Taye Diggs gets candid about his sister’s journey with Schizophrenia.
In an exclusive interview with People, the actor spoke about his sister, Christian Diggs, being diagnosed with the mental health condition in her twenties, and how he didn’t know how to deal with it at first but ended up learning along the way.
“She’s the same person. You just have to make some adjustments and really support and try to kind of step out of your own perspective and not be afraid to be there,” he said.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Schizophrenia is a mental health condition that can cause hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking and needs life long treatment.
Diggs went on to explain how he dealt with the news of his sister’s diagnosis. “I pulled away for a bit, just feeling like I didn’t know where I was supposed to fit in,” he said. “When we grew up, we were very, very close. We had a wonderful relationship, but when she started her twenties, that’s when her behavior started to change,” Diggs recalled. “The reports that I was getting from other family members — because I was away working — were quite frightening, and I had no idea how to deal with it.”
He added, “All of a sudden all of these crazy things were happening to her. Luckily, we found her a solid therapist who had the tools to lead us to her diagnosis. And then there was a feeling of relief, because we could actually put a name to what was going on with her.”
Taye Diggs admitted to making assumptions about the mental health condition instead of doing his own research.
Since then, Taye and Christian have partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb for their Live Your PosSCZible campaign, which provides information, support, and more to families affected by schizophrenia.
“These are places you can go where you can find a community for other people who are going through the same thing and doing the research,” Taye said and wished was around when his sister was diagnosed.
Taye Diggs, 54, is now able to see Christian’s, 49, condition more clearly. “Getting over my fear and engaging with my sister and learning more about what she was going through made me realize that her life didn’t have to stop. And I didn’t have to stop being a part of her life. That was, and continues to be, very encouraging.”