The whole world needs to see this film.
Produced byAcademy Award® Winner Ira Wohl
and Katie Cadigan
Your Opinions
We are always grateful to those who share their opinion of People Say I'm Crazy, and who are open to sharing their own story of how mental illness has impacted their lives--either because they are affected personally, or because they have a family member or close friend who is affected.
Please share your own opinion of the film here, or visit Your Stories for more personal reflections.
Highlights from Your Opinions:
- an employment counselor
We love your film and show it whenever we can to people who come through our doors.
- a case manager in upstate New York
You are making a huge difference!
- clubhouse founder
My son, who has schizoaffective disorder, ordered your film and we've both watched it. John, seeing you struggle took me back to when my son was so very sick. I have bipolar 1 disorder with psychotic features so could relate also. I thank you for the courage and persistence it took for you to make your film. And boy, you sure lost a lot of weight!! How did you do that? Both my son and I take Clozaril and I've been battling weight for years. Thank you again,
- Jessie Close
In 1994, I was a mother of two, a Montessori teacher, and writer who was suddenly thrust into a world of psychosis. I was a trained therapist who became an incoherent stranger to herself and a devoted wife who separated from my husband overnight and had two affairs that were as brief as my manic episode of that time. Mine has been a journey of forbidden happiness, grandiosity, paranoia as well as delusions, and at its worst, nearly fatal suicide attempts. When I was 34 I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had a psychotic breakdown to a non-functioning state.
It took me thirteen years of treatment, education, and faith in mental heath professionals to reach stability and face my mental illness head on. As of this writing, I am on recovery and committed to working with NAMI as a Stigma Buster, a presenter for a program called In Our Own Voice. I hope to offer hope to those who live in the shadows of mental illness by helping erase the faceless anonymity of bipolar disorder. All my writings have the same purpose and both my poetry and prose speak of the struggles but also of the gains of suffering from a mental illness.
People Say I’m Crazy is an inspiring movie who certainly helps people who are having difficulty accepting their diagnosis or who have lost faith that they can reach stability. Families who travel this arduous road will benefit from this masterpiece, which should also appeal to anyone searching for information and enlightment on mental illness and its recovery process.
From a writer from Los Angeles.
- Aliete Guerrero
John, I'm pleased to see People Say I'm Crazy offered at a very affordable price. Four or five years ago, you and your sister brought this powerful film to our NAMI affiliate in Contra Costa County. Our hearts were moved and our minds were changed. To this day, NAMI Contra Costa members talk about the film and the remarkable service you have provided for the public. I am going to recommend the purchase of People Say I'm Crazy to our NAMI-CC Librarian, and I can assure you that its acquisition will continue to be a source of inspiration. Thank you for your courage and willingness to let us witness some of your journey with schizophrenia.
- Kay Derrico, NAMI Contra Costa Board Member
This was the most real film about mental illness I have ever seen…
- a writer in CT
People Say I’m Crazy just taught me more about what schizophrenia is than all my years in medical school. I’m about to start my first year of residency at a psychiatric hospital and I’ll be bringing everything you just taught me to my patients.
- Harvard medical student
I’ve never seen anything like this film. Astounding. None of us have ever seen such a REAL film before. It’s like watching our lives. Thank you...
- a mother in Canada
This film is incredible! It put into words and images what it really feels like to have paranoia...
- a peer-counselor and client in Dallas
