MENTAL ILLNESS: EDDIE’S STORY

A local personal account of living and coping with mental illness

The following account is the second in a series of stories about local people living with mental illness. It is quoted in part from “Voices of Hope, Conversations with Helen L. Shore.” The book was commissioned by Employment Options of Marlborough. To obtain a copy of the book, call 508-485-5051.

Eddie’s Story: At the age of 77, Eddie lives a life of structures and schedules, calendars and contexts. Most are self imposed; some are a result of a lifetime of psychiatric care and treatment timetables, and some date back to his nine years working at a shipyard on the night shift.

After many years with Employment Options, Eddie calls himself an “old-timer.” “I’m a friendly person,” he says, though in his presence it is a rather obvious point. He is also a very generous person. Despite his own difficulties and struggles, he likes to help take care of those around him. His friends include a fellow resident in the home where he lives, a man with quadriplegia who rooms on the same floor. “I get cigarettes for him, tune his TV to what he wants, and get food for him.” At other times he helps out with a married couple who are also struggling with mental illness, and he is eager to mention his regular attendance at a local senior center. “You have to be old enough to go there, and I’m old enough.”

Eddie has a love of learning and reading. “I learn all the time, and I cross-index all my learning. At the moment, I’m mostly learning the international diversities as they are developing now. I’m interested in politics and how the world works.”

Eddie seems less sure of his family than of himself. They remain distant, and though he has several siblings stilt living and knows they have grandchildren, contact is rare. “At Christmas time one of them comes to see me. I would like to communicate and associate with them more, but I haven’t got around to it. The addresses are a problem, finding the addresses and mailing a letter to them?

Eddie says he is a happy person. His acceptance of himself and his life is considerable, and perhaps that is the secret of his happiness. There is no doubt in Eddie’s eyes that he is a crucial part of this world, a conviction to be envied.

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