I believe that just as someone with diabetes might need to take a pill or get medical attention, the same goes for someone with a mental health condition. A person with a mental health condition is not their diagnosis or a label, but a person just like anyone else. Continue reading A Personal Story
I overheard a couple of comments as volunteers were leaving, including “I never realized that NAMI WC had so many programs and initiatives,” and “I learned so much about all the work that NAMI WC does in the community.”Continue reading Volunteers Honored at Appreciation Event
Andréa (Ahn-dray-ah) May is a newer volunteer with NAMI WC. She lives with mental health challenges and has graduated from NAMI’S eight-week Peer-to-Peer education class. Andréa has told her powerful story several times to youth and the general public. Helping others learn more about mental health is her passion. A photo of Andréa May WhyContinue reading Featured Volunteer: Andréa May
I need to find the strength to climb back up.
I know I can get there. Continue reading A Poem: Sliding
By Ingrid Worth I have always been a somewhat anxious person, prone to overthinking small decisions and spending hours worrying about relatively trivial events and assignments. I felt overwhelmed and stressed when busy, and impatient and restless when I had a break. Like many others, the past year only increased my tension, leaving me feelingContinue reading Moving Toward Meditation
By William When I first heard of the “Recovery Model” for mental illness during a hospital stay, I reacted quite angrily. I had been living with Bipolar Disorder I (the more extreme version) for about 26 years. After I was first diagnosed at 19, I went to an honors college while working full time inContinue reading An Outsider’s View of Recovery
Recovery is Loss for Susan, once my therapist You were so skilled that after ten, patient years of therapy my inner child graduated bridled yet unbroken, and so much kinder. I forgive myself, help myself to second chances, exile always and never from my lexicon. Empathy has routed shame. A raucous dinner party once ruledContinue reading A Poem
By Frank Pace I remember laying in my bed when I was about five or six and wondering why I felt like I just didn’t belong, or if there was just something wrong with me…I felt defective. It was like everybody else had instructions for living and I never got mine. As I got older,Continue reading A Personal Story
By Jeff One evening, I had a little “conversation” with my dog, Sarah. It was a cold December Saturday night during the height of the COVID outbreak. I had been on disability the past three months because I was so physically and mentally unhealthy. My wife and I separated just a few weeks before IContinue reading A Conversation with Sarah
By Cathy Hearn and Novia Wong This month, the NAMI Washtenaw County newsletter team is welcoming a new member and a not-so-new member in a new role. Get to know Cathy Hearn and Novia Wong. Cathy Hearn, Editor Hello! I’m delighted to be taking on the role of Editor for the NAMI WC Newsletter. IContinue reading Greetings from the New Newsletter Team!
