Schizophrenia and Sobriety: Kody Green’s 10+ Years of Overcoming Mental Illness and Addiction

3. The Unexpected Path to Recovery

For many, the road to recovery is a choice, but for Kody Green, his journey began not by choice but by circumstance. After experiencing a psychotic break during his first semester of college, he turned to drugs to cope with the auditory and visual hallucinations. This led to a three-year period of active addiction and undiagnosed psychosis. His path took a critical turn when he was incarcerated.

“The first time ever being in an AA or NA meeting was in jail,” Kody recalled. “And it’s not ’cause I wanted to go—I needed to get outta the room for an hour.”

Jail, for all its flaws as a rehabilitation space, became an unlikely catalyst for Kody. Stripped of his usual distractions, he finally had the opportunity to confront the internal turmoil he had been trying to escape. However, his initial attempts to seek help were met with skepticism from the guards, who assumed he was “pill-seeking.” He discovered that the most empathetic and caring people he met were his fellow inmates—individuals who, like him, were struggling with unaddressed mental health and addiction issues.

4. Forced Sobriety and a Life Reborn

After his incarceration, Kody was able to get clean and reach out for help. Thanks to the resources his mother and wife had compiled, he was able to get a diagnosis, treatment, and medication within two weeks—a timeline he acknowledges is “not a typical timeline for someone to be able to get access to care or any type of diagnosis.” This expedited process was crucial to his recovery. His family history of schizophrenia and their proactive approach gave him a fighting chance.

“As soon as I got my first anti-psychotic medication, I started to have some clarity,” Kody explained. “And the unfortunate thing with that is as soon as I had clarity, I got to see how bad things were.” This moment of clarity was followed by an overwhelming sense of defeat. He was starting over, but with the added weight of a criminal record, damaged relationships, and a diagnosis that carried a heavy stigma.

Kody’s diagnosis was undifferentiated schizophrenia, a subtype that has since been reclassified. At the time, this diagnosis indicated that he showed symptoms of multiple schizophrenia subtypes, including disorganized, catatonic, and paranoid schizophrenia.

5. Finding Purpose in Advocacy and Peer Support

The path to recovery didn’t stop once Kody was sober and medicated. He had to rebuild his life, mourning the one he had planned and accepting the one he had to live. He found a new purpose in advocacy and peer support. “Peer support saved my life,” he said. He found a community in NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), where he realized he wasn’t alone in his struggles. After attending his first peer support group in 2015—the same year he got sober, was released from jail, and was diagnosed—he went on to be elected as the vice president of the board of directors for NAMI Wisconsin.

His advocacy work has since grown into a national platform, where he shares his story as “the schizophrenic hippie.” He has amassed over 2 million followers on social media, been featured in magazines, and written a book. These accomplishments, he says, still feel unreal. “My life is crazy now…Everything that happens in my life currently feels fake.”

6. The Broader Implications of Mental Illness and Incarceration

Kody’s story highlights a critical issue in the justice system: the lack of adequate mental health care for inmates. The majority of people in jail and prison are not career criminals, but rather individuals grappling with addiction and mental illness. As Kody discovered, the correctional system is ill-equipped to provide the help and support needed for rehabilitation. This can create a cycle of recidivism, as people who get sober in jail often relapse upon release because they lack the resources to navigate the challenges of life with a criminal record.

There is an urgent need for a more therapeutic and rehabilitative approach within the criminal justice system. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law found that providing mental health treatment to inmates can reduce re-arrest rates¹.

7. The Power of Human Connection

For Kody, the most impactful part of his journey was finding a sense of community. The people he met in jail, his supportive wife and mother, and the individuals he connected with through peer support groups all played a vital role in his recovery. “I had never met people that I identified with more than when I was in jail,” he said. “People could tell that I was struggling…and no one cared except for the people that were there with me.”

This realization became the foundation of his advocacy work. By sharing his story, he aims to create the connections he once craved and build a community where people feel less alone in their struggles. He wants to challenge the public perception of mental illness and addiction, proving that recovery is not only possible but can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life than one ever imagined.