Meet Your Neighbor – Gregorio

Gregorio was born in 1973 in Massachusetts to Jewish parents who were born in the United States during the Holocaust. His grandmothers, who internalized the pain and fear of that era, subjected his parents to trauma when they were just toddlers. This generational trauma shaped the household in which Gregorio grew up. As a child, he struggled with emotional challenges, but instead of receiving support, he was taken to mental health professionals who pointed out that it was his parents – not him – who needed help. Yet, the system failed him.

At age 14 and a half, Gregorio was forcibly hospitalized and spent the next three and a half years – until he was 18 – in a residential facility for violent offenders, sex offenders, and drug addicts. What should have been a place of healing became a nightmare. He was given an intentionally false diagnosis. Gregorio had no symptoms of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder then, and he has no symptoms now. He was severely traumatized. When he acted in ways that others viewed as mental health issues, it was his reaction to poverty, hunger, violence, bullying, and acts of deception and cruelty.

The consequences of this intentional mislabeling were severe. The medications dulled his emotions, made him dependent on a flawed system, and failed to address the real trauma he had endured. During what he calls his incarceration, he became a victim of sexual abuse – perpetrated by his mother, mental health providers, and fellow residents. The damage was so severe that Gregorio ultimately required plastic reconstructive surgery.

For decades, Gregorio lived under the weight of these fraudulent diagnoses. He internalized them, believing they defined him. But deep down, he questioned everything. If his initial records stated he had no mental illness, how had he ended up in this situation? He longed for truth, justice, and a way to reclaim his life.

A turning point came in 2015, but it was not Gregorio’s decision. He was against it. Psychiatrists told him that if he did not stop taking psychiatric medications, he would never have a chance to get better. Reluctantly, he followed their instructions. The withdrawal was brutal – his emotions, long numbed by medication, came rushing back. But for the first time, he felt alive. As it turned out, the doctors were correct: stopping the medication was the necessary step he needed to take to live a true life of recovery.

This transformation allowed Gregorio to rebuild his identity outside of the false labels imposed upon him. He reflected on his upbringing, recognizing both the harm his parents had caused and the values they had instilled in him. Despite everything, he still wanted to see the good in people.

With a newfound sense of purpose, Gregorio became an advocate. In 2015, he was a keynote speaker at the Alternatives Conference. That same year, he reported a fellow peer specialist for sexually exploiting a patient in a locked psychiatric unit while working at a Recovery Learning Community. For speaking out, he was disenfranchised and made persona non grata by the recovery community. A peer specialist was sexually assaulted on the job during the same time period, and Gregorio is not the only peer specialist in Massachusetts whose life was destroyed.

In 2017, Gregorio’s parents gave him an ultimatum: shut his mouth about child abuse or lose everything. He chose to heal, which meant losing everything. Upon becoming homeless in January 2018, he fled to Europe.

In Europe, Gregorio earned money by giving peer specialist trainings, speaking at community events, and, at times, having sex for money. He has dozens of letters of recommendation from European organizations, having trained the peer workforce in over 12 countries.

Gregorio’s story is one of resilience—of a man who refused to be defined by fraudulent diagnoses, trauma, or the limitations others placed upon him. His journey reminds us that mental health recovery is complex and deeply personal. It also challenges society to rethink how we label, treat, and support individuals navigating psychiatric care.

Today, Gregorio has lived in Mexico for nearly six years, starting a new life from scratch. He earns a living selling recovery workbooks online and giving workshops in person all over Mexico. Anyone interested in learning more about his work can visit his website: SANITYISAFULLTIMEJOB.ORG.

Gregorio’s story isn’t just about survival—it’s about reclaiming agency, embracing identity, and fighting for a system that truly heals rather than harms.