NAMI COBB

NAMI Cobb

2016 Leadership Team

President / Communications

Greg Ausham

gregausham@yahoo.com

2nd Vice-President / Outreach

Linda Akanbi akanbil@comcast.net

Secretary - Nancy Spetnagel

nspetnagel@gmail.com

Treasurer and Parliamentarian–

Paul Wiser wim1paul@comcast.net

Membership Chair—Robert Gray

rjgray49@gmail.com

Advocacy Chair—Sylvia Oliphant

Sao66@yahoo.com

CIT/Newsletter Editor – John Avery

javeryjr56@gmail.com

Website Management Chair: Tim Link

link.tim@comcast.net

Fundraising Chair—Reina Panataleon

Reina.pantaleaon@gmail.com

Past President—Neill Blake

nhblake@earthlink.net

Website: www.namicobb.org

Email: NAMICobb1@gmail.com

Mailing address:

NAMI-Cobb

P.O. Box 999

Kennesaw, GA 30156

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Monthly Meeting Announcement/Info

2 Education Series Speaker

3 NAMI Cobb Activities / Outreach Report

4 A Letter to Journalists About Mental Health Stigma

5 The 7 Best Ways to Beat Election Stress

6 There's No Shame in Needing Medication to Manage Your Mental Illness

8 Meeting and Membership Information

Newsletter Date Volume 1 Issue 1 November 2016 FRESH START

Education Meeting / Speaker’s Bureau

Next meeting will be November 17, 2016

7-8:30 PM Turner Chapel Room 182

492 N. Marietta Pkwy, Marietta 30060

ROOM CHANGE to RM 182

Kim Jones, Executive Director of

NAMI GA Kim Jones, the Executive Director of NAMI Georgia will

update us on all of the exciting things happening

at NAMI Georgia and around the state using a town hall

meeting format.

Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner

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Mark Your Calendar for November 17, 2016!

Holiday Potluck Dinner and Guest Speaker

Kim Jones, Executive Director of NAMI GA

You don't want to miss the November educational meeting! Kim Jones, the

Executive Director of NAMI Georgia will update us on all of the exciting things

happening at NAMI Georgia and around the state using a town hall meeting

format. This is a great opportunity to meet Kim and discuss the advocacy issues

that we see as priorities at the state level. Our friends from NAMI South Cobb will

join us for this meeting. Everyone is asked to bring a favorite potluck dish to share.

We will provide honey-baked ham as well as bread and pastries donated by Panera

Bread Company. Don’t miss it!

This event is a FREE community service; all are welcome!

Thursday, November 17, 2016 7-8:30 PM

Turner Chapel AME Church, Room 182 492 N. Marietta Pkwy, Marietta 30060

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NAMI Cobb Activities

NAMI Connections Weekly Support Group

Our NAMI Connections Support Group for persons with a mental health diagnosis continues to meet every Monday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in Room 231 at First Presbyterian Church located at 189 Church Street in Marietta. We have a good core group of people who are committed to living in wellness - please come join this drop-in group any Monday or every Monday! Contact Paul Miner: pminer@bellsouth.net for more information.

Family Care & Share Weekly Support Group

Our Family Care and Share Support Group is a drop-in group for family members and caregivers for someone with a mental health diagnosis. The group meets every Monday from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in Room 232 at First Presbyterian Church, 189 Church St in Marietta. If your family member is in crisis, come any or every Monday to receive support from others. And if your family member is doing well, please come to give your support and share your experiences with others! Contact Greg Ausham at 330-801-0328, Susie Allen at 770-565-4335 or Sylvia Oliphant 678-471-5907 for more information.

The annual, holiday potluck dinner for NAMI Cobb will be

held at the regularly scheduled Education Meeting on

Thursday, Nov. 17. Meat and water and desserts will be

provided. Please bring a vegetable or salad to share. A dish

that feeds about 8 would be wonderful.

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A Letter to Journalists About Mental Health Stigma

by Cheryl Cranick | Oct. 12, 2016

After a tragic event happened in an affluent South Florida town, theories started to buzz about why an average college

student would violently attack a couple completely unprovoked. The first theory was designer drugs, which was a growing

problem in the area. Then an expert suggested perhaps drugs exacerbated an underlying mental illness, causing him to

spiral.

This viewpoint quickly became the favored headline, even though his mother said he had no history of mental illness and

there are still no reports of the alleged attacker being diagnosed. Once again, deviant behavior is blamed on mental illness,

as if there are zero consequences to that narrative.

This news story drew my attention because I live just a few miles away from the area in which the attack occurred. I also

live with bipolar II disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. I use my words carefully because as a journalist, I was

trained to do so. I was trained to report only facts. That is why I am deeply disappointed by the current trend in media,

which only adds to mental illness stigma.

I understand the pressure of a 24-hour news cycle. Early in my career when I worked at a small newspaper, I watched as a

colleague was harshly criticized in front of the entire newsroom because she edited a story too slowly and our competition

broke the news first. I also realize that there is a fundamental human need to attach a rational reason to an irrational act.

But drawing a conclusion of mental illness as the scapegoat is neither fair nor safe.

My fellow journalists, there are consequences to your actions. You are harming the fight to overcome mental health

stigma, and you are discouraging people from seeking treatment. As someone who lives with a mental health condition, I

feel like a second-class citizen despite everything I have achieved.

When a journalist on a major television network calls a child molester and rapist “arguably the face of mental illness,”

pause to realize how this exaggerated inaccuracy fuels public misconception. Also, how the misrepresentation deters good

people in need of help from actually seeking it. Who would want to be associated with such heinous behavior? Using

mental illness as a conclusion without facts is dangerous and harmful. It is also dehumanizing.

I am not naïve to the fact that some people with mental illness can react with violence, but as a whole, we do not

perpetrate excessive crime and are not more violent. Often, mental illness is only one factor at play. As the media

sensationalizes stories with half truths, the public remains ill-informed.

I commented via social media on that South Florida story, trying to counteract the negative implications of the headline; I

had people telling me to “check my facts” in response. Their knowledge is clearly built on ignorance, or they would

realize there is nothing standard about mental health. We are not all violent. We are not all depressed or manic or even

troubled. Even with shared symptoms, every person’s experience is truly individualized.

Journalists, I challenge each of you to be part of the solution, not the problem. Remind yourselves why you were drawn to

storytelling, and do it nobly. Be truthtellers—not peddlers of misinformation.

Cheryl Cranick fictionalized her bipolar II misdiagnosis and severe weight gain into a novel titled "Becoming"

(http://www.cherylcranick.com). The book hopes to educate about bipolar II and encourage empathy, as her character

struggles through college. Cheryl lives with her two rescue dogs in Jupiter, FL.

- See more at: http://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2016/A-Letter-to-Journalists-About-Mental-Health-

Stigma?utm_source=naminow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=naminow#sthash.0v38BK0e.dpuf

Fresh Start Page 5

The 7 Best Ways to Beat Election Stress Alexandra Sifferlin @acsifferlin Oct. 21, 2016 Health Mental Health/Psychology

Election anxiety is real. Here's what to do about it

Election Day is less than a month away. For many Americans, that day can’t come soon enough—for the sake of their

mental health. A recent survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 52% of American adults

say the 2016 election is a somewhat significant—or very significant—source of stress in their lives, regardless of whether

they’re Republican or Democrat.

“I think many people are shocked, saddened and stupefied by how hostile and out of the traditional bounds this has been,”

says Joan Cook, an associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and TIME contributor. “Some seem to be

caught up in the furor and are joining in the hate speech. And that certainly seems to be scaring or terrifying others.”

All of those feelings of anger, fear and stress can take a toll on the body. Stress can tense muscles, cause nausea and

dampen a person’s libido. Bouts of severe emotion cause the body to initiate a stress response that can spur blood pressure

and inflammation, and chronic stress can cause lasting problems.

“If you have one argument between now and the end of the election with someone, and it lasts

for five to 10 minutes, you’ll have a stress response but it will go away,” says Lorenzo Cohen, director of the integrative medicine program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “But we aren’t talking about one or two arguments. People could have arguments [about

the election] every day.”

Thankfully, there are ways people can deal with election-induced angst and feel better over the next few weeks. Here are 7 expert-backed tips:

Restrict your news intake to a reasonable amount. “Reading the news in print and

generally limiting consumption during national crises allows people a measured dose of what is happening,” says Cook, “but seems to decrease one’s susceptibility to get over-engaged or

overwhelmed.” If the constant coverage is affecting your mood, sleep or ability to work, Cook recommends setting aside times during the day to check the news, and leaving it alone outside of them.

Take three deep breaths. It’s a recommended practice in types of meditation and faith-based

traditions, says Cohen. Breathing deeply helps lower levels of stress hormones and can cause biological changes in the body that have a calming effect.

Maintain a healthy routine. “During times of stress, individuals may not feel like themselves,”

says Cook. “Having a set organized schedule can put familiarity and controllability back in place.” Keep up your normal routine, and don’t forget to engage in healthy behaviors like eating

well, getting enough sleep and exercising.

Reserve some mindfulness minutes. Meditation is a well-studied method to ease stressful emotions, and a 2015 study showed mindfulness meditation can be as effective as exercise at lowering stress. You don’t even have to sit still to do it. Other research has shown that doing

Page 6 Fresh Start

everyday tasks like washing the dishes can have similar calming effects, as long as you do them mindfully.

Try to have meaningful discussions about the election. “If you’re able to keep your cool

and your perspective, and you know the other person can as well, then great,” says Cook. “Discuss away, and be respectful. Seek understanding, not blame or trying to change someone else’s mind. Honesty and communication are the keystones of healthy, close relationships.”

Know when—and how—to stop yourself. Not every chat about the election is going to be smooth sailing. It’s ok to disengage. “If we can’t listen empathically and genuinely try to understand others’ perspectives, we might want to, at least for now, stay clear of these kinds of

conversations,” says Cook. If a discussion isn’t going to be productive, set a boundary and say, “‘No thanks, I’d rather not discuss the election,'” Cook recommends. If a person continues to

want to argue, try this line: “’I do not want to discuss the election with you. I find it very upsetting. And if you keep bringing this up, I’m going to have to walk away, hang up and temporarily stop our correspondence,'” says Cook.

Send good vibes to people of a different political party. More meditation, but this time with

a twist. Cohen recommends a type called loving-kindness meditation, during which people send good wishes to others. Start by sending them to someone you know, then someone you feel

neutral about, then a person you struggle with—someone you’ve been arguing with about the election, for instance. “Send out love and kindness to that person,” he says. “We are all human beings, and elections will come and go, but our relationships with other people are more

important.”

http://time.com/4539024/election-stress-mental-health-anxiety/

There's No Shame in Needing Medication to

Manage Your Mental Illness

I have Bipolar 1, the most severe form of bipolar. I was diagnosed almost 10 years ago. It took me about three years to get on the right meds. Throughout those three years, I cycled through episodes of mania and depression. It resulted in three hospitalizations. Once I was on the right medication cocktail, I stabilized. At least, I became as stable as anyone with a severe mental illness can be. Despite the five medications I take for my mood disorder and anxiety, I still deal with symptoms.

I am a high-functioning person living with mental illness, but this doesn’t mean I’m totally asymptomatic. One of the things I struggle most with is impulse control. I have horrible impulse control. When I want it, I want it now. I have such knee-jerk reactions, and I make decisions without thinking them through. I get so stuck on an idea that I just can’t put it to rest until I do something about it.

A lot of people I’ve talked to with bipolar seem to experience the same thing, even if they are on a good medication regimen. I stick to my routine. I take my meds every day. I get enough sleep. But still, my mood disorder is there,

underneath the meds, the routine and the sleep.

It took me a long time to realize even though my bipolar is well managed, it still affects me. I seemed to think for a while I was doing so well that I was “cured.” I know there is no cure for bipolar. It is a lifelong disorder, with

Fresh Start Page 7

episodes coming over the years. I am extremely fortunate to be as stable as I’ve been for the last six years. Many people with bipolar don’t get that lucky.

Most people with mental illness struggle for years, trying to get the right diagnosis or trying to get access to

appropriate mental health care. They try medication after medication, and it doesn’t work or the side effects are so bad we can’t tolerate the medication.

One of the biggest problems with people diagnosed with bipolar disorder is they fall into the same trap I did. When they get on the right medication, they feel cured. They think it’s over; everything is better so I can stop taking my medication. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

I applaud people who have learned to deal with mental illness in natural, holistic ways. However, for me, and most other people with severe mental illness, we need medication. We need to keep taking our medication. I have accepted

I will be on medication for the rest of my life for my mood disorder. Do I like it? No. Yet, I don’t like my heart medication, and I still take that. There is such a stigma around taking medication for a mental illness.

Recently, Olympian gold medalist Simone Biles had her medical records hacked and it was shown she is taking ADHD medication. She has come out and been vocal about the issue, and she has brought attention to the fact there is no shame in taking medication for mental illness. It is the same as any other illness.

So why is it different when we need to take psychotropic medication? Why is that shameful? The short answer is: It’s not. It’s not shameful. It’s not for everyone, but for people who need medication for a mental illness and choose pharmaceuticals as a treatment option, there is no shame. The shame comes from the stigma. The shame comes from ignorance, from people who don’t understand.

I stand loud and proud that I take medication for my mood disorder, and I have never gone off it. It allowed me to

complete a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Without it, I truly believe I would have died due to suicidal thoughts, which I was close to before getting on the right medication. Mental illness is more prevalent than you think, and someone you know most likely lives with a mental illness. If you have a friend who is struggling, then reach out to them. A simple text to let them know you are thinking of them can make the difference between a bad day and a good day.

Let’s take the stigma out of mental illness and medication. I’ve seen so many positive articles and people bringing awareness to mental health, to the point that it is even being addressed in the presidential election. Let’s continue the conversation around mental illness. Let’s get people the help they deserve. Whether it’s a veteran struggling with PTSD or an Olympian gold medalist with ADHD, we all deserve to live the best life possible, and sometimes that requires medication.

If it makes our quality of life better, then that should be the most important thing. If it means we can hold a job, have quality relationships and function in society, then that’s what it takes. There’s no shame in that. It’s not a crutch. It’s

a disease. We are not less than you because we take medication.

Too many people are afraid to talk about their mental illness or medication because of the stigma around it and how

people respond. I’ve experienced it. People treat you differently once they find out you are one of those “crazies.” Doctors judge you when they see it in your medical file.

We are people. We are humans. We happen to have a disease. That does not make us less. In fact, it makes us stronger. It means we are able to triumph over adversity. It means we are resilient. It means we haven’t given up. So don’t give up on us.

Author’s note: I wanted to acknowledge that bipolar II or any of the bipolar spectrum disorders can be just as

destructive, debilitating and devastating as bipolar I. I was speaking more in a clinical sense, where on the

spectrum of bipolar disorders in the DSM, bipolar 1 is at the top as the most severe on the spectrum, then

bipolar 2, cyclothymic, NOS.

https://themighty.com/2016/09/taking-medication-for-mental-illness-is-not-a-weakness/

Page 8 Fresh Start

Thank you so much for your interest in joining NAMI Cobb Affiliate! Please complete the form below, and mail this with your check made out to

NAMI Cobb. (If you wish to pay by credit card, go to www. nami.org and click on “Become a Member”. You will start receiving our monthly

electronic newsletter within the month. You are also invited to attend our monthly education and support meetings at St. James Episcopal Church in

Marietta, 161 Church St. NE, on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30pm (there is a time to look at resources and brochures at 7pm). You are not

alone. Come join us.

NAMI Cobb NOVEMBER 2016

P.O. Box 999

Kennesaw, GA 30156

TO:

Yes, I would like to join NAMI Cobb of Georgia! Date:____________________

New

Renewal

$3 Financial Hardship Membership (Please note there has been a slight increase in membership fees nationally).

___________Donation (I would like to give an additional donation

to support NAMI-Cobb programming and outreach) Name(s):______________________________________

Address:______________________________________

_______________________________________

Phone: _______________________________________

Email: _______________________________________

I am interested in volunteering. My skill is ________________________.

Support Group Meetings

For families of those with a mental illness

1st Presbyterian Church

189 Church St

Marietta, GA

MONDAYS Time: 7-8:30 PM

Family Support Group Room 048

Connections Support Group Room 046

Contact Neill Blake at 770-427-5353 or

nhblake@earthlink.net with questions

about either support group."

Monthly NAMI Cobb General Meeting

Next Educational Meeting

November 17, 2016

7:00 PM Networking/Social

7:30 PM Program

**Please mail this form along with your check to:

NAMI Cobb, P.O. Box 999 Kennesaw, GA 30156

Thank you for your membership!