I feel I have dealt with depression most of my life. I remember being sad a lot, tried to commit suicide before I was 18, and many times through the years. My dad died when I was four years old. I was raised around alcoholics and their nonsense. My brothers were always number one; I […]
My name is Julie and I am bipolar. I have two faces, the side most people see, and the other I hide except from my family and special friends. I always want to hide that I am bipolar, because that mental illness “stigma” leaves a small part of me uncertain and ashamed. I hope telling […]
Life for me has not been easy. Growing up I experienced a great deal of abuse. My mother and stepfather had bad anger and drinking issues and regularly beat me for things I didn’t do. I found pleasure in seclusion. Even though it was lonely, it was also safe from the school kids being mean, […]
Congratulations to Michigan Protection and Advocacy 2008 Advocacy Essay Contest Third Place Winner Terri R. Stonecipher, for her essay: I’m not handicapped, I have a “disABILITY.” Her writing is inspiring! We have reproduced it here with her permission: I’m not handicapped, I have a “disABILITY” by Terri R. Stonecipher When I get up in the […]
Yoga, tai chi, exercise, stress management, meditation, eating healthy on a budget, food/drug interactions, journaling/poetry/writing, book clubs, art, music, drama, crafts, organizational skills and clutter control, financial planning, building credit, housing and other community resources, first aid, how to access the Internet, and smoking cessation are just a few of the Holistic Wellness ideas generated […]
In February, the two Blueprint tasks on the agenda were: 1) continuing work on NLCMH’s official organizational definition of recovery, and 2) examining the Recovery Enhancing Environment (REE) instrument which will be used in Blueprint Dimension 2, on Evaluation. The Council also approved its January minutes, introduced Bob Houghton, who is replacing Brian Cook due […]
In April, 2000, at the age of 36, my world came crashing in on me. I was hospitalized six times that year at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. I hit bottom really hard that year, and for the next three years that followed. I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Severe Depression […]
The Traverse City office is proud to announce the formation of a recovery group based on the workbook, “Pathways to Recovery,” by Priscilla Ridgway. Pathways is a strengths-based recovery program, helping its participants identify their personal strengths and building upon them. The group is open to peers only (those living with a mental illness) with […]
Check out a trailer of our new movie, To See What I See: The Stigma of Mental Illness. This 20-minute movie, produced by Mary Pierce and Jeff Morgan, tells the story of our Stigma Busters’ work to help make a difference in our local communities. Stigma Busters have come together to create photobiographies, art work, […]
What an historic, momentous day! Great dialogue and camaraderie was apparent from the start of the first meeting of the NLCMHA Recovery Council. This group of great people has been appointed to tackle the hard work of helping to transform our local public mental health system to one based on recovery. After attending to housekeeping […]
Wonderful ideas were contributed by all who attended the second meetings of the NLCMHA Recovery Learning Communities in January. This meeting focused on two issues: 1) what the official NLCMHA definition of recovery should be; and 2) what can be done in the next six months to make the environment at NLCMHA based on recovery. […]