Speaker: Sarah Merritt Ryan

Description of presentation:

Sticking to antipsychotic use is not just a matter of knowing whether you are ill. And it’s not only a matter of negotiating side effects and choosing which ones you can live with. While these are both major factors, there are also powerful social and cultural myths about antipsychotic use that also influence medication adherence. These cultural myths are perpetuated by stigma and are easy to fall for–I fell for them myself. These common beliefs and sentiments actually produce reversed logic on why and why not to take antipsychotics. Understanding social pressures involved with antipsychotics and how to see through them helps people make better decisions on antipsychotic use. It also helps caretakers to understand these pressures from their loved one’s point of view.

Who is Sarah Merritt Ryan?

Sarah Merritt Ryan, MS, CPSS, is a writer, speaker, and advocate for emotional recovery from serious mental illness. She is a survivor of four psychotic breaks who made a full recovery while choosing to remain on antipsychotics for life. She is diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been in full remission, symptom-free, for 14 years. During this time, she has married, given birth to a son who is now in first grade, and rebuilt her career. She is also a Certified Peer Support Specialist through the UNC School of Social Work.

Her Psychology Today posts are used as training material for resident psychiatrists at the UNC Schizophrenia Treatment and Evaluation Program (STEP) Clinic at UNC-Chapel Hill. She also blogs for Teva Pharmaceuticals. She has been published twice in Writer’s Digest on the topic of writing about mental illness. Her first book-length work of sonnets on faith amidst suffering is called My Soul to Keep and will be released in June 2026 by Prolific Pulse Press. Her full-length memoir, Threads of Truth, is in the works.

She speaks for NAMI NC, NC State University, UNC Psychiatry, and various community organizations. She was honored as “Hometown Hero” in 2024 by the North Carolina Women’s Courage Professional Soccer Team, Lenovo, and NAMI Wake County for her contributions to mental health in the Raleigh-Durham community. She is designated as Parent Advocate for Wake County Public School System for parents living with mental illness. She has a degree in Journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Master of Science degree in Communication from NC State.