Interview with Troy Lovett, March 11, 2022

Interview Summary

Lovett begins the interview by describing the impact of uncertainty in current events on the mental health of young people. In this interview, Lovett describes his time spent at Highland Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina during the early 1960s. Under the care of Dr. Norman Polansky, Lovett began to understand that his compulsive behavior and auditory hallucinations were part of a mental illness. Lovett underwent psychotherapy sessions with Dr. Polansky and determined that his issues began with feelings of abandonment towards his mother after she returned to her job as a teacher when Lovett was four. Lovett learned important coping mechanisms with Dr. Polansky so that he could function outside of the hospital. While receiving treatment at Highland, Lovett attended Lee Edwards High School in Asheville. Lovett describes some of the challenges he faced in school when he returned to Williamsburg after his fifteen-month stay at Highland Hospital. Lovett discusses the chance to have an open and honest discussion with his high school friends about his mental illness, spurred on by this oral history project. Lovett explains how Dr. Polansky arrived at his original diagnosis of borderline schizophrenia for Lovett during the 1980s. Lovett concludes the interview by discussing his ex-wife's diagnosis of his condition as schizoaffective disorder.

Interview Keyword

Borderline schizophrenia Rituals Compulsions Dr. Norman Polansky Doctors Abandonment High schools Teenagers Adolescence Voices Schizoaffective disorder Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) Mother image

Interview LC Subject

Schizophrenia Mental health Mental illness Compulsive behavior Highland Hospital (Asheville, N.C.) Asheville (N.C.) Williamsburg (Ky.) Kentucky Mothers Hallucinations Auditory hallucinations Psychotherapy Fear Childhood Early life Trauma Coping Interpersonal relations Self-esteem Identity

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.