My name is Cameron Ralph and I was diagnosed with schizophrenia 5 years ago, when I was 24. I felt stigmatised during my treatment and kept my illness from people I had been friends with all of my life, only my family could know, and I suffered in silence.

I thought that I was the only 24 year old male dealing with schizophrenia in the country.

For many years I refused to get treatment because I thought that nothing was wrong and what I was experiencing was a normal part of growing up. But it wasn't normal for me to sit in a room with my mates and have my brain tell me, “Go into the kitchen, get a knife and gut these pricks.” It wasn't normal for me to have good cop/bad cop in my head day after day when I knew that I wasn't a violent person and of course, I didn't want to harm my friends.

This was happening because I was suffering from Schizophrenia.

Through my work as a Zoologist, I have stood face to face with 7 foot female black bears whilst they defend their cubs, and netted 250kg bull seals, but I have never been as scared as I was during those times. When I was facing a bear I could control what I was doing, and therefore control the situation. During the worst times, I was fighting myself clinging to the slim control that kept me going.

If this continued for much longer I would most likely have lost control, lost my life and possibly destroyed the lives of so many people. Instead, I sought help; I changed my life and cured the illness that was growing inside my brain. I now understand that I was unwell, that I had an illness, and if you speak to anyone who has experienced this, they will tell you it's an illness, just like any other.

As time went on, I became brave enough to mention my illness to other people and was surprised by how many people told me about their own struggle with mental illness or how they'd helped family or friends with the problem. I received an enormous amount of sympathy, empathy and support.

With this in mind, I decided to launch PeopleLikeYou.

The main goal of PeopleLikeYou is to dispel the belief that you must deal with this alone, that you can't tell anyone or that no-one will understand. I want to make it easier for people to reach out and find support and help. No-one should be ashamed to have a mental illness, or feel that no-one will understand, because there are thousands of people out there dealing with the same issues. I know this because every time I mention this site, someone tells me about their mental illness, or how they have dealt with friends or family with mental illness, or have lost people as a result of mental illness. You feel comfortable talking, when you're talking with people like you.

Peoplelikeyou.com.au will show you that average everyday people are out there dealing with mental illness everyday. People that are not weak, people that are not crazy and people that did not bring this on themselves. They are people with an illness, a curable illness, they are people in similar situations, with similar issues that need support and understanding.

The years of treatment were tough, very tough at times, but I had support and was determined to get my life back on track. Along the way I managed to finish my Science Degree with First Class Honours. I am currently working on my PhD program at Melbourne Uni and recently left my job as an environmental consultant to work on People Like You full time. I was recently engaged to the most wonderful woman I have ever met and have never been happier.

My hope is that in the future, people in my situation will not have to endure the suffering I did, that they can get treatment earlier and not lose years of their life. I hope that people will not be afraid to seek help, talk about their experiences and that they will feel comfortable when doing this.

My experience with schizophrenia was incredibly painful, but it has made me who I am and I wouldn't change a thing. From my experience I can tell you that at the other end if you make the tough decisions and stick to your treatment you can, and will, lead a successful and happy life. When I think what the other side of the coin looks like, if I hadn't got treatment, I know that I wouldn't be here. But with treatment and support - despite the stigma - I made it through.

I have now been off treatment for nearly two years, I don't take medication anymore and I carefully manage my life and my illness on a daily basis. I have learned an enormous amount along the way and I want to share that knowledge with others.

People Like You is also your chance to share your knowledge the skills that you have learnt along the way, whether that be from living with a mental illness, or caring for someone with a mental illness.

You will soon see that the world is full of people like you.