About Ioannis
Ioannis Skiotes
Before falling mentally ill with Manic Depression at 25 years old, I was a two time college graduate, physically fit, healthy in all regards. The wicked two year mentally ill journey that I embarked upon profoundly changed my life.
The pivotal point was terminated from my first professional position out of college with Burroughs Corporation in Tampa, FL. Feeling lost, alone, I sunk into severe depression, wandered the highways aimlessly. Nearly jumped off a bridge in Tallahassee, but too scared to commit suicide. Felt my mental condition severely slipping. The finality was hearing a humming noise like a tuning fork. Eventually wound up at my brother’s in the hometown of Joliet, IL, where I heard voices. Without health insurance, went to Manteno State Mental Institution. Same place as my mother, near the same age, with the same illness, with the same length of stay – one year. Theories that link genetics to mental illness may have a point.
Manteno was the epitome of incompetence. Convicts stated they’d rather be back in prison than being there. I was misdiagnosed, fed every wrong drug conceivable, four times a day, every day, for a year for illnesses that don’t even exist by modern medical standards.
Some made me hallucinate. Some froze me stone cold. All made me feel vile, mentally dulled to a point where I could not read a three sentence paragraph although had two college degrees at the time. Mercifully, Manteno was eventually shut down for patient maltreatment.
For the next eight months, I resided at Chicago Heights Halfway House. The facility was no better, but I could handle the incredulous side effects of the psychiatric drugs better. Keep in mind side effects from these drugs are not multiplicative, but exponential. You’re usually on at least two drugs, each with 10 to 25 side effects. Let’s be kind and say ten each. Side effects that are guaranteed to happen in twenty minutes after digesting that drug are not one hundred, but ten billion. It’s not a telephone number nor a sports player’s contract. It’s a one with ten zeroes after it. Remember, side effects are exponential, not multiplicative. They called it The Nut House for a reason.
One drug called Mellaril probably caused my heart arrythmia (Afib) that I resolved with a heart ablation thirty seven years later. FDA nationally banned Mellaril long after I left. Wonder how many died from the Afib this monster caused.
The process left me exhausted and institutionalized. Upon release, I drove 1800 miles to Arizona the next day. Try that road trip sometime. I slowly rebuilt my life, returned to Arizona State University, obtained a bachelor degree in Computer Info Systems as suggested by my best friend Mark Lega, who rose to CIO. Worked as a Computer Analyst for twenty years, then became a High School and University Teacher the next twenty four as of this writing.
During my reconstruction, had a memorable encounter with ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ star Jack Nicholson, stunning him by letting him know it was people like me that made his role famous. More importantly, I developed my Six Point Method how to live with this incurable evil condition. After frightful experiences from more psychiatric drugs than I have fingers and toes combined, I vowed to never take any drug for my mental illness. I’d die first.
For me, refusing psychiatric drugs was the right decision. However, it may not be for others. Each of my six points emanated from a different origin. All are rooted in Orthodox Christian tenets and common sense. The faith based ones can be exchanged for any faith for all faiths have these fundamental beliefs.
I proved to myself that I could beat this condition. I can control it. So can you. Life can be enjoyed once again. One. Day. At. A. Time.
From this, my goal evolved to help as many as I can who suffer from this illness via Author of Living With Manic Depression: From Pain To Purpose, Speaker, and Consultant.
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