Breath of Fresh Air – NAMI
How many times have you heard: “OMG, this weather is so bipolar” or “Jeez, my boss is a total schizo“? If you’re an active member in this society then, I imagine you’ve heard similar, if not the same, sentiments quite a lot. Maybe you are even guilty of saying those things yourself; I know I am. What I’m alluding to is the problem that the names of legitimate mental disorders have been morphed into descriptors for people and things that we don’t understand or diminished to an expression that only fixates on what we naively perceive to be beneficial traits of the illness in question. For example, if someone really means to say “highly detail oriented” or “very neat and clean” they might use OCD to inaccurately describe themselves or someone else. What those statements actually do is depreciate the plight of millions and romanticize severe diseases, compounding the biased stigma that clutches mental illness with a tight grip to this day. This blog explains it in a first person perspective.
The facts are that 1 in 5 adults in the US experiences mental illness in a given year and 1 in 25 live with a mental illness on a regular basis. You’d think with those staggering statistics we’d be more cognizant of the issues the mental health community faces and more sensitive with our speech. Sadly, that’s not the case. Still, never fear, this month the spotlight is on an organization that has made it their mission to eliminate pervasive stigma, to effect positive changes in the mental health system and to increase public and professional understanding about mental illness: NAMI.
NAMI, a.k.a. National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. The non-profit was founded by two women, Harriet Shetler and Beverly Young, who cared for sons diagnosed with schizophrenia, and were tired of their sons being blamed for their mental illness. Unhappy with the lack of services available and the treatment of those living with mental illness, the women sought out others with similar concerns. The first meeting held in Madison, Wisconsin to address these issues in mental health was much larger than expected, and eventually led to the formation of the organization in 1979.
Since then, NAMI has been an active proponent of public mental health policy and research. In addition, they have incorporated a collection of varied resources to help those afflicted, as well as their families. The NAMI HelpLine, Online Chat Hotline and Crisis Text Line are designed to assist people in the midst of a crisis through whichever mode of communication is more comfortable for them, alleviating pressure at a most critical time. NAMI also notably instituted Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs 30 years ago that have brought together police, mental health advocates and mental health professionals to change community responses to crisis situations. That is in addition to the fundraising efforts of NAMI Walks and conscious raising annual NAMI National Convention.
This subject is of particular importance to me since I have personal experience as well as family and friends that struggle with mental health issues. With the rates of diagnosis for anxiety, classified as a mental health disorder, approaching 20% of the population, odds are very likely you know someone who is affected by mental illness, if not yourself. If you feel so inclined as to support the cause, check out their website here. Even if you don’t have the means to donate monetarily, you can find a volunteer opportunity, participate in a walk or, at the very least, sign the stigmafree pledge and vow to do your part in ending mental health stigma. Boulder Blimp is honored to know that we can assist with NAMI’s ambitious goals through the use of our inflatable arches that alert the community to their mission and their presence. We may be in the business of making custom inflatables but that’s not all we do…
Well, that’s a wrap, folks! Stay tuned for the next installment of Breath of Fresh Air coming up next month. I wonder who the spotlight will turn to next! Will it be YOU?
