Rather than numbing my complex feelings, I allow myself to experience them and express them in an honest and healthy way.
My story started at nine years old. Plagued with OCD and crippling anxiety, I wasn’t dealt a “normal kid’s life.” Instead of birthday parties and sleepovers, my days and evenings were filled with intensive therapy, lots of tears and relentless fighting with everyone around me...
Getting the right diagnosis often isn’t easy for psychiatric conditions. In our field, we don’t yet have biologic tests that can easily define one condition from another. If your blood pressure is 140 over 90, you have hypertension or high blood pressure. In mental heal...
In recent years, mental illness has become a popular topic of discussion in various forms of mass media. As Western society has worked to break down barriers surrounding taboo subjects, we have challenged the stigma surrounding mental illness. This is undeniably a positiv...
Help Center Visit our Help Center to learn about and share knowledge on a variety of topics, including NAMI 360, membership management, the NAMI Convention, Helpline FAQ, class reporting and more. Learn More Bringing NAMI Ending The Silence Virtual To Your Commun...
Aspects of my personality left me susceptible to BPD. It’s not something that be cured. There’s no pill to treat it. The meds I take, however, help with the symptoms.
The college lifestyle is not always supportive to those facing mental health struggles, either prior or newly developed. A new environment, social and academic pressures, and easier access to drugs and alcohol are just some of the challenges that students face. Consequently,...
People ask me what living with depression is like. I don’t know how to verbalize it other than to say, it’s like slowly drowning in an ocean of sadness.
Having my heart broken is one of the worst experiences I’ve had as a person living with borderline personality disorder (BPD). When my heart is broken, I can’t describe it as “feeling sad.” I honestly don’t know if I have ever just felt “sad.” Rather, I feel like the pain ...
The Vixen & Anthony Cicchino: Being Your Authentic Self The Vixen and NAMI ambassador Anthony Cicchino discuss mental health in the LGBTQI+ community, coming out, and how to be an ally.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness ( NAMI ) has published an updated and expanded edition of What Families Need to Know about Adolescent Depression, a guide for families who want to know about accurate diagnosis and effective treatment options for teenagers experiencin...
My mental illness is not something I usually discuss openly. All I know is that I’m strong and I will help as much as I can.
Self Care University: Animal Therapy | Managing Your Mental Health Welcome to Self-Care University, a show where we explore different self-care activities to help manage your mental health. NAMI ambassador Alessandra Torresani meets with the staff of Special Spirit Equine T...
Self Care University: Drama Therapy | Managing Your Mental Health Welcome to Self-Care University, a show where we explore different self-care activities to help manage your mental health. NAMI ambassador Brooke Johnson meets with Registered Drama Therapist Alexis Maron to ...
I have learned that I am not personally responsible for my disorder, but that I am responsible for how I react to it. Today, I choose acceptance.
Imagine having difficulty controlling your thoughts and actions. Imagine that your sense-of-self is almost entirely dependent on your relationships with others. Imagine struggling to manage stress, rejection or conflict. This is what it’s like to live with Borderline Pe...
I always pause when someone asks the question: “Didn’t you always want to be a mother?” No. No, I did not. I have always liked children. My education and career have centered on children’s welfare and development. Never did I fear that children would “hold me back,” pers...
Whether you are a parent, teacher, grandparent, aunt or uncle, our children are often our greatest pride and joy. They are our future. We love them, raise them, teach them, laugh with them, play with them and nurse them back to health. As protectors, we want to do ...
This past June I celebrated two years of being self-injury free and I’m happier than I have ever been. It can be done. Just take the first step.
Discussing my depression and other mental health conditions is terrifying for me. I hate seeming vulnerable and I hate being labeled.