Many years ago, and I’m talking decades, I was repeatedly asked by those close and not so close to me, ‘why don’t you have normal friends?’ I was defiant in my answers. Given I was a teenager at the time, psychological theories and the ‘grown-ups’ around me may have put my stance down to being rebellious, to p*** off the parents or, it’s just a phase. Not true. It was the foundation of who I was growing into and discovering what was important to me.

Misdiagnoses: Black individuals are disproportionately diagnosed with schizophrenia compared to mood disorders, even when presenting with similar symptoms to white patients. This may stem from implicit bias, where clinicians misinterpret expressions of anger or distrust (often a reasonable response to systemic racism) as psychotic symptoms. Research has shown significant disparities in these diagnoses, highlighting the impact of bias.