Melanie's and Rachel's mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia about three years ago. Soon after, their grandmother was also diagnosed.

"My grandmother had an episode at my house and it was really scary. It was just me and my sister home and we didn't know what to do. We're dealing with three generations of mental illness," says 17-year-old Rachel. 

Melanie, 23, says that her mom has been in the hospital once annually for the last three years, each time for about three months. "Before my mom was diagnosed, she would take care of us and take care of the household and just be a really great mom."

"At the present moment my mother's not doing well at all," says Rachel. "Her medications aren't strong enough for what she has right now, and she's getting worse every day. It's really rough to watch.

"My daily life is really stressful," Rachel continues. "I have a lot of weight on my shoulders and I can't get rid of it sometimes. My sister and I talk about schizophrenia and what are the chances that I might have it or my sister might have it. I worry about having signs myself and if I would notice and what I would do about it. I worry a lot that I will be diagnosed with this sickness. It's always in the back of my mind, all the time."