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Swiyyah M. was born in the projects in Saint Petersburg, FL. Her father left when she was three so she was raised in a single parent home. At the age of five she was molested by her brother. She had slurred speech and didn’t care to make friends, so her peers bullied her. At the age of eight she wanted to kill herself because a young girl wanted to fight her. Thank God she couldn’t find any medication in her medicine cabinet. As a teenager, her step dad physically abused her. The abuse was so severe that she believes that God blocked it from her memory. At the age of 23, the brother that molested her committed suicide which was very devastating to her and her entire family. She started drinking alcohol to ease her pain but remembered what she learned from psychology about the signs of an alcoholic and immediately stopped before she became an alcoholic.
Swiyyah always saw herself as normal. She never had any disciplinary problems in school, made good grades, and received her BA degree in Psychology from USF, so when the doctors diagnosed her with one of the most debilitating mental disorder known in mental health, paranoid schizophrenia, she denied it. She questioned their expertise. She refused to take medication and was hospitalized six times within three years. Her family took a picture of her at her worst and that’s when she knew she needed help. She has been taking medication now for seven years without a relapse.
Swiyyah is now a published author and a motivational speaker. Her book is entitled, “Don’t Call Me Crazy! I’m Just In Love,” and is inspired by her true story. It has been selected as required reading for several colleges and high schools. Because of her experience, she has grown closer to God. She reveals much of what she has learned in her speeches. Swiyyah has done extensive research and shares her personal experience along with the warning signs she exhibited as a child. She provides resources to help the community and teaches them how to live out their dreams regardless of the disability. She was the winner of 2014 Black Girls Rock, and awarded as a Bay News 9 Everyday Hero seen by 2 million viewers.