Being involved with my local NAMI chapter has opened a lot of opportunities for to meet new people, learn more about mental health and other mental health-related organizations, and offer my time and participation in very meaningful ways.

This morning, I volunteered to help out at an event for NAMI. It was a Memorial Day event hosted by a nearby city, including a free pancake breakfast and a ceremony with a flyover. I was lucky enough to be paired with someone who had many years of experience in NAMI, starting her volunteering efforts in the 90s and currently hosting weekly support groups. I learned so much from her about NAMI, including the resources offered by NAMI and even took home an interesting article she had handouts for.

The article itself was about anosognosia – “A symptom experienced by those with serious mental illness (SMI) in which a person cannot recognize that they have a mental illness.”

The following quote really spoke to me about why I’m involved with mental health efforts:

“Awareness, I believe, would encourage people to offer empathy for those struggling with SMI, as opposed to the contempt or disgust many seem to exhibit.”

Anosognosia: A Big Word for a Surprising Condition

I certainly struggled with my own mental health problems since being raped and then on with subsequent traumas. Learning more about mental health for my own healing process also led me to learn that I suffered some childhood traumas as well. It’s hard for me to believe that no one is affected by mental health, especially after the pandemic. I believe we all collectively experienced anxiety at some point during the pandemic and there is no shame in acknowledging that. Acknowledgement is what helps us realize that there is a problem and then we can work on solving the problem.

Learning now about anosognosia opens up such a whole new perspective, and I’m extremely appreciative that NAMI has resources to educate and help others in so many different aspects of mental health.

I highly encourage you to read the blog post about anosognosia here.