Jogging 4 Journals Campaign 2016 (and more)

In 2016, I really want my thoughts, words, and actions to be that of helping people with mental illness.  I have lived most of my life with mental illness, and it is only in the last couple of years that I have begun living well with it.  My goal in 2016 is to help others live well, too.  I believe that the best way to do that is by focusing on these three avenues.

1. Jogging 4 Journals.  Beginning on New Year's Day, I will be running one 5k every month for a campaign that I am calling Jogging 4 Journals.  With each race that I run, I will be asking friends, family, and anyone else who desires to help those with mental illness to donate whatever they can to my campaign.  With the money I receive, I will be buying journals and a label (to write a loving message on and place inside the journal) and gifting them to patients at my local hospital's inpatient Mental Health Unit. I chose a journal because, when dealing with a mental illness, it is usually helpful to write down your thoughts and feelings, any treatment that you feel is working or needs to be changed, and anything you need to remember.  I also chose a journal because it is an inexpensive, yet helpful and practical gift. 

1 journal: $.52 - $.79

1 label: $.10

Helping a person with a mental illness feel better about being hospitalized: PRICELESS!!

My goal is to gift 30 journals a month, since there are 30 beds on the unit.  Since it costs less than $1 to gift one journal, if I get $30 in donations every month, I will meet my goal!  

To help, please consider donating to Jogging 4 Journals, and/ or joining me by running with me or on your own for those struggling with mental illness. My donation page is www.gofundme.com/jogging4journals (at the end of this post, there is a "clickable" link to the fundraising page). 

2. In Our Own Voice presentations.  I have been working with NAMI Baltimore for over two years now, off and on, doing In Our Own Voice presentations.  In 2016, I will be giving several each month to patients at my local hospital's inpatient Mental Health Unit, where I will also be gifting the journals.  An In Our Own Voice presentation is when another presenter and I show a DVD about people who live well with their illnesses, and talk about how we live well with ours.  Each presentation is made up of five parts, and we are trained in how to effectively share our story.  There is an opportunity to ask questions after every part.  Once a month, I will be giving a presentation and then handing out the journals to the patients.

3.  Mental Health First Aid (MHFA).  In 2016, I will be taking three MHFA classes, Senior, Youth, and Adult.  Each class is eight hours long and each will teach me many different skills for helping people with mental illness who are in crisis.  I will learn the warning signs of addiction and mental illness, a 5-step action plan to assess a situation and help, the impact of mental illness, and resources that can help someone in a mental health crisis.  I will be trained to help anyone with a mental illness.

I'm really excited to be able to help all kinds of people with mental illness in 2016!  It is my true passion in life!

www.gofundme.com/jogging4journals

Stop blaming, Start fixing

There have been 355 mass shootings this year.  That's almost one for every day of the year.  It's got to stop.  But, you know what won't stop it?  Blame. Blame on those with mental illness.  When a shooting happens in this country, the first people to go down are people like me, those with mental illness.  

Blame doesn't help anyone and it certainly does not fix our mental health system, which needs to be done.  America's mental health "system" is anything but.  It doesn't work, and hasn't for a long time.  There is not basic access to life-saving treatment, and, when there is, the cost of such treatment is often so high that the person cannot get the help they need.  

I don't understand why those in authority, namely politicians, just don't get it.  They are the first to blame these attacks on the person having a mental illness, even when sometimes we don't even know yet.  And, if the person does have or did have a mental illness, does that tell you anything? It should.  It should tell you that you need to stop the "blame game" and actually fix our current system of providing for the country's mental health needs.  That is the only logical conclusion to come to.  

This country's mental health needs are many, so it will be difficult to begin to fix the system, but it is something that needs to be done.  Also, do we have any wonder why there is so much stigma surrounding mental illness?  When mass shootings happen, everyone blames it on the person having a mental illness.  The vast majority of us are not violent, but rather will be the victims of a violent act in our lifetimes.  People are scared of others with mental illness, and when you blame shootings on us, it just perpetuates the stigma that we are bad and people fear us more.  

So, how about we actually listen to what those with mental illness have been saying for decades: Fix the system.  End the stigma. Treat mental illness like any other illness and stop the blame.