Most of the time, the voices in Keris Myrick’s head don’t bother her. They stay in the background or say nice things. But sometimes they get loud and mean — like when a deadly pandemic descended on the world.
“It’s when things go really, really fast and they seem overwhelmingly disastrous. That’s when it happens,” said Myrick, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia 25 years ago. “The attacking voices were calling me stupid. … I literally had a meltdown right here in my house. Just lost it.”
She was able to calm herself and quiet the voices, and as the pandemic wore on, she kept them at bay by keeping busy: continuing her work for a foundation, hosting a podcast and writing a children’s book. She managed, but she worried about other people like her.
