People with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder are no strangers to taking medication. Often, they take multiple medications, like me. I take so much medication I have trouble keeping track of it. But I take medication for my schizoaffective disorder, because it’s part of my treatment plan and it means I can live a full life.

Before I started taking antipsychotics, I was always really skinny -- I had never weighed more than 105 pounds in my 19 years of life. It was part of my identity. So was being eccentric -- a lot of my identity revolved around being what would now be called the manic pixie dream girl. In case you haven't heard of this particular dream girl, think of Zooey Deschanel or Kate Hudson in "Almost Famous." Pretty and petite, yet whimsical and quirky. But now I deal with schizoaffective disorder and weight gain.

At nearly 300 pounds, psychotic and impoverished, many doctors and associates had written me off just seven years ago.  Getting back on top wasn’t easy.  It took a lot of work, help from a good doctor and a lot of determination on my part.  Through this I have discovered what I thought what was once impossible, that I could take control of my life despite having schizoaffective disorder.