You can view the seg-ment on the NGCC web-site at https://namitexas.org/nami-greater-corpus-christi/

Focus for NAMI Greater

Corpus Christi continues

to concentrate on mem-

bership building, publicity,

and trainings for leaders

of courses and support

groups. Word of mouth is

our best publicity, try us

out, check out our Face-

book page, stop by a

general meeting and

“spread the word!”

Looking forward to sum-mer vacation? Whether you’re staying or going, NAMI Greater Corpus Christi will be here con-tinuing with monthly General Meetings on third Thursdays at Bayview, support groups, and a Family to Family 12 week course. Remember, all programs and meetings are free!

Kiii, Channel 3, helped NGCC usher in May as Mental Health Aware-ness Month by airing a segment about our affili-ate on the 5 o’clock news “Someone to Know”.

It was filmed at Bayview

Behavioral Hospital in the room where we hold our Family to Family classes. We talked about the need for all of us in the community to be more aware of the needs of individuals and families dealing with stigma and judgments about the reality of men-tal illness – an illness like any other – worthy of compassion and en-couragement for the hard work of recovery and regaining a life worth living. Kindness is a good place to start.

Letter from our Leadership

Volume 1, Issue 3 Summer 2017

NAMI Greater Corpus Christi General Meet-

ings

Thursday, June 15, 2017 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 20, 2017 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 17, 2017 5:30 p.m.

All meetings are at Bayview Behav-ioral Hospital Gymnasium

6629 Wooldridge Road in Corpus Christi

Inside this issue:

What’s Happening? 2

Volunteer Spotlight 2

Mental Health Condi-tions: Borderline Personality Disorder

3

NAMI National Edu-cation Programs

3

Our Schedule 4

Membership Form 5

NAMI Signature Programs

6

Special Thanks 6

Contact Us 6

Find Help. Find Hope.

Upcoming Speakers:

NEW TIME: 5:30 p.m.

June 15 Greg Hansch, NAMI Texas Public Policy Direc-tor "Texas Legislature - What Happened with Mental Health?" (Representative Todd Hunter has also been invited)

July 20 Andrea Tippet, LMSW, Rights Officer, Coastal Plains Community Center “Client Rights”

August 17 Mark Hendrix, M.S., LPC-Intern, Director –

Adult Mental Health Services, BHCNC,

“Conversational De-escalation”

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening

right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on

when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant with-out fearing it will always be this

way (which it won’t).”

James Baraz

NAMI Greater Corpus Christi continues to encourage all who believe in the mission of outreach for mental health to become members. A member-ship form is included in this newsletter as well as on our website, www.namitexas.org/nami-greater-corpus-christi. Memberships are $35. Navigating life with a mental health condition can be tough, very tough. You can help. Join TODAY. Free programs will continue through the summer: NAMI Con-nection for individuals working on recovery will meet weekly; Fam-ily Support Group meets twice every month on Friday eve-nings and Family to Family, a 12 week 2 ½ hour education course for families of those

with mental illness is open for registration with name, email, and phone number at namigreatercor-puschristi@gmail.com. The course is scheduled to begin in August. Monthly meetings are held on third Thursdays at 5:30 PM at Bayview Behavioral Hospital Gymnasium, 6629 Wooldridge Rd. – open to the public. All programs are free. No reservations are neces-sary and speakers, food and literature are all avail-able. Dates have been set and planning committee meet-ings are in progress for the Third Annual Suicide Awareness Conference here in Corpus Christi. The free open public/family evening will be Thursday, September 14, 6 PM at Bayview Behavioral Hospital. The seminar for profes-sional credit will be Fri-day, September 15 at

Del Mar College begin-ning at 8:30 AM. Fea-tured speaker for both events will be Dr. Jon Al-len from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. A leader in mental health education, Dr. Allen has written extensively on the subjects of trauma, trust, depression, and border-line personality disorder. He serves as associate editor of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation and contributes regularly to the blog post, Say-NoToStigma.com. A website has been estab-lished to promote this event, see www.suicidepreventioncoalitionofthecoastalbend.com.

What’s Happening?

Volunteer Spotlight

nights at 6 PM at Family

Counseling Services.

Ron is dedicated, accepting,

and knowledgea-

ble about the is-

sues so many of

us have in coping

with our symp-

toms.

Congratulations

and thank you

Ron!

The summer volunteer

spotlight is on NAMI Con-

nection facilitator Ron Dild-

ine!

Ron took the NAMI Con-

nection facilitator training

during the weekend of Oc-

tober 22-23, 2016. He has

co-facilitated the popular

NAMI Connection support

group for individuals work-

ing on recovery 2X a

month on Wednesday

Volunteer Spotlight

Ron Dildine

Summer 2017

Page 2

Angela Horner and Marty Gomez represent NAMI at the 11th An-nual Autism Awareness Walk supporting the Autism Spectrum Resource Center

Kiii, Channel 3, filming Diane Hall for Mental Health Awareness Month

Spring Family to Family Class Party

Each month NAMI Greater Corpus –Christi will share useful information from NAMI regarding living with a mental health condition including many strategies for success.

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a condition characterized by difficulties in regulating emotion. This difficulty leads to severe, unstable mood swings, impul-sivity and instability, poor self-image and stormy personal relationships. People may make repeated attempts to avoid real or imagined situations of abandon-ment. The combined result of living with BPD can manifest into destructive behav-ior, such as self-harm (cutting) or suicide attempts.

It’s estimated that 1.6% of the adult U.S. population has BPD but it may be as high as 5.9%. Nearly 75% of people diag-nosed with BPD are women, but recent research suggests that men may be al-most as frequently affected by BPD. In the past, men with BPD were often misdi-agnosed with PTSD or depression.

People with BPD experience wide mood swings and can display a great sense of instability and insecurity. Signs and symp-toms may include:

Frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned by friends and family.

Unstable personal relationships that alter-nate between idealization—“I’m so in love!”—and devaluation—“I hate her.” This is also sometimes known as "splitting."

Distorted and unstable self-image, which affects moods, values, opinions, goals and relationships.

Impulsive behaviors that can have dan-gerous outcomes, such as excessive spending, unsafe sex, substance abuse or reckless driving.

Suicidal and self-harming behavior.

Periods of intense depressed mood, irritability or anxiety lasting a few hours to a few days.

Chronic feelings of boredom or empti-ness.

Inappropriate, intense or uncontrollable anger—often followed by shame and guilt.

Dissociative feelings—disconnecting from your thoughts or sense of identity, or “out of body” type of feelings—and stress-related paranoid thoughts. Severe cases of stress can also lead to brief psychotic episodes.

Borderline personality disorder is ulti-mately characterized by the emotional turmoil it causes. People who have it feel emotions intensely and for long periods of time, and it is harder for them to return to a stable baseline after an emotionally intense event. Suicide threats and at-tempts are very common for people with BPD. Self-harming acts, such as cutting and burning, are also common.

A typical, well-rounded treatment plan includes psychotherapy, medications and group, peer and family support. The overarching goal is for someone with

BPD to increasingly self-direct her treat-ment plan as a person learns what works as well as what doesn’t.

Psychotherapy such as dialectic

behavioral therapy (DBT), cognitive

behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychody-namic psychotherapy, is the first line of choice for BPD.

Medication is often instrumental to a treat-ment plan, but there is no one medication specifically made to treat the core symp-toms of emptiness, abandonment and identity disturbance. Rather, several medi-cations can be used off-label to treat the remaining symptoms. For example, mood stabilizers and antidepressants help with mood swings and dyspho-ria. Antipsychotic medication may help control symptoms of rage and disorganized thinking.

Short term hospitalization may be neces-sary during times of extreme stress, and/or impulsive or suicidal behavior to ensure safety.

Additional Resource: http://www.borderlinepersonalitydisorder.com/

See more at: https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Borderline-Personality-Disorder#sthash.b0aekDVD.dpuf

Mental Health Conditions: Borderline Personality Disorder

NAMI National Education Programs

fers insights into the impact mental health conditions have on the entire family. The curriculum helps family members learn a wide range of biomed-ical information and understand how these conditions affect their loved ones. It combats stigma and promotes healing. Participants improve their self-care and communication skills, learn problem-solving techniques and how to better advocate for their ill family mem-ber. Registration is now open for NGCC’s next Family-to-Family course starting in August.

The NAMI Connection Recovery Sup-port Group and the NAMI Fami-ly Support Group inspire hope through shared stories of recovery and resilien-cy. NAMI’s structured support group

model encourages full group participation and creates upbeat and constructive meet-ings. Facilitators are trained to guide partici-pants, not to instruct or provide therapy. Our 90 minute support groups provide a safe and confidential environment. People can talk openly without being judged because they are among peers with similar lived experiences. For times and locations see our web site.

By offering these free programs, NAMI Greater Corpus Christi is proud to help further NAMI’s mission to build better lives for the millions of people affected by mental health conditions.

NAMI stands out among mental health organizations for our commitment to peer education programs. We train vol-unteers to lead classes, presentations and support groups in a variety of com-munity settings. Thousands of people are touched by NAMI programs each year. Our programs change lives and reduce stigma. NAMI’s education pro-grams are guided by the principle that mental health and wellness is an inte-gral part of our overall health and is possible for anyone. NAMI Greater Corpus Christi currently offers 3 of the 10 national education programs.

NAMI Family-to-Family Education Pro-gram is for families, partners and friends of people with mental health conditions. The 12-session course of-

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 3 Summer 2017

Page 4

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P.O. Box 270692 Corpus Christi Texas 78427-0692 namigreatercorpuschristi@gmail.com www.namitexas.org/nami-greater-corpus-christi

Millions of Americans are affected by mental health conditions every

year. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s

largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building

better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness

through education and support for both the individual and the family.

Business Name

Special Thanks To:

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc., Behavioral Health Center of Nueces Coun-ty, Bayview Behavioral Hospital, Family Counsel-ing Services, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catho-lic Church, Coastal Plains Community Center, Iconic Signs, Shipley Do-Nuts, Anthony Zoccolillo for his time and dedication to the production of NGCC's Newsletter, General Meeting Speakers, and Holly Doggett-Stacy Hollingsworth-Greg Hansch and Patti Haynes from NAMI TEXAS!

We’re on the web

www.namitexas.org/nami-greater-corpus-christi

Crisis Line:

Nueces County

1-888 767-4493

Coastal Plains Counties

1-800 841-6467

Page 6

https://www.facebook.com/NAMIGCC/