According to Jake Lloyd’s mother, the young actor who appeared in the Star Wars trilogy is now receiving treatment for his mental health while he is a resident of a rehabilitation center.
The continued challenges that her son, who is now 35 years old, has with mental illness were discussed by Lloyd’s mother, Lisa Lloyd, in an exclusive interview that was published with Scripps News on Monday.
Another thing that she wanted to do was talk about the reasons why she is feeling more optimistic now than she has in years.
Anakin Skywalker was the character that Jake played in the first Star Wars episode, “The Phantom Menace,” which he appeared in when he was a youngster. In subsequent films, Skywalker will transform into the terrifying antagonist known as Darth Vader.
In addition, Lisa believed that the 25th anniversary of the release of The Phantom Menace would be an ideal moment to discuss how her kid has been doing since his time spent in Star Wars. She felt that now would be the right time to say something.
When Lisa recalled the moment when she first became aware of the changes in her son’s behavior, she told Scripps News that Jake began to have some difficulties during his senior year of high school. It was then that he began to discuss the’realities.’ He had no idea if he was in this realm or another one. He was experiencing both. I was at a loss for words precisely when it came to responding to it.
When she inquired about whether or not he had finished his homework, he responded by saying, “I don’t even know if I need to do it.” She went on to say that he had stated this to her. It’s hard for me to tell which universe I inhabit.
“And I’m like, ‘Well, you’re in my reality today, so you have to do your homework,'” Lisa said to the adolescent while she was having the conversation.
She said that after bringing Jake to the doctor, the medical practitioner was of the opinion that he may be suffering from bipolar illness.
In spite of the fact that he was given a number of drugs to address the difficulties, Lisa reported that none of them seemed to be effective.
Jake had been looking forward to starting his autumn classes at Columbia College Chicago ever since he graduated from high school in 2007. He had been delighted about this opportunity. But according to Lisa, this is the point at which things started to alter in a significant way.
During her conversation with the publication, she said, “He was telling me that people were following him, and he missed a lot of classes.”
Additionally, she said that her son would sometimes engage in late-night chats with Jon Stewart, the presenter of the Daily Show, via his television screen. She also stated that her son would claim to see strangers with “black eyes” gazing at him when he was out in public.
He continued to see medical professionals until he was presented with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
During the course of the conversation, Lisa said that “when they finally told him, it completely threw him off into an even worse depression.” “It was a very challenging task.”
She said that he did not take his medicine since he did not believe that he was now suffering from any illness.
After that, Lisa remembered a time in 2015 when Jake was leading authorities on a pursuit that spanned many counties until he crashed his vehicle. In spite of her efforts to get him a lawyer, Jake did not pick up the phone when she called him.
In addition to expressing the agonizing nature of the scenario, she also related one instance in which he contacted her to inform her that he had been shot inside his apartment. After then, Lisa became aware that he was hallucinating.
According to Lisa, Jake is presently around ten months into an 18-month term in a mental health rehabilitation center. This is in response to what she refers to as a full-blown psychotic episode that occurred in March 2023, when he switched his vehicle off in the middle of a three-lane road and the police were called.
In addition to stating that he is “becoming a little bit more social,” she also said that “he is doing much better than I expected.”
Even now, after all these years, Jake continues to be a fan of the series.
She said, “He is a huge fan of all the new Star Wars merchandise.” “Some people believe that Jake despises Star Wars. The man adores it.
