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Jake Lloyd, who played the young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace, has shared some insight into his wellbeing as he continues to receive treatment at a rehabilitation centre for schizophrenia. <\/p>\n
In March last year Lloyd\u2019s mother, Lisa Lloyd, disclosed that he had been struggling with mental health issues for the past 15 years, which had culminated into a \u201cfull-blown psychotic break\u201d in 2023. <\/p>\n
Now 35, Lloyd recently completed an 18-month stay at an inpatient mental health facility in California, author Clayton Sandell \u2013 who previously interviewed Lisa \u2013 reported from his Substack account. <\/p>\n
Sandell said he received a call from Lisa shortly before Christmas telling him that Lloyd wished to speak with him directly. <\/p>\n
She also revealed that Lloyd is still receiving treatment at a new rehab centre but is \u201cbasically free to come and go as he pleases\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lloyd\u2019s progress is in part due to his overcoming a neurological condition, anosognosia. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is \u201cextremely common\u201d with conditions such as schizophrenia, and prevents the brain from recognising one or more health issues \u2013 meaning the sufferer can be resistant to treatment. <\/p>\n
Lloyd, who was just eight years old when he starred in the 1999 film opposite Liam Neeson and Ewan Mcgregor, told Sandell that he was feeling \u201cpretty good\u201d and \u201ccan now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds. Everyone\u2019s been very supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that hitting \u201crock bottom\u201d was something he believed needed to happen in order to \u201chonestly take part in treatment, honestly take your meds, and honestly live with your diagnosis\u201d. <\/p>\n
Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker in \u2018Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace\u2019 (Lucas Films)Around a year before his schizophrenia diagnosis in 2008, Lloyd had been missing classes at his private arts school and had told his mother that people were following him.<\/p>\n
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Try for freeHe reported seeing people with \u201cblack eyes\u201d staring at him on the street and said he would have late night conversations with Jon Stewart through his TV.<\/p>\n
Lloyd left college to live with his mother in 2008, and after a series of psychiatric appointments was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
Lisa said her son would sometimes self-medicate with illicit drugs or quit taking his medication as he attempted to manage his condition.<\/p>\n
Matters continued to escalate, and Lloyd was arrested in 2015 after leading police on a multi-county chase as he drove from Florida to Canada before crashing his car. He was forced to spend 10 months in prison as there were no available beds at local hospitals. <\/p>\n
The death of Lloyd\u2019s sister, Madison, from natural causes aged 26 in 2018 had a profound impact on him. His mother said he then suffered a \u201cfull-blown psychotic break\u201d in 2023 after he tried to turn their car off in the middle lane of a motorway, at which point he was taken to hospital before being admitted to rehab. <\/p>\n
Last year, Lisa rejected suggestions that the negative reception to Star Wars: Episode I \u2013 The Phantom Menace had led to her son\u2019s mental health breakdown.<\/p>\n
In the new interview, Lloyd confirmed he was still a fan and had fond memories of shooting the film and interacting with fans. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe experience I\u2019ve had with the fans is immediately therapeutic,\u201d he said. \u201cRight now, it\u2019s still therapeutic. It\u2019s helpful for people and healthy. It isn\u2019t something I\u2019d shy away from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lisa told Sandell that Lloyd\u2019s progress was \u201ca big relief for me and the rest of the family \u2013 we\u2019re all just thrilled that he\u2019s doing as well as he is, and that he\u2019s working really hard at it\u201d. <\/p>\n
Lloyd said he is hoping to have a Star Wars day with his mum on May the Fourth, an unofficial commemorative day celebrating the franchise that riffs on the famous phrase, \u201cMay the force be with you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviewsSign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our\u00a0privacy policy Jake Lloyd, who played the young Anakin Skywalker in Star […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n