Living with schizoaffective disorder – with Sally Littlefield

Content note: This episode describes my guest's experience with psychosis, delusions, and suicidality / suicide attempts. Sally Littlefield is a national speaker and mental health advocate dedicated to changing how the world understands schizophrenia. After experiencing a 10-month long psychotic episode that led to a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, she returned to work in communications and fundraising roles at three mental health nonprofits. This professional experience deepened her insight into trauma, stigma, and systemic barriers faced by people with serious mental illnesses. Sally's writing has appeared in Slate, STAT News, and Psychology Today, and she has been featured in national media such as the Associated Press and the television network A+E. Now a full-time advocate, she offers talks and trainings focused on stigma reduction, recovery, and mental health crisis de-escalation. Her mission is to promote empathy, dignity, and understanding for people with schizophrenia. During this episode, you will hear Sally talk about: What schizoaffective disorder is, and how it differs from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder Her experience of hospitalizations, misdiagnosis, and the prolonged psychotic episode where she believed her life was a hyperreality psychological experiment How society dehumanizes and dismisses people with schizophrenia spectrum illnesses Finally accepting that she has schizoaffective disorder and deciding to become a mental health advocate Learn more about Sally and her work at SallyLittlefield.com , on LinkedIn and on Instagram @schizophrenicsally . Watch the video of this interview on YouTube. Read the episode transcript. Follow the Beyond 6 Seconds podcast in your favorite podcast player.

You can listen to Living with schizoaffective disorder – with Sally Littlefield online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Living with schizoaffective disorder – with Sally Littlefield is an episode from Beyond 6 Seconds by Carolyn Kiel.

This episode is 50:18 long.

This episode was published on Sep 15, 2025.

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