Going mad is not the end of the story. I can personally vouch for the fact. For 15 years I bounced between the community and mental institutions in a state of considerable mental disorder, but for the past 26 years I have enjoyed pretty well perfect health. There is life after lunacy.

The stigma towards mental health problems is not nearly as bad as it was in the 1960s. Then there was positive hostility: certainly no acceptance. Now there is caring and sharing of our problems and even a desire to learn more. The public is much more aware of the situation and the scientists have gone to town in their discovery of new pain-relieving mental medication. I have been on the same drugs (in ever-decreasing doses) for 30 years: lithium, largactil, modecate and haloperidol. I don't feel drugged, but I know they are doing me good. It is rather like putting on a suit every day - you feel more decent.

My hallucinations as a schizophrenic/hypomanic were staggering. Naturally I landed up in hospital. Can I persuade you that I was enjoying myself? I really was. Possibly I was happier than I had ever been before or since. But that does not save you from the psychiatrist's scrutiny. I was observed like a fly on flypaper for 15 years. Of course I suffered but nine times I wrenched myself out of hospital and back into society, where I found a job and did it. Finding a job is not so easy if you are labelled a schizophrenic. You must be economical with the truth, not telling an outright lie but not volunteering a whole lot of information that could jeopardise your application. You can do the job and that is all that matters.

Most employers used to recoil at the word "schizophrenic", not realising it is no worse than any other chemical disorder that can be cured chemically. After meeting such a reaction in numerous job interviews, I was near despair. Then I tried a furniture store in Acton, London. "Come on in!" they said. "We're all barmy here." I stayed at the firm for three happy years and only left when it went bust.

You have to start somewhere. When you finally launch yourself there, the sweet breath of freedom and sanity should fill your lungs: in fact you should feel on top of the world. And for the past three years I have been in retirement - though I am busier now than ever before in my life: writing, acting, broadcasting, magic.

Schizophrenia is a curse. But there is medication, rest and tender loving care. And it works. Thank heavens for a better attitude from the world towards these extraordinary disorders, simply by other people taking a more enlightened interest.

Many will be encouraged to know that you can live for years after "incurable" schizophrenia and never be bothered by the ghosts again. The life that I enjoy is full, rich and satisfying. So madness is not the final, disgraceful end. A sympathetic public will make sure that the sufferer, quite cured, is welcome back into society.

Richard Jameson is a writer and performer.