“We were middle class in Argentina. I always thought we had...

“We were middle class in Argentina.  I always thought we had enough.  But everyone else felt like they needed to escape.  They wanted to travel, and have nice homes, and change their cars often.  I was the youngest.  I’d always believed that we were a family who cared for each other.  But apparently some things were more important than being together.  My brothers left for America.  My parents moved to Europe.   Soon I was the only one left.  I felt abandoned by everyone.  I began to subconsciously make mistakes just to see if anyone cared.  I stopped going to class.  I isolated myself.  I started doing drugs.  I’d never even had a drink before, so I wasn’t prepared for that world.  I began to have paranoid thoughts.  I thought that everyone wanted to harm me.  I thought people wanted me to kill myself. In the moment of my biggest crisis, I came to believe that I was Jesus.  I called my family on the phone and started saying wild things.  My father immediately bought a plane ticket and flew all night to see me.  It was New Year’s Eve.  When he arrived, he hugged me.  I hadn’t slept for a long time.  I was so tired.  I asked him if we could sleep in the same bed.  I was twenty-six years old, but he held me while I fell asleep.  He told me: ‘Finally, I’ve gotten my baby back.’”
(Barcelona, Spain)