Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Mental Illness Awareness Week
Mental Illness Awareness Week is October
5-11. That same week, our presidential candidates will hold a “town
hall” debate—in which up to a quarter of the audience are likely to have
experienced a mental illness.
That’s because one in four
adults lives with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental illnesses every year. That’s almost 60
million Americans.
Mental illness does not
discriminate between Republicans and Democrats. It can strike anyone at any
time.
Mental health is part of health care and it is essential
that it be included in the nation’s health care reform debate.
Mental illness affects children. It affects people of color.
Two million Americans live with schizophrenia—twice the number of those with
HIV/AIDS. One in five veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan—almost 300,000
troops—will experience major depression or PTSD upon returning home. Unfortunately,
two-thirds of people who live with mental illnesses do not receive treatment.
But treatment works. Recovery is possible. Between now and
Election Day, every candidate needs to talk about these facts.
For more information, contact the
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) at 800-950-NAMI (6264) or visit www.nami.org.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Why I do what I do:
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I am the one in many
people's lives who provides them with their basic human needs. What others may
take for granted - washing, dressing, bathing, eating - some people are unable
to perform these tasks and they depend on me. I am the one who goes to great
lengths to maintain their privacy and dignity while helping them do things that
many others are able to do on their own. I am the one they rage at, venting
their frustration, anger, confusion and fear. I am the one who performs care,
even though doing so will often put me in the position of being physically and
verbally abused at the hands of those I care for.
I am the one who rides out the storms of my resident’s emotions right alongside
of them. I am the one who searches high and low throughout the building for a
misplaced item that one of my residents is desperately looking for. I am the
one who hears "I want to leave" from the lips of my residents
sometimes several times a night, and comforts them the best way I know how. I
am the one offering hugs and smiles in a dark and lonely world, where many
times, the staff becomes the only family a resident has. I become their source
of love, acceptance and friendship. I am the one who tries to quell loneliness
and depression in the people I care for, sometimes resorting to singing,
sometimes just acting silly to coax a smile. I am the one who makes them know
that someone still cares about them.
I am the one who listens when no one else listens. I listen as my residents
repeat stories from their past over and over again, and offer my words of
amazement or encouragement over their accomplishments and memories. I am the
one who validates them as a person, who ensures they know they still have great
worth as a human being, even though they are mentally ill and their lives have
changed, I always try to offer hope where it is needed.
This is why I do what I do. Does your job offer that satisfaction?
