World Schizophrenia Day: Living with the mental illness

“Dealing with schizophrenia can be tough. I have learnt to accept this reality," says a 52-year-old woman as she recalls the closed chapter of her ambition to soar the skies as a pilot. World Schizophrenia Day is on May 24.

4 min readPuneUpdated: May 20, 2022 02:23 PM IST

Roney George with the 52-year-old woman who trained hard to be a pilot as a youngster. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia much later and now works with the Chaitanya Institute of Mental Health. (Express Photo/Ashish Kale)

Reena (name changed) was among the 13 women selected nationally to join the first batch for pilot training in the early 1990s. She cleared the intense pilot aptitude battery test (PABT) and underwent psychometric tests apart from medical examination to then qualify for training at the Air Force Academy at Dindigul in Andhra Pradesh. She even flew her first solo sortie till she fell ill with a disorder that could only be diagnosed as schizophrenia in 2001.

“It has been a long journey since then and it is a reality that I have learnt to accept,” the 52-year-old woman told The Indian Express as she calmly goes about her new role in the accounts section of Chaitanya Institute for Mental Health at Kondhwa.

The high achiever who graduated with physics and chemistry as her core subjects from a top university in Kerala also cleared the exam conducted by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India while she pursued her passion for flying. But that chapter was soon over as she faced episodes of nausea and a sense of strange smell while flying.

“It was not frequent, as that would have been air sickness, but I vomited during a solo sortie and subsequently my father refused to allow me to continue and I had to quit,” she said. These episodes and related symptoms, like irritability, were often thought to be part of a severe premenstrual syndrome. While she went on to work in a few firms in Kerala, her debilitating illness – which affects 21 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization – could only be identified in early 2000.

“I was hospitalised and then when I recovered, my family went to Mumbai. An unsuccessful marriage and accident later, I soon realised that I was scared to interact with people. I lost my self-confidence and a month before the pandemic, my family admitted me to the Chaitanya Institute of Mental Health in Pune,” recalls the 52-year-old who is aware that schizophrenia is a serious mental illness.

May 24 has been declared World Schizophrenia Day in a bid to spread awareness about the illness and eradicate myths and superstitions around mental illnesses in general.

According to a Lancet study, one in seven Indians were affected by mental disorders of varying severity in 2017. The proportional contribution of mental disorders to the total disease burden in India has almost doubled since 1990.

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Schizophrenia is a serious mental health disorder that impacts an individual’s ability to think, feel and behave clearly, says Roney George, founder of Chaitanya Institute which has seven centres across the country. While four centres are functional in Pune, the others are located in Goa, Kerala and Panvel. With the institute set to celebrate 25 years in 2024, George said they have helped rehabilitate more than 10,000 persons with mental illness.

“The 52-year-old woman is also fit to be discharged. In such cases, family members have also to be convinced and guided so that they can get accustomed to welcoming them back home. This is a challenge and there are still so many persons with our centre who cannot go back to their families,” George said while citing the case of Neeta (name changed) who has been at the centre for 22 years.

“Her mother died during the Covid pandemic and she has no siblings. So we had to accommodate Neeta’s 93-year-old father at our centre as she has recovered but is yet to find a suitable job,” George added.

Dr Vidyadhar Watve, former president of Indian Psychiatric Society, told The Indian Express that schizophrenia is a chronic, relapsing and remitting illness. “However, comprehensive treatment can help fight the disorder with pharmacological, psychosocial interventions and family support. The role of family members is immense. Unfortunately, there is stigma and discrimination still associated with disorders like schizophrenia and many do not receive specialist mental health care,” Dr Watve said.

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According to WHO, a range of effective care options exist for people with schizophrenia and at least one in three people with the condition will be able to recover fully.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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