NAMI Reflection Paper

NAMI stands for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The sponsors that speak at the NAMI presentations are individuals that live with a mental illness and share their stories. These speakers vary in age, race and gender and represent a variety of mental illnesses. NAMI speaking engagements are a way to spread awareness and shed light to the stigma that surrounds mental illness today. By sharing their personal stories, individuals are able to demonstrate that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and people can make it out to the other side. This concept was very captivating and moving. The presentation represented all aspects regarding the process to dealing with a mental illness. This process includes the dark days, acceptance, treatment,

It is not something that comes automatically once discovering you have a mental illness. Meg and Jim explained that it took them along time to come to terms with their diagnosis. It was also mentioned that this acceptance is on going and is something to be worked on quite often. However, once one can accept their situation, it is easier to start the recovery process. I found this to be very true. I did not accept my diagnosis for a long time but once I did it was as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Instead of dreading myself because of what I was feeling, I was able to allow myself to receive the help I needed. Jim’s story was similar as he mentioned his therapy sessions were more conversation like once he came to terms with himself and his situation. He was no longer just answering questions but truly trying to understand himself. The presentation also talked about self-coping and recovery. A lot of the mentality pertaining to these areas of mental health is hope. Hope is a catalyst to recovery. Once someone has the hope that they will get better, they will. Self-coping mechanisms are individualistic. However, when hearing Jim and Meg talk about theirs, I found them to be similar to mine in the sense of exercise, spending time with family and friends, and learning more about my diagnosis. Educating once self seems to be the key to many individuals road to success. Truly understanding

Both Meg and Jim explained that when growing up, mental illness was something that was never talked about in their schools. As a result, children then and now act negatively towards the concept of mental health. Meg shared an example from her life where this was especially apparent. She explained that growing up she had a lot of friends. However, once her illness grew increasingly worse during her senior year of high school, she noticed that her friend group dwindled dramatically. Her friends did not understand what she was going through. They would tell her that they did not like to spend time with her because ‘she sucked the fun out of everything.’ At this point in time, Meg was having a very hard time with her mental illness and the loss of her friends seemed to be a tipping point for her. It pushed her further into her sad state where she started using self-harm as a way to cope. Knowledge pertaining to mental health is extremely important. Research shows that “most children around five years of age have knowledge of stereotypes related to mental illness, and report that they personally believe them. Negative attitudes towards mental illness observed tend to be consolidated during adulthood (Campos, Palha, Dias, Lima, Veiga, Costa & Duarte, 2012, p.259-260).” Stereotypes resulting in stigmas are learned at a young age. It is critical that kids start learning the