NAMI - You are Not Alone (Posts tagged namiwalks)

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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

Team Crowther

I walk for my mother, Nola who took her life by placing a pillow over her heart and then carefully aiming her gun, and pulling the trigger…I know her battle was a hard one…

I walk for my brother, Terry who at the age of 51, jumped from his favorite scenic view…to “see his mother…to join her.” He too battled hard…

I walk for my dad, George. Who let C02, send him off to sleep, with his picture of his mom and grandmother beside him, his heart heavy missing so many people. I know his battle too was a hard  one…

I walk for my cousin, Jason. Who also battled hard…

I walk for my friend Pam, who OD…who also battled hard

I walk for those…whom I consider tough warriors…though they lost their battles…they did fight and they fought hard…

I walk for my hero’s they may be gone…but they are never forgotten

TEAM CROWTHER…PARTY OF ONE…I WALK BECAUSE I CAN…EVEN WITH A HEAVY HEART…I WALK FOR THOSE WHO HAVE TOUCHED MY HEART…MY LIFE.

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My Doctors, My Therapy and My Treatment

The first time I was in the Hospital I had a choice of 3 Doctors. I had to choose the Doctor that was available on my insurance. I am retired Military after 20 years in the Air Force. Yes, my insurance works just the same as in the civilian sector, I pay for it, it is not free and I have a co-pay just like the civilian sector. There are maybe a hand full of things that are free for us that are retired Military. Medical, dental and vision are not any of the freebies. Cutbacks hurt everyone even the retired Military when the Government looks at things. That is another story for much later.

The Psychiatrist I chose, at first, I did not think i was going to stay with because he would write while talking to me. There did not seem to be any eye contact from his side on our first meeting. I took care of that the second time he saw me in the hospital. I pulled his chair closer to mine, of course, I asked him first and he accepted. I told him why I did that and that established the relation between Doctor and Patient. I kept it that way through the Hospital visits, the Partial Hospitalization Program PHP Program) and all his office visits. I did not change my Psychiatrist until I moved out of state and had to find a new one.

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I used to be afraid of the idea of mental illness - it wasn’t a part of my world. Then a friend was impacted by mental illness, and all of a sudden it became a big part of my everyday life. In the 11 years since, I’ve spent thousands of hours on the...

I used to be afraid of the idea of mental illness - it wasn’t a part of my world. Then a friend was impacted by mental illness, and all of a sudden it became a big part of my everyday life. In the 11 years since, I’ve spent thousands of hours on the phone having conversations that have both broken my heart and given me a new appreciation for the human spirit. I’ve seen good things come out of the mental health system, and over the past year I’ve seen it fail my friend miserably, to the point where having a conversation at all is impossible.

My friend has been through a lot over the years - lots of ups and downs, lots of hospitalizations, and a whole lot of stigma and discrimination.  This past year took that to a whole new level, when a series of stressful events in her life overwhelmed her ability to cope with them.  I spent a seemingly endless number of hours on the phone with her, because she said it helped drown out the voices she was hearing…I listened as she became less and less able to focus, started having trouble differentiating what was real from what wasn’t, and became terrified that she was losing control…I heard her try to get help, many times, and be dismissed as “just trying to get attention.”  I tried to get help, from her advocate, and was equally unsuccessful.  And so I kept listening as her worst fear - of “totally losing it” - started to play out. Something similar happened to her a few years ago, and since then she’s always said (and I’ve always reassured her) that things wouldn’t get to that point again, because now she knew how to advocate for herself.  But the unfortunate reality was that the discrimination against mental illness was so strong that it didn’t matter.  And so now it’s been months since she’s been able to have any kind of conversation that made sense…

As I’ve witnessed my friend’s experiences, I’ve become passionate about raising awareness of mental illness, and fighting stigma. As I’ve talked about my friend’s experiences (with her blessing), I’ve seen the “No kidding, me too!” phenomenon in full force. People have shared their own stories with me, about themselves, their family, their friends…stories I never would have known without having that conversation. Mental illness is a part of all of our lives in one way or another, and it shouldn’t have to be a secret. The mental health system is in desperate need of improvement, but that’s not going to happen when people are too afraid to talk about it. 

Somebody asked me recently if my friend knew that I was sharing her story with others - and the answer is yes, or at least she did know.  When I first started doing the NAMI Walk, and in the years since, I talked to her about it, and she wanted people to know her story, to know what it’s like to deal with mental illness.  Last year when I was doing a presentation on mental illness, we talked about it again, and she was eager to share her experiences - kept saying that she wished she had the opportunity to talk to people about it.  I still hope that someday she will be able to, but for now we can make sure that her voice, and that of all the others who aren’t able to speak up for themselves, is heard.

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My Story

Around the time of my 40th birthday, I should have been ecstatic.  We were living in a home that we had just bought for the first time.  Everyone was doing well.  Except me.

My husband gave me a weekend away in Montreal for my birthday.  I didn’t want to go and hated it.

Later in the month I went to get screened for depression and yep, I was depressed.  The screener gave me a list of people I could see and I called the first name on my list.  It was the psychiatrist who answered the phone and made an appointment. for the next day.  We talked for a long time and decided yes, I was depressed, probably “garden variety” treatable with therapy and medication.  Neither of us imagined what the future held.

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We had a great race and raised over $1,000 for NAMI at NYC Aquaphor 2013 Triathlon. It was especially great to make it a family event! This coming weekend we will be racing again for NAMI. Check out our race page…. the link is...

We had a great race and raised over $1,000 for NAMI at NYC Aquaphor 2013 Triathlon. It was especially great to make it a family event! This coming weekend we will be racing again for NAMI. 

Check out our race page…. the link is  http://bit.ly/RacingWT4MH

Also check out NAMIBikes and see how you can get involved just like we did!

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/LoginRegister.aspx?eventid=119648&langpref=en-CA&referrer=direct%2fnone

We do our Best!

Terri & Shawn Grauel

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I go to WPIC of UPMC for my treatment. Over the last 3 years they’ve had a patient contest to design the NAMIWalks T-shirt for the WPIC team. I entered all three years and won the first 2 (they used an employee submission last year). This is my first...

I go to WPIC of UPMC for my treatment. Over the last 3 years they’ve had a patient contest to design the NAMIWalks T-shirt for the WPIC team. I entered all three years and won the first 2 (they used an employee submission last year). This is my first entry - I wanted to show how bipolar disorder affects people’s families so the little faces around the figures are family members.

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