How a Schizophrenia Diagnosis Helped This ‘Schizophrenic Hippie’ Find Community

In time, Kody found support, treatment, and community that helped him move forward and build a meaningful life of recovery and advocacy.

Now, Kody openly shares his journey of living with schizophrenia with millions of people online. His powerful message is simple: Treat serious mental illnesses the same as chronic physical conditions: with consistent, compassionate care.

The turning point came when Kody posted a video he tagged “schizophrenicstorytime.” Overnight, his followers jumped from 300 to more than 10,000. Now, he boasts well over 1 million followers and uses his platform to raise awareness and break the stigma surrounding schizophrenia. But before he was reaching the masses on social media, Kody had to work through his own personal challenges with substances and undiagnosed mental illness.

Growing up, Kody didn’t experience any symptoms of schizophrenia, and it wasn’t until he went off to college that he experienced his first psychotic break. To cope with delusions, hallucinations, and paranoid thoughts, Kody turned to drugs, looking for any relief from symptoms.

Kody spent several years addicted to stimulant drugs, which he says was “a direct result of needing help for my diagnosis and not getting it.” His addiction eventually led to spending time in prison on drug-related charges.

During his arrest, Kody was experiencing psychosis, a key symptom of schizophrenia that leads to reality distortion, but “didn’t really understand what was going on,” he says. “It was definitely something where I could tell that I was not well, but I didn’t think it was anything with my mind.”

In addition to medication, Kody also pursued therapy and counseling. The combination led to his successfully managing schizophrenia, as well as achieving sobriety.

Kody started to get his life back, and after the viral TikTok gained him a following, he turned his attention to advocacy, helping others deal with the same challenges he once faced. He wanted to use his “eye-opening experience” in prison, where he realized just how many people around him were also grappling with mental illness, to provide education and support.

“I really think that more could be done to prevent people from having to end up in these scenarios,” he says.

Kody has also focused his advocacy on supporting people in the workplace. His book, Minds Over Meetings, discusses how to manage mental health in professional settings and is inspired by his personal experience.

Today, Kody uses a healthy dose of humor to connect with people online. Sharing the most vulnerable parts of his life can be difficult, but leaning into the more lighthearted side of things allows him to talk about schizophrenia and addiction in a way that is cathartic for him and relatable for others. “Using comedy allows me to reach people and, at the same time, heal myself,” he says.

Kody hopes “normalizing the discussion” of mental health topics will encourage people to connect with vital resources sooner. “I want to make sure that no one has to go through the loneliness I felt early on in my own diagnosis,” he says.

As his TikTok videos continue to help others, his followers help him just the same, creating a positive cycle of support and encouragement.

“People who have schizophrenia who reach out are largely the reason I continue to make content and continue to be an advocate,” Kody says. “I see the impact it’s having on them — and me.”