May 13, 2025

Eric Smith: From Music Prodigy to Mental Health Advocate

30 minutes

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Eric Smith shares his remarkable journey from child piano prodigy to mental health advocate after battling psychosis and addiction.

His story reveals how finding the right medication after a decade of failed treatments transformed his life from hospitalization and FBI involvement to becoming a Texas Judicial Commissioner on Mental Health.

• Displayed extraordinary musical talent from age three, studying under world-renowned pianists and performing with Grammy winners

• Experienced early warning signs when grades declined in middle school, with a psychologist predicting future psychosis

• Developed full-blown psychosis after getting sober, believing he had decoded assassination plots involving world leaders

• Contacted the FBI about his delusions, leading to multiple meetings before his parents sought help from his former psychiatrist

• Required three hospitalizations over several years before finding success with Clozapine after more than 10 years of failed medications

• Experienced a profound moment of clarity two weeks after starting Clozapine when the "noise" in his mind quieted

• Returned to education, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA through graduate school

• Now serves as a commissioner with the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health and runs his own consulting business

• Advocates for better access to effective treatments like Clozapine, which international guidelines recommend after two failed antipsychotics

Visit www.ericwtsmith.com to learn more about Eric's consulting work or to contact him directly.

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By Tony Mantor

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