I’ve had three psychiatrists over the last 12 years. A social worker referred me to the first while I was hospitalized. My spouse selected the second using a “top doctor” guide. These two psychiatrists had excellent credentials. I stayed with each for five years, but my con...
I was conditioned to view my illness on a scale of “severe” to “less severe.” I was accustomed to doctors describing my condition based on how I was doing at that moment rather than where I was on my mental health journey. This approach echoes exactly what’s wrong wi...
Join the National Council for Behavioral Health, National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health and NAMI for a webinar about the importance of including individual and family members in organizational decision making.
No two peer support groups are the same—each is as unique as a snowflake or a finger print. A peer support group is a regular gathering of men and women with the lived experience of mental illness. Usually once each month, these individuals come together, overseen by a...
NAMI is encouraged that Congress passed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act , a bipartisan bill to address the nation’s opioid crisis.
Smartphones have transformed modern life in more ways than anyone could have imagined. They enable 24/7 access to infinite information and tools that help us stay organized, track our fitness, express ourselves and be entertained. However, easy access to these digital d...
“A suicide is like a pebble in a pond. The waves ripple outward.” Many years ago, my colleague Ken Norton, LICSW, director of NAMI New Hampshire, shared this quote, and it has stuck with me. Visually, when you see a pebble drop into a pond, it’s something small that make...
“Family comes first,” my mother always says. It constantly reminds me how important spending time with them is. Growing up, I was always surrounded by an endless number of family members. My grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins-you name it-all gathered togeth...
For someone with a mental health condition, the basic necessity of a stable home can be hard to come by. The lack of safe and affordable housing is one of the most powerful barriers to recovery.
I recently completed the NAMI Family-to-Family class and found it a valuable learning experience. The course is intended for family members, partners, significant others and friends of individuals living with mental illness. The free educational program helps caregivers be...
Mental health care didn’t exist for me, or at least, that is what it felt like when I was a child. My feelings, emotions and any negative response to them was often discounted as me being a “sensitive child.” Without knowing better, I accepted that I was different, o...
Following the release of the Fiscal Year 2018 federal appropriations package, NAMI is extremely grateful for the increased investments in mental health services and supports. By including significant funding increases for these programs, Congress has taken a crucial step to s...
Following the release of the Fiscal Year 2018 federal appropriations package, NAMI is extremely grateful for the increased investments in mental health services and supports. By including significant funding increases for these programs, Congress has taken a crucial step to s...
“I have a crisis counselor in my pocket,” 18-year-old Samuel told me. “I love those people. They saved my life.” Like many teens, Samuel experiences depression and anxiety. These mental health conditions place him at a higher risk for suicide: the third leading cause of dea...
Some people living with a mental health condition find that there are periods of time when working becomes too difficult, and they can no longer sustain employment. Fortunately, there are two national programs run by the Social Security Administration (SSA) that provide month...
Would you know what to do if you or a friend was experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition? If you don't, that’s OK. That's why we created this infographic. Knowing how to recognize the signs of a mental health condition and how to respond is critical to getting supp...
Saying the right thing to someone struggling with mental illness can be incredibly powerful. It can support, comfort, encourage and sometimes even save a life. The problem is finding the words. Too many people don’t know what to say to us, so they say nothing at all. Some ...
We are entering one of the most significant awareness events of the year, Mental Health Month . May is a time when the mental health community can spread information, resources and support to new audiences. It’s also a time to increase our advocacy efforts to push for menta...
For too long, people who need mental health and substance use care have been subjected to pervasive discrimination in health insurance. Health plans for people with pre-existing mental illness, if they included mental health benefits at all, have historically been more expens...
My diagnosis: chronic adjustment disorder, induced initially by my ex cheating on me and ultimately by the end of my first marriage. Perhaps I should have sought counseling five years ago, although I don’t think I was in the right place then to accept it and move forward.