My Autumn of 1980    Rev Ernie Mills

One autumn afternoon in September 1980 I ended up in the emergency room of Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, NC. That afternoon I was admitted to the psychiatric ward of the hospital and later diagnosed by a psychiatrist as suffering from an acute episode of schizophrenia. I spent two nights in the hospital and was released under the care of the staff at, what was then, Trend Mental Health. The road to healing was difficult and there were relapses. No one outside of my immediate family knows about this episode but after recently listening to Ted Talk I am inspired to share it in the hope that it might inspire others to share theirs.