August 25, 2010 and ongoing, by Paul Evans
Visit NAMI, the National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill. This is the premier connection on the web to get help and access
resources. As someone who suffered from mental illness all my adult life,
getting better only in recent years, I wish so much that I had accessed NAMI
and the support it can provide, when I was much younger. If you think you might
be suffering from a mental condition, or if you are the parent of a child who
may be mentally ill, PLEASE visit this website. One sixth of Americans at some
time during their lifetimes are clinically depressed so that they need
medication to overcome it. There is no shame in mental illness any more than
there is shame in breast cancer. These are organic and generally genetic
conditions. NO, you are in NO WAY inferior if you suspect you are mentally ill.
Don't let anyone tell you that, and don't you dare think it. Seek help with NAMI! You'll be so glad you did. You know and
I know that there is a lot of craziness out there on the street. Only about one
half of mentally ill people in the United States are getting any real help.
Help yourself. Visit NAMI. What can it hurt to explore? Isn't it better than
suffering alone?
If you need someone to talk to, Message me on Op Ed News and I will get back to you. At the least you will get a friendly voice and the knowledge of
someone who has been there and mostly overcome his illness.... I would be glad
to talk with you. And I will try to direct you to professional resources in
your area. Mental illness is the second leading cause of disability in America
today. Sometimes it just takes a little caring, and a gentle little push to
begin treatment that may save your life. What are you waiting for? ~ Evans
Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans
More Mental Health Resources:
See Five Things
Psychotherapists Shouldn't Do, Politics Daily "Woman Up",
August 25, 2010, by Delia Lloyd, excerpt quoted verbatim:
For Your Information, the Five Things Psychotherapists should NEVER Do Are:
Admit that they are impressed or intimidated by you. Tell you about their
own problems. Give it less than their all. Embrace or otherwise touch you.
Sleep with you. Obviously. Visit MentalHealth.com
an excellent non-profit resource. They have a huge collection of internet links
to many resources.
Visit Samhsa.gov, the
government's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. They
also have a feature to find treatment centers near you.
Visit SAMHSA's FRIEND, where you can chat
with mentally ill people, and the friends and family of those who are mentally
ill. You don't have to be alone!!
Visit Mental Help.net. Be sure to
make use of Psych Central's Mental Health
& Psychology Resources Online, which is the oldest collection of
information and resources on the internet. You can find a therapist with the
click of a mouse simply by entering your ZIP code. But, more than that,
PsychCentral is a HUGE collection of resources and articles.
The Pharmaceutical company Eli Lillly has an excellent program for those who
suffer with depression called Support Partners. Visit
NAMI's Suppport and
Programs page. Here you can find easy access to state and local
resources.
Watch NAMI Connection:
All About The Program, YouTube video - 9:25.
Visit the NAMI Connection
Recovery Support Group. In Ohio: The Summit County Mental Health and Recovery
Board has an excellent collection of LINKS to information and
resources.
Visit the National Institute for Mental Health
Health Topics page. Visit the Real Warriors
Campaign, which offers help for veterans returning home from
fighting in wars oversees, and veterans in general.
Visit Mental Health America's Factsheet:
Children's Mental Health: Resource List.
Get Help with Your
Mental Illness: (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
A Word About Medications: My particular area of expertise, such as it is, in
terms of medication, lies in the area of schizoaffective disorder,
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, because at various times in my life, I have
been diagnosed as having these conditions and treated with psychiatric
medicines for them. The first thing to realize in taking psychiatric
medications is that there is absolutely no shame in it, and you are doing
yourself and your family and friends a huge favor to get yourself treated and
on a working medication. It might just save your life.
The second thing to realize, if you are now on a medicine and you don't think
it's working right: DON'T stop taking your medication. From personal
experience, I can tell you, this will only lead to grief. But the fact is, for
any given condition, there are dozens of different medications and finding the
one that works the best for you is basically a trial and error sort of project
that can sometimes take months or years. You MUST work with your doctor to keep
trying different medications until you find a medicine, or a mix of medicines,
that works for you.
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