Mental illness will not stop Sean C. Harrison

"Some a we inna clean clothes a mad man just the same but yuh wudda neva know a suh it guh for we stay on top a we game."-

Excerpt from Two Sides of Madness by Sean C. Harrison.

"Life as a child was mostly good, but then as we grow we know that life changes, and so did it change for me," said Sean C. Harrison as he reminisced on how a journey that began with a relatively healthy and fun childhood, later took an unexpected turn down the valley of mental illness.

Prior to exposing the sudden downhill trot, Harrison told THE WEEKEND STAR that as a child, he was exposed to many of the better sides of Jamaican living.

He grew up in Red Hills Pen, St Thomas, with both parents, experienced various areas of Jamaican life, and got a solid education. Nothing, at the time, indicated that there would be a left turn up ahead.

"Family life became stormy and though I didn't think it affected me at the time, it really would have impacted me later on in early adulthood in the manifestation of mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia in particular at the age of 19," he said.

Harrison shared that despite being in the troughs of the illness, he matriculated to the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, where he pursued a performance course in music, his main love. He was able to maintain a position at the top of his class for the three semesters he was in attendance.

He also shared his disappointment with having to drop out of school as the medications began affecting his vocal cords. He wasn't able to sing anymore.

This regret was, however, the gateway to a safe haven where he found much peace.

"I started experimenting with poetry and it was good. It was therapeutic and cathartic for me and I was able to express myself even inside the loneliness that occurred after my family members migrated," he said. "It was my choice to remain in Jamaica as I was not confident I would have fared well in the USA, but my family continued to support me, and I had friends and well-wishers and people who loved me around me."

Established linguistic skills

He added, "As a spin-off of my already established linguistic skills, poetry would have come as an alternative means of expression, no longer having been able to pursue music."

Since then, the now poet, singer, story and songwriter has compiled six short collections of poems that are available for sale on Amazon, and have topped the JCDC Creative Writing Contest twice.

He has contributed to two distinguished anthologies, including a New York-based collection called Black Lives Have Always Mattered.

The now 43-year-old creative revealed that though he is still on medications and visits the clinic every month, he is stable and doing well and is focusing his energy on seeking more avenues, in addition to social media, to showcase his talents and work to the world.

"After what I would have considered one of my 'darkness periods' of life between 2013 and 2018, I managed to get back on my regimen and would have been able to make a number of strides as it concerned exposure of my talents, as well as creative awareness about mental illness," he said.

"Music is my mainstay. Poetry came along the way as I sought other avenues of expressing self. In addition to my literature, I have amassed a wide repertoire of musical composition, instrumental and songs, and I also have music available for listening on online platforms. Also, if there comes along any opportunity or platform to speak on mental illness, I get myself in that," he said.