to Barb: demystifying and destigmatizing mental illness.

August 21, 2000

>From: j.monnens@...

Barb:

I'm going to put in another plug for NAMI (National Alliance for the

Mentally Ill). Probably everyone on the list is sick of hearing me say it,

but this grassroots organization is a wealth of information about anything

and everything having to do with mental illness. It IS scary to hear it

suggested that a loved on has a mental illness. But, truth be told,

treatment for mental illness is far more successful than for heart disease

(50% to 75% respectively). There are NAMI affiliates in every state and in

many, many communities. In Cleveland (where I live) there are two, as well

as affiliates in other counties. Many of these affiliates offer a 12 week

educational program called Family to Family,

which is for family members of adults with mental illness. The program is

free and is one of the best things you could do for yourself. It has an

entire lesson on meds, lessons on all the major mental illnesses including

OCD, how to communicate with your loved one, self care (eh, Kathy?) and

much, much more. The classes are taught by family members, NOT

professionals. All the teachers have at least one family member with mental

illness. A few members of the list have participated in Family to Family.

You might benefit from visiting the NAMI website (www.nami.org) to begin the

process of Having a brain disorder is really no different than having

diabetes. Not so long ago admitting that one had cancer was a big taboo.

Mental illness remains the last truly stigmatizing illness.

I just reread what I've written. Please don't misunderstand me. I don't

mean to imply in ANY way that you are not handling your son's diagnosis

inappropriately. I just feel so strongly that we all need to educate

ourselves in order to help our loved ones and then to educate others. Both

my 12 yo son and 46 yo husband have OCD -- my son has other alphabet soup as

well. It was very hard to hear the doctor say that Aiden (then 9) had a

mental illness. It was frightening, even though I had diagnosed him myself

a week earlier. I am an RN, and he had a classic case of contamination OCD.

The whole experience of

having a child seriously ill with a " hidden " illness has been life altering.

I offer you lots of support, love, and encouragement. We're all in this

together.

Jule in Cleveland j.monnens@...

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