“Maybe if we treated mental illness the same way we do with physical illness, the community would be more sympathetic and caring. Instead of jail, maybe I would have been taken to a place that wouldn’t shut the door on me and watch as I uncontrollably shook my body saying ‘the devil’s inside me.’ Maybe, people would realize judging or generalizing doesn’t give hope to those who suffer from mental illness.” But I was a Victim, Right? | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness : I was twenty-two years old and in my last semester of undergraduate college when I suffered two psychotic breaks. During this time, I was unable to control my thoughts and behavior.