recommend starting with The Far Side of Madness. Thank you for your love and work.
Thank you soooo much for introducing me to John Weir Perry! I had never heard of him and in first glances it looks like our way of looking at all of this is aligned. I suspect I will learn much from him. I was hopeful to find more people like me by stepping out more publicly. This is true gift. It also makes me so curious about you and how you stumbled upon him...any which way, thank you!!!
Oh my heart! I am so excited to see you here. Thank you for taking the time to watch it and sharing your love!!! Hopefully I will see you down there sooner than later!!!
What a great video! I was looking forward to it, and you didn't disappoint. My only criticism is I wanted more. It's such an interesting perspective; few daughters would have been able to reconcile this behaviour, let alone forgive and make a documentary. The picture of your dad as a young, handsome man really brought home his transformation into a mental illness, comparing it to the later photos. You have been incredibly strong and compassionate, and it shines through in your delivery, showing the very real emotions you're still dealing with. Thank you so much for sharing this story. I am currently doing a human and social sciences degree, so I am very aware of the on going research into this mystyfiying mental illness, your video is a very compelling addition to that understanding. I'm going to share it with my tutor. I'm sending gratitude, love, and healing...
Wow, wow, wow! I am so touched by everything you have shared. I LOVE that you are studying human and social sciences and know you will add so much to our world with your passion!!! Keep shining!!!
@ thank you Jessica, backatcha 💯❤️
Incredibly well done! I especially enjoyed the art work and graphics as a means to support the narrative descriptions! Cheers! ❤
Thank you Heidi! I couldn't agree more with Kiwi's work, the brilliant editor and animator. It was actually her first time doing animation and I am in awe of her work!!!
I grew up in chaos with a schizophrenic mother in the 60s & 70s, your documentary isn't the kind of thing I'd seek out to watch but it's something I need to see!
I appreciate your honesty and hope your courage to watch pays off in dividends!!!
Congratulations Jessica. It's tender and lovely. What a beautiful tribute.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I love you Jessie, so proud of you
Thank YOU for being such an important part of all of this!!!
Thank you so much for sharing. Feeling the fear, the sad, the anger, the frustration. Standing in the center, looking back, looking forward, looking all around, feeling the limitless possibilities grounded in hope, love, and awareness.
I so LOVE the way you have said that! Thank you for adding to my perspective of this all.
I cried through this whole video. My son is schizophrenic and I've been having the hardest time ever dealing with it. I love him with all of my heart, but I'm still in the angry stage. Not so much at him but at the disease. This video was good!
❤ I pray my son doesn't miss the opportunity to know his father or all the love and acceptance available to be shared.
Dear Janet, I so honor your journey and for sharing from your heart. I really hear your anger and hope you know it is okay to be angry. It can be a very hard path. I still find my owner anger from time to time too. I will share that through the healing work I have done it is much less than before. I share this so you know it is possible for you too. For me it has been a process as opposed to a singular moment that all of the sudden everything was okay. If you don't have a support system around you yet, I would invite you to consider doing so. While healing is something you have to do for yourself, it does not have to be done alone. Also, there are so many ways to get there - therapy is just one. Nature, reading books (spiritual ones helped me, but I don't want to push that on to anyone), massage helped with moving the energy that was stuck in my body, movement (again to move energy), and so much more. I hope this helps you even if just a little. You are not alone. All my best, Jessica
I will pray for that too 💜
No other words other than beautiful. Touched my heart and soul. Truly a wonderful reminder that our parents also deal with their traumas, and it's for us to heal our own, yet still love them. Once this is understood, love is so much stronger than the anger and hate.
YEEEESSS! Your wisdom is so powerful and I whole heartedly agree. 💜
Jess, Beautiful project!
Spot on view of mental health outstanding.
We had tears in our eyes.
Thank you !!!!
Dear Sandy, I so appreciate all you have shared with me and all the healing you have done to be the light you are!!! 💜
I met your partner today at sprouts farmers market and he told me about your documentary. I have a brother who suffers from schizophrenia, and your experience is deeply relatable to me and you’re so brave for giving others out there who have a loved one going through it in life by giving more perspective. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing your story. I can't imagine the strength and courage it takes to open up about something so deep and personal with the hope of helping others. It truly takes an incredible person to be so vulnerable, yet so brave at the same time.
I so appreciate your kind words and hope that it helps you in your own journey.
This is such an honest and powerful story. Thank you for sharing your light and I’m so proud of the courage you’ve chosen and that you use your experience to uplift others ❤
I am so touched with your reflection and I know it is because you have walked this path of courage too!!! Thank you for showering light in our world the way you do too!
What a beautiful, healing, and inspirational story you've created. It will bless many who have experienced similar challenges when faced with schizophrenia. Your authenticity, acceptance, and love for you and your dad is so powerful.
Thank you Rachelle for seeing me and your words of encouragement! I sure hope it does bless others on their journeys 🙏
This is a truly beautiful film, full of honesty and painful truth; bravery, love, and hope.
Thank you Mary Lee!!! I so appreciate you taking the time to watch it and share your thoughts.
Jess: Thank you for opening your heart wide open. You are amazing. Praying God uses this video to help others. hugs and so much love. John and Liz
I am beyond grateful for you stopping by that one day to befriend my dad and all the blessings that have come from that moment on! What a model of love that Liz and you are to this world!!!
Jess, this is amazing! Thanks for sharing your story.
Jess, this is incredible! Thank you for your courage in sharing your story. You are truly inspiring and empowering. Your words will give others the strength to share their own journeys. I am so grateful for all that you have done for me and what this documentary will do for so many more! You should be incredibly proud of yourself! 🤍
Thank YOU for all your help in launching this and the bright light you are in this world!!! I can't wait to see all the ways your pour your love into this world!
Thank you for putting this into the World. So proud of you!
Thank you for all your love and support to make this happen!
I’m so proud of you. You poured your heart into this and it shows. ❤
Thank you for truly seeing me and supporting me ALWAYS!!! I love you - and can we talk about the dress you rocked at the premiere! 🔥
Inspiring story of acceptance and masterful demonstration of sharing one’s vulnerability with the world! We have our work cut out for us in addressing mental health… Genuinely personal and widely relatable, this film gifts authentic insight and provides a powerful springboard for discussion.
I know you are pouring so much of your love and light to change this world in magnificent ways!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! It is together we all heal and reach new heights!!!
Hi Jessica, I loved your film! It gives me such heart, you are fantastic for sharing your stories. My dad too, carries such duality in his life, both loving and terrible. It was so touching to see you applying nail polish (his favorite colors?), I will be thinking of you when I give my dad his next manicure. Thank you, thank you❤
Awww, Rebecca, I love that you do manicures for your dad too! With my father being a proud Marine, maroon and gold are his go to colors. I appreciate you hearing you navigate through the loving and terrible. What a gift for both of you!
Amazing! I was sad when it ended and wanted more. So brave of you and your father to share. Thank you.
That touches my heart that you wanted to know more. I will do my best to share more here and wherever else I can!!! Thank YOU for being on my team of spreading love!!!
My heart aches for you yet having lived through the madness of it all with my adult son, I see hope for a calmness on the horizon in this film. I wonder how to get there.
Your note means everything to me and exactly why I did this - I want you to have hope! Without knowing all the details of you and your son's journey, I don't want to make assumptions of where you are in your journey. I will share a couple things in case it helps...First, ask for help. It sounds like you are on a hard path and it can feel even harder alone. NAMI is a great place to start. They have soooo many resources, including other parents walking your path. Second, please know there is no right or wrong path for healing. It is an accumulation of love that eventually overpowers the pain. I get it in nature, loving friends, smiles with strangers, music, yoga, journaling, and more. All you have to do is keep trying. Big hugs to you!
This helps me see into my son's soul a bit more. Altho we are close everyday. The bit about genius, he was. It's sad to have our brilliant loved ones brains slip into this darkness. I'm glad he never lost his love and compassion for the family and friends that love him. He is sweet and gentle. And still enjoys life.
Wow. Wow, wow. Many. many congratulations on such a beautiful piece of art you created. Raw & deeply touching, it evokes tenderness and inspires reflection with the challenge of removing the limitations of only our own experience; our own perspective. I loved how the graphics/art evolved as your words unfolded and continued to describe or explain. That was so beautifully paired. I know it is only a mere glimpse into your journey of healing and unpacking all of those many years, but the honesty and openness you shared with me (the veiwer/audience) was so palpable. Your choice of acceptance and ability to move through it all in reconnecting, interacting, all of it, was
so
deeply
inspiring
and profoundly lovely.
My heart is soooo touched with everything you have shared. Thank you for your loving support!!!
Wonderful the way you conquered your fear of it - with love and letting your feelings flow out
Thanks Tucker!!! There are still moments of fear that creep in, but mostly love which feels waaaaay better! I hope you are wonderful!
Amazing , thanks for sharing this hit home.
Ivan, I know the courage and love in your heart. Keep tapping into that when times are hard. And, I am always here for you.
Hi, I'm Elizabeth from California USA nice meeting you.
Hi Elizabeth! So happy to meet you!
I’m here after seeing you on Soft White Underbelly. What an incredible story. I don’t know your full experience but I do wonder how much of the terror was brought on by the reactions to your dads illness from the adults around you when you were a child… I can only speak from my own experiences and say that it has been my experience that from what I’ve witnessed, it seems that the reactions to mental illness can really exacerbate the situation and breed more fear. I don’t deny there was violence, threats and stalking but I do wonder how much of that was because of the reactions to his illness. Thank you so much for sharing your story and memorializing your dad in this way. ❤ beautiful job
Be blessed, beautiful soul 💜
Such an important point you are making! I do believe we can be influenced by other people's fear. I also believe those fears can perpetuate behaviors as well (e.g. everyone thinks I am crazy so I must be >> that then influences their choices, etc.). How beautiful you came to that awareness so you can see the world through your own experiences as opposed to others. Keep shining your beautiful light!!!
@ thank you so much Jessica!!
Jumped hear from Mark's channel. I had 6 older siblings. Most with some form of a mental illnrdd and all that comes with it from incarceration, psychiatric wards, overdoses, self-harm, alcoholicism, drug addiction. A sister went to prison for murder when I was three and my mom was never the same and died when I was 12. Life with the siblings was hell. I walked away intact (or so I thought). It wasn't until I lost my dad (who I adored) and had to find some way to help find a living space for my 44 year old sister that I was told her bizarre behavior was due to schizophrenia. I was crushed as I researched and realized none of her behavior was her choice. Couple of days later, I lost another sister due to self harm. The previous year I had lost my nephew and then my brother due to AIDS. Well, I went into full-blown meltdown, I thought I escaped and didn't love them because of the horrors they had made in my life. I was so wrong. Took me 2 years to recover and have never been the same for 30 years. Short story, so much better to face things head on and not run away. And better to love than bury it and pretend it doesn't exists. Denying both eat your emotions alive until a crushing blow or blows leave you unable to cope with your own life. 😔 What a privledge to see it done the right way. Kudos.
I am so touched by your courage and your wisdom. Your vulnerability in sharing your journey will help so many see what is possible! Thank you for shining your light!!!
Thank you for this. Have you read any of John Weir Perry? His life’s work focused on treating schizophrenic patients through non pharmaceutical treatments. If you haven’t I would recommend starting with The Far Side of Madness. Thank you for your love and work.
Thank you soooo much for introducing me to John Weir Perry! I had never heard of him and in first glances it looks like our way of looking at all of this is aligned. I suspect I will learn much from him. I was hopeful to find more people like me by stepping out more publicly. This is true gift. It also makes me so curious about you and how you stumbled upon him...any which way, thank you!!!
BRAVO jessica !! Big Hugs from Wanaka
Oh my heart! I am so excited to see you here. Thank you for taking the time to watch it and sharing your love!!! Hopefully I will see you down there sooner than later!!!