Star Wars child actor Jake Lloyd shares health update amid schizophrenia diagnosis

Former child actor Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker in 1999’s “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” shared a positive mental health update after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.During an interview with “Star Wars: Timelines” co-author Clayton Sandell, Lloyd, now 35, and his mother Lisa Lloyd discussed his progress after he recently completed an 18-month stay at an inpatient mental health facility in Southern California.While speaking with Sandell previously for an article in Scripps News, Lisa shared that Lloyd entered treatment after experiencing a “full-blown psychotic break” during which he turned his car off on a three-lane road in March 2023.According to Sandell, Lloyd is currently living in a new rehabilitation center where he is continuing to receive treatment but has the freedom to come and go at will.During their conversation, Lloyd told Sandell that he was feeling “pretty good.”“I can now accept taking on continued treatment, and therapy, and my meds,” he said.

“Everyone’s been very supportive.”In addition to schizophrenia, Lisa previously told Sandell that Lloyd also has a neurological condition known as anosognosia, which, according to the National Institute of Health, “is a neurological condition in which the patient is unaware of their neurological deficit or psychiatric condition.”Lisa said Lloyd’s condition stopped him from wanting to take medication because he didn’t believe he was sick. While speaking with Sanell, Lloyd described his medication as “very much a cushion.”“I don’t have the time for feeling volatile,” he said.The former actor went on to say that “good things” have come from the time he has spent in treatment.Lloyd told Sandell that he believed hitting “rock bottom” was necessary in order to “honestly take part in treatment, honestly take your meds, and honestly live with your diagnosis.”Lisa previously shared that LLoyd had struggled with his me...