Twenty-seven years after he was diagnosed with a mental illness, Mike Santoro is on a journey towards helping others cope by sharing his experience.

While the journey is ongoing, Santoro said he has beaten the odds after, as a 14-year-old, he was told he would have to live with schizoaffective disorder.

Those diagnosed with the illness experience both schizophrenia symptoms — such as hallucinations or delusions — and of mood disorder symptoms, such as mania or depression.

"Not only do I have the ups and downs; I could also lose touch with reality when I'm manic," said Santoro.

Santoro's seven-year-old daughter Chelsie has learned about her father's struggle.

"He has voices in his head. It doesn't feel good. He needs to say it but he's scared that something will happen," she said.

He spent the first eight years in a psychiatric ward and describes them as hellish.

"Having no privileges to leave the psych ward - it was difficult to live that, being in isolation," he said.

His sister, Carmelina, remembers those difficult days.

"It was extremely hard because we didn't know where to turn," she said.

Now, after learning to cope with his illness through a series of mechanisms, including using an agenda to create organization and foresee when stressful periods are about to arise, Santoro said he shares his experience through presentations and a website.

"My dream is to go across Canada and talk about my story, talk about the skills I use to keep well and give hope to people about mental illness, and also to fight stigma," he said.

He's also created a DVD about his coping mechanisms, which helps not only those fighting the illness, but also those who treat it. Hugues Laforce said he has seen the impact it's had on health care workers.

A psychologist and project manager for Health and Social Services De La Montagne, Laforce said Santoro's DVD has been inspirational.

"Mike was sharing his journey towards recovery with them and I think it kind of renewed their sense of hope - and also their sense of purpose in terms of the job that they're doing," said Laforce.

Though the progress Santoro has made has been an inspiration to many, he said the battle is never over.

"I always have to be careful. I always have to have what I call a third eye that's always checking what I'm doing, to make sure I'm on track."