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The answer: Very Strong. NAMI can make a tremendous difference, on levels from personal to political, and ranging from local to national. I have felt it as a Family-to-Family participant, teacher and trainer; I have, I hope, nurtured it as a NAMI National Convention Presenter, and as a writer. And, as a speaker and broadcaster, [...] Between the first draft of Ben Behind His Voices and the final one that went to publication, a few chapters (well, about 100 pages) were on the literary equivalent of film’s “cutting room floor.” Here is one of the “lost” segments, from a NAMI Family-to-Family class I was teaching at the time. [...] At the end of the movie Silver Linings Playbook, when main character Pat Peoples is about to embark on the next, happier, more stable part of his life, I think he says something to his ex-wife about doing much better because he is focused, determined, physically fit – and (shhh!)taking his meds. I think he says [...] The nation weeps Weeks after the tragedy in Newtown, though facts are still to be confirmed about Adam Lanza’s history, we struggle to understand how it might have been prevented – or, at least, how to help prevent it from happening again.
First, some facts: Court-ordered hospitalization for mental illness is authorized in [...] Letters, we get letters….and each time it reinforces the fact that mental illness affects the whole family – and that many – too many – families are left to guess at proper treatment and cope alone, especially if their family member is a “legal adult.” at a recent NAMI conference, I spoke about the truth [...] The horrors of 9/11 got us into wars overseas, and the memories continued to be used to justify our involvement there. Will the tragedy in Newtown get us into a war against easy access to assault weapons, underfunded mental health services, stalled research, and lack of support? Never Forget. Act to Prevent. Details continue [...] This video, created by Barmont Productions for NAMI in Connecticut, shows in seven short minutes a smattering of some of the ways NAMI has made a difference in the lives of people living with mental illness, and their families and friends. In it, you will hear a small taste of why Ben Behind His Voices [...] As we near the end of National Family Caregivers Month, I’ve been thinking about the less obvious form of caregiving: the fact that so many of our kids return to their old twin (or larger) beds in the family home, long after we’d imagined we’d have a nest empty enough to turn their old bedrooms [...] Sharing Can Shape Our Lives “For what we are, we are by sharing…and it is by sharing that we move toward the light.” These words come from my temple’s prayerbook for the Jewish New Year, and they never fail to re-ignite my sense of purpose each year. Before Ben Had a Job, He Took [...] For the first time in years, Ben has spoken to me about goals – and he actually has some, that he is willing to share with me. When you have a goal, it can be risky to say it out loud. What if you fail? What if your dreams don’t come true? Treatment, the [...] |
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