NAMI WALKS FOR THE MINDS OF AMERICA

Tomorrow is the NAMI WALK. I want to thank those who supported me: My sweet hubby Ned, Lura, Janet, Allyson, Everett, Marcy, (Ward S, Dale D, Bob H, Bob T. These are my hubby's coffee buddies), Anonymous, and my daughter Debby. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated so much. As I walk, I will be thinking of you.....God Bless...and thanks again.....

On September 26, 2009, I will be walking for the minds of America. The National Alliance on Mental Illness and NAMI state sponsors the yearly walk. I will be walking for our daughter, as many of you know, who suffers from Schizophrenia. This is a cause I am committed to, and participated in for the last 3 years. It is a major fund raiser for NAMI State, so they can continue to provide our FREE EDUCATION programs, such as Family to Family class, BASICS, Bridges, Support Groups, and many more programs. The walk is a fun event, even in the rain.

We found out we didn't melt !!

Mental Illness is a medical illness. No one is immune. About 60 million Americans experience mental health problems in any given year. One in 17 lives with the most serious illnesses, such as Schizophrenia, Major Depression and Bipolar.

Treatment works, but it can take 10 years, between the onset of symptoms and getting help. Half of cases begin at age 14, but less than half of children or adults get help when they need it. People with serious mental illness (SMI) live 25 years less than other people. (NAMI-NIMH)

I would like to share some facts and numbers published by the National Alliance on Mental Illness:

• One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year. One in seventeen lives with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder, and about one in ten children have a serious mental or emotional disorder.

• About 2.4 million American, or 1.1 percent of the adult population, lives with schizophrenia.

• An estimated 5.2 million adults have co-occurring metal health and addiction disorders. Of adults using homeless services, thirty-one percent reported have a combination of these conditions.

If these statistics don't raise awareness of mental health issues, nothing ever will. People would never discriminate against someone who has cancer, diabetes or similar diseases. Mental illness is a disease of the brain, the most important part of the whole body.

Please support me as I walk on the 26th of September. Simply click on the link below to make an on-line donation. Any and all amounts are welcome. Thank you for lightening my steps as I WALK FOR THE MINDS OF AMERICA, and for helping me along the way. God Bless...

http://www.nami.org/walkTemplate.cfm?section=NAMIWALKS&template=/customsource/namiwalks/walkerpage.cfm&walkerID=100213

~ STRESSED MOMS ~

Severe emotional stress during the first delicate month of a woman's pregnancy may permanently impair the neuro-development of her unborn child, leading to an increased risk of schizophrenia later in life, new research suggests. An article in Time magazine: Stressed Moms, Schizophrenic Kids points to factors, during the development of a child, that leads one to think back to what happened during pregnancy.

The link between maternal stress and fetal development is not new: A study in 2000 suggested, for example, that a mother's stress during pregnancy may increase the risk of congenital brain malformations in her baby. And it has been well established that severe maternal stress is associated with low birth weight and premature birth.

This is an interesting article to read, and made me think back during my pregnancy with my daughter who has Schizophrenia and the events that occurred during the first and second trimester of my pregnancy. Little did I know.......What is interesting though is, all the years my daughter went to therapy, none of the many mental health providers ever asked me for any input, and my daughter went for over 1000 documented visits. Depression often follows when a expectant mother has been abused, mentally, emotionally and physically. Being pregnant only heightens the experience, because the mother has the natural instinct to protect her unborn child as well as herself. Many times the mother feels hopeless and defenseless in her surroundings, and she will put up with just about anything and internalize the hurt, which is not the thing to do. Many years ago, the help was not available, as it is today, and mother's just suffered in silence.

A recent survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, NAMI indicates Schizophrenia is a chronic, but manageable disease of the brain. More than two (2) millions Americans and their families face the condition every day. Imagine fighting a health care system that is so fragmented that you can't get what you need to recover from a serious mental illness. Treatment does work, if you can get it. The survey results reveal major gaps between what the public believes to be true about Schizophrenia, what science tells us, and the real experiences and realities of individuals affected by the illness.