Our resources are curated and designed in partnership with OnTrack participants, their families, and team members. Use the filters to select specific topics or formats, or scroll through our library below.

My story: How medication helped me (Sheinn)

Resources for teens & young adults

Transcript

Sheinn: My name is Sheinn Ramirez. I'm 23. We were going to go on a cruise. That's what everything started.

Jimena (Sheinn's mother): This is her first trip going by herself. I was happy for her because it was time her to have fun by herself.

Sheinn: I got to the boat and I wasn't able to eat anything because all the voices were telling me there was poison in my food. I would feel like something was watching me. I even told them that there was cameras on the tower and the little towels they left.

My boyfriend Logan was confused. I started telling him like he's going to harm me. He's going to hurt me. And I almost jumped out of the boat. I started running. I took my sweater off and I just decided to go to the edge and jump off. Logan, my boyfriend, decided to pull me back. He didn't even know what to do because it was something so drastic.

Jimena (Sheinn's mother): When we went to came to pick up in the airport. I saw her in her eyes really different. It was a shame there that she was not there anymore She was frightened. She was looking everywhere like somebody's gonna hurt her.

Sheinn: A couple days after my cruise, I wanted to go up in the attic to escape from there thinking that my parents were clones. It was like a horror movie because I wasn't able to communicate with my family. I wasn't able to even enjoy the moments with them because I was so confused and not even knowing who they were. And you can't escape from it until you get the actual help. So I chose medication and then they put me in the process for the injection. Then, I went to OnTrack. They gave me more of an option where I can keep it or change it, or a pill form or injection. I was able to choose and make the right choices for my own medication.

Jimena (Sheinn's mother): After they put her on the medication, everything changed. She recognized us. She accepted the food. Everything was going little by little back to believing us. 

Sheinn: I stopped hearing voices. I was able to do my regular activities that I like to do. I think medication is very important, especially when it comes to mental illness. Not everyone is a fan of medicine which I do understand. But if it saves someone's life, if it saves someone's reality, then I really recommend taking medicine. It makes you feel like you can live life with no regrets, even though you have a mental illness. You can have a normal life, as they say, and feel comfortable with whatever you do.

 

Share, save, or keep learning

Need help now?

This website is not monitored 24/7 and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know needs immediate support, please call or text 988.

Or, view free resources for immediate support.

OnTrackNY would not be possible without the support of our partners:

New York State Psychiatric Institute
New York State Office of Mental Health
Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc.
Center for Practice Innovations
Columbia University Department of Psychiatry