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NAMI Cobb
2020 Leadership Team
President – Peter Lyons [email protected]
Secretary – Donna Hook [email protected]
Treasurer – Jim Williams [email protected]
CIT/Newsletter Editor – John Avery [email protected]
Website Chair - Allen Spetnagel [email protected]
Outreach Co-Chair – Adrienne McGahee-Jackson [email protected] Outreach, Events Co-Chair - Tiffany Welch [email protected]
Education Chair— Melissa Pike [email protected]
Director of Programs - Neill Blake [email protected] Hospitality Chair – Debra Howard [email protected] Publicity Chair – Tiffany Conyers [email protected]
Membership Chair – Jennifer Jacobs [email protected] Helpline Volunteer Phone – Sylvia Oliphant [email protected] Email – Linda Javadi [email protected] NAMI Walks Cobb Co-Captains Linda Hicks John Hicks
Website: www.namicobb.org
Email: [email protected]
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
2 President’s Newsletter
3 NAMI Cobb News
4 2020 NAMI cob Event Calendar
5 January Educational meeting
6 2020 NAMI State Training Schedule
7 Introduction to the Change Triangle for Emotional Health
9 SHOULD I TELL MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
10 Just Because I Carry It All So Well
11 As my brothers battled mental illness
12 Meeting and Membership Information
Newsletter Date
Volume 1 Issue 1 January 2020 FRESH START
Next Educational Meeting January 16, 2020
Join us for a Potluck Dinner Meats, drinks and breads will be provided by
NAMI Cobb! It's a POTLUCK, so bring your best crowd-pleasing
dish! (Ideas: Salads, Desserts, Veggie Sides,
Casseroles, etc.)
Celebrate NAMI Cobb "2019 Year in Review" & "Plans for 2020"
with Special Guest: Kim H. Jones, Executive Director, NAMI Georgia"
NO Support Group Meeting Jan 20, 2020
Support groups will continue to meet throughout the month of January.
Our new location is: Tommy Nobis Center 1480 Bells Ferry Road
Marietta, GA 30066
Page 2 Fresh Start
NAMI Cobb January 2020 Presidents Letter
The NAMI Cobb leadership team had a great meeting last week outlining our plans for 2020. NAMI Cobb will start the year off with our, January 16, 2020 Educational Meeting which will be a Potluck Dinner with meats, drinks and breads provided by NAMI Cobb. At this meeting we will have time to meet, mix, mingle, and eat. We will celebrate our 2019 accomplishments, and review plans for 2020. Kim H. Jones, Executive Director, NAMI Georgia will be our special guest. In addition to finalizing plans for the January 16th meeting, your leadership team has put together an initial outline of 2020 activities. I have included it below. As you know NAMI Cobb is an entirely volunteer run organization, and I want to once again thank all of our wonderful volunteer leaders, teachers, support group facilitators, advocates, members, contributors, and all of you for an outstanding 2019, as we move on to an even more exciting 2020! We are always looking for additional volunteers, and if you would like to get more involved, please see me or any member of the leadership team. I would also like to thank our partners First Presbyterian Church Marietta, Turner Chapel, and The Tommy Nobis Center for their continued support.
Peter Lyons President, NAMI Cobb Affiliate
_________________________________________________________________
Mental Health by the Numbers – You Are Not Alone
• 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year (47.6 million people). • 1 in 25 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year (11.4 million people). • 1 in 6 U.S. youth aged 6-17 experience a mental health disorder each year (7.7 million people). • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people aged 10-34 • More than half of people who died by suicide did not have a known mental health condition. • If you are in crisis, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to anyone. All calls are confidential.
Source NAMI website https://nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers Note NAMI website contains links to source documents from:
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• JAMA Network (Journal of the American Medical Association)
• National Institute of Mental Health
• CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Fresh Start Page 3
NAMI COBB News The most recent Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) class was held at the KSU Police Department
the week of November 18-21, 2020 with Neill Blake from NAMI Cobb serving as the Advocate
Host. CIT is a 40-hour mental health training for first responders.
Agencies represented by the 24 attendees included: KSU Police Department, University of
North Georgia Police Department, Dalton State College Police Department, Marietta Police
Department, Powder Springs Police Department, Acworth Police Department, Cobb County
Department of Public Safety Training Academy, Canton Police Department, Cherokee County
Sheriff's Office, Cobb County Sheriff's Office, Bartow County Sheriff's Office, Forsyth
County Sheriff's Office and Rome Probation Department.
Kennesaw State University, C.I.T. Class
November 18-22, 2019
Page 4 Fresh Start
2020 NAMI Cobb Initial Event Calendar (For the most current information, additions, and changes, always check or website NAMICobb.org)
NAMI Cobb has a Monthly Educational Meeting from 7 to 8:30 PM, on the third Thursday of each month (except for July and December) at the Tommy Nobis Center, 1480 Bells Ferry Road, Marietta, GA 30066. NAMI Cobb has two Weekly Support Groups. One is called Connections and it is for people with a mental health condition. The other is called Family Support and it is for family members and friends who support those with a mental health condition. Both support groups are held every Monday night from 7:00 to 8:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, 189 Church St, Marietta, GA 30060. The only time the meetings do not occur is on the rare days that the church is closed. NAMI Cobb offers a number of Classes throughout the year including: Family-to-Family, Peer-to-Peer, Homefront, and Ending-the-Silence. These classes are not on the schedule below but will be announced on our website throughout the year. Initial Listing of additional 2020 activities:
January 16 Thursday Happy New Year 2020! Special monthly educational meeting. Potluck dinner and 2020 Plans
February 6 Thursday Training for Mental Health Day at the Capital 7 Friday Mental Health Day at the Capital (for additional
detail go to NAMIGA.org) 8 Saturday NAMI GA hosts Leadership Training for Affiliates
(for additional detail go to NAMIGA.org) Civic Dinner to be held in 1st Qtr. 2020
May 2 Saturday NAMI Cobb’s Mental Health Fair, at Turner, on May 4th.
July 15-18
Wednesday Saturday
2020 NAMI National Convention, Atlanta Marriott Marque (for additional detail go to NAMI.org)
September 17 Thursday Candlelight Vigil Marietta Square. This will replace the Educational Meeting in September
October
NAMI Cobb Stigma Busters walk team. Date of 2020 October NAMI Walk TBD
December
NAMI Cobb hosts Annual Christmas Party at the Circle, Cobb/Douglas County Service Boards.
Fresh Start Page 5
Join us for a Potluck Dinner
Meats, drinks and breads will be provided by NAMI Cobb! It's a POTLUCK, so bring your best crowd-pleasing dish! (Ideas: Salads, Desserts, Veggie Sides, Casseroles, etc.)
Celebrate NAMI Cobb "2019 Year in Review" & "Plans for 2020"
with Special Guest: Kim H. Jones, Executive Director, NAMI Georgia"
January 16, 2020 7:00-9:00 PM Tommy Nobis Center
1480 Bells Ferry Road
Marietta, GA 30066
This event is a FREE community service; all are welcome to this evening
of fun, fellowship, culinary delights, and raffle prizes with Family and Friends!
Tommy Nobis Center
1480 BELLS FERRY ROAD, MARIETTA GEORGIA 30066-6014
Parking is plentiful and there will be signs directing you to the meeting room just inside the main entrance.
Page 6 Fresh Start
2020 NAMI State Training Schedule
Are you an active NAMI member and participate in support groups and education classes? Want to share your story? Want to educate and support others affected by mental health conditions? Become a NAMI Program Leader in 2020! Check out our upcoming State Trainings below and contact Neill Blake at [email protected] for more information:
NAMI Basics Teacher Training
January 10-12, 2020 NAMI Connection Support Group Facilitator Training
Location: Atlanta
January 25 - 26, 2020 NAMI In Our Own Voice Presenter Training
Location: Atlanta
February 8, 2020 NAMI Family-to-Family Teacher Training
Location: Atlanta February 21-23, 2020
NAMI Family Support Group Facilitator Training
Location: Atlanta
March 14-15, 2020
NAMI Ending the Silence Presenter Training
Location: Atlanta February 1. 2020
March 7.2020
April 18, 2020
Fresh Start Page 7
Introduction to the Change Triangle for Emotional Health By Hilary Jacobs Hendel, LCSW Last updated: 16 Dec 2019 ~ 3 MIN READ
For most my life, I had no idea what emotions were, why they were necessary, or what I was supposed to do with them. I made all sorts of incorrect assumptions like, I am supposed to control my feelings and I am weak for having feelings.
In 2008, I attended a conference on emotions in New York City. Despite years of education in the biological sciences and a certificate in psychoanalysis, I had never learned that emotions could be processed by paying attention to the sensations they created in the body.
I had never learned that by staying with emotional experience in the body, emotions reach a natural endpoint after which calm and relief are frequently accessed. For the first time, I saw a predictable path to healing anxiety and depression. What I learned at that conference changed my life and my career trajectory.
It was there that I first laid eyes on the Change Triangle, which was introduced to me then as the Triangle of Experience. The Triangle of Experience was one aspect of a comprehensive psychotherapeutic model of healing and transformation developed by psychologist, Diana Fosha, Ph.D. called Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP).
AEDP is a bottom up model grounded in current neuroscience. Over a decade later, I would nickname this triangle “The Change Triangle” and introduce it to the public. Everyone, not only psychotherapists, benefits from an education in emotions. The Change Triangle has the power to improve mental health and reduce stigma on a large-scale level.
So What is The Change Triangle?
The Change Triangle is a map—a guide to carry us from a place of disconnection back to our true self. Working the Change Triangle teaches us to identify the defenses and inhibitory emotions of shame, anxiety, and guilt, that prevent us from being in touch with our core emotions, like joy, anger, sadness, and fear.
Page 8 Fresh Start
In allowing ourselves to fully experience core emotions, we move toward an openhearted state where we are calm, curious, connected, compassionate, confident, courageous, and clear.
When people first incorporate the Change Triangle into their daily lives, they have instant benefits. Here is my list of the top five benefits from working The Change Triangle:
1.Imparts immediate distance and perspective from our distress.
Just remembering to think about where we are on the Change Triangle can stop a downward emotional spiral.
2.Brings awareness of the way our mind is working.
Once we see the Change Triangle on a piece of paper or in our mind’s eye, we understand what’s happening to us emotionally. Our current state is located on one of three corners of the Change Triangle or below it in the openhearted state.
The openhearted state is a place in which we all want to spend more time. It feels great, as we are calm, clear in thought, connected, curious, compassionate and confident that we can handle whatever life brings. Working the Change Triangle over our lifetime helps us spend more time in the openhearted state.
3.Helps us figure out if we are using defenses, experiencing inhibitory emotions, or experiencing core emotions.
Knowing which corner of the Change Triangle we’re on is important. It’s knowledge that tells us what needs to be done to feel better. For example, if we recognize we are anxious, the Change Triangle guiding us clockwise tells us we have core emotions that need naming and honoring.
Or, if we recognize we are in a defended state, we have the choice to stay there or reflect on the emotions from which we are running.
We are liberated when we stop fearing emotions. Even though emotions are sometimes painful, they are more bearable than we realize and education really helps. Knowing what to expect makes the wave-like nature of core emotions less scary.
4.Helps us find and name our core emotions
The brain calms down when we put language on our experiences. By taking the time to slow down, scan our body for emotions and put language on what we are experiencing, there is an immediate calming effect. Knowing the heavy feeling in your chest and pressure behind your eyes is sadness helps. Even saying to yourself, “It’s okay, I’m just feeling sad” often calms the brain and body so it’s easier to release the sadness with a good cry.
5.Gives us direction, showing us what to do next to help feel and function better
Once we can locate which corner of the Change Triangle we are on, we know what to do next. Whether we can work the Change Triangle alone, or need the help of a safe and non-judgmental other, we still have knowledge and direction for how to get relief and clarity.
I write about the Change Triangle because of how helpful it truly is for everyone who learns it. I cannot imagine life without this tool. Well, really I can because until I was 39 years old, I didn’t know it existed. Since then, I feel much more organized and less overwhelmed by my mind and feelings. I also feel much less self-conscious and just more me!
Having had this education in emotions, I understand that anxiety and symptoms like depression, addiction, self-harm, social anxiety, and more are symptoms of not fully feeling the underlying core emotions that arise from living, especially when we experienced a great deal of adversity in our early lives.
The Change Triangle gives hope that there is always something we can work on to feel better and more connected to our calm, courageous, compassionate, clear, and confident authentic Self. I am so thrilled to pay this knowledge forward to you.
Fresh Start Page 9
SHOULD I TELL MY SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
June 22, 2017 - John Poehler
This is a big question that has been asked by many: Should I tell my significant other that I have bipolar disorder?
Generally, there are three situations where this occurs:
1.) If you have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and are going into a relationship. Should I tell my potential partner that I have this mental illness right away or wait?
2.) If you are already in a relationship (not married) and diagnosed with bipolar disorder after the relationship has started.
3.) If you are married and find out after you are married that you are diagnosed with bipolar.
I am not here to tell you what to do. I am not a medical professional. However, I would like to give you my insight and ideas.
SHORT-TERM RELATIONSHIPS
Short-term relationships deal more with #1 above. Never feel ashamed of who you are, but I understand there is stigma out in the world.
When I was dating and knew the relationship was not going to be long-term, I did not say anything. “Our illness is complicated, why over-complicate it,” I thought. I remember there was a young woman who I dated short-term. She told me how mental illness is all in the person’s head. I broke it off that night.
The main thing you must remember is your comfort level and what falls within your belief system.
I had a friend that told everyone he had bipolar disorder the first time he met them. This was his level of comfort and what he believed.
If you decide not to tell your new partner right away, when is a good time to tell them? There is no fixed rule for the number of months you are together or anything like that. You need to search within your heart the value of the relationship and how it is progressing.
I always made sure I knew each person extremely well and that they were tolerant individuals. In addition, I made sure the relationship was headed long-term. There were probably exceptions to this rule in my past, but I generally followed it as precisely as possible.
LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS
Long-term relationships deal with #2 and #3 above.
Being in a long-term relationship is completely different than just starting out dating. There is a level of intimacy that is created the longer you are with another person. Full disclosure is appropriate at this level in the game.
If you are living together, whether married or not, it is extremely important to tell your significant other if you are diagnosed with bipolar disorder. You would tell them if you were diagnosed with diabetes. Having bipolar disorder is no different. They are both chemical illnesses. Bipolar disorder just happens to have a stigma.
My takeaway message is three-fold:
1) Do not feel pressured to tell anyone anything. Especially about your bipolar disorder illness.
2) If you are in a short-term (dating) relationship, do not feel like you must tell the other person.
3) If the relationship turns long-term, full disclosure is generally recommended.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my blog post. I would love it if you would join The Bipolar Battle Community! Until next time, take care! https://www.thebipolarbattle.com/should-i-tell-my-significant-other/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost
Page 10 Fresh Start
Just Because I Carry It All So Well,
Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Heavy
5 Misunderstandings About The Mentally Strong
Although being physically strong gets a lot of attention, mental strength gets very little. As a result, there are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be mentally strong.
Below are five myths about mentally strong people that just aren't true.
1. Mentally Strong People Never Give Up
Just like people aren't born with physical strength, no one comes out of the womb possessing incredible mental strength.
Everyone has the ability to develop the skills that build mental muscle. Everyone has the ability to become mentally strong.
Growing mentally stronger takes practice and hard work, as well as a commitment to giving up the bad habits that could hold you back.
2. Mentally Strong People Never Ask For Help
There are a lot of things mentally strong people cannot do, and they are not afraid to admit it. Mentally strong people have enough confidence to admit when they don't have all the answers.
They're willing to seek assistance from others who have more experience, expertise, education, or resources.
They seek personal or professional help when necessary, and they don't shame other individuals who seek to better themselves.
3. Mentally Strong People Are Cold and Unemotional
Mentally strong people experience emotions just like everyone else. They are very aware of how their emotions can influence their thoughts and behavior.
They are able to control their feelings when doing so helps them reach their goals. They refuse to allow their emotions to control them, but that does not mean they are emotionless.
4. Mentally Strong People Have Never Endured Hardship
Many strong people have overcome incredible hardships, ranging from troubled childhoods to the deaths of loved ones to financial ruin.
But, they don't use their misfortune as an excuse for not reaching their goals. Instead, they turn those experiences into learning opportunities that help them grow stronger.
5. Mentally Strong People Don't Have Mental Health Problems
Even though mental health and mental strength are two separate things, people often say things like "I can't be mentally strong because I have anxiety."
But that's just not true. Some of the strongest people in the world have battled mental health problems.
Just like people with asthma can choose to build physical strength, people deal with overwhelming sadness, anxiety, or other mental health problems can develop mental strength.
https://www.higherperspectives.com/carry-it-all-mental-strong-2641549792.html?fbclid=IwAR3xtxfx0mGDuCoVSDjM3Cb0pvuzWI1PMCNQ5vBtV_mJo8ONn5picVeFm2c
Fresh Start Page 11
As my brothers battled mental illness, my mother gave us the greatest gift of all, hope
She educated those around her, founding one of the earliest National Alliance for Mental Illness groups in the nation.
By Michael Judge Dec 12, 2019
My son, Max, is 7 years old. The same age my brother Steve was when I was born. Steve was the oldest of my five siblings, a gentle, loving big brother who was like a second father to me and my three other siblings, John, David and Katherine.
Tragically, Steve, a dashing young Air Force Academy cadet at the time, was diagnosed with encephalitis in 1979, and later schizophrenia. It’s hard to overstate the blow this was to my family. So much promise, so much tenderness stolen away — by what? Fate? A virus? Genetics? God?
A few years later, my brother John, a former Division One college football player and loving father with twin daughters, was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. After battling the voices, hallucinations and side effects from powerful antipsychotics, John took his own life in 1982.
I was 16 when John died. A few months later, Steve, swallowed up by grief and an illness that tore at his very soul, stabbed himself with a steak knife in a failed suicide attempt. I remember when the police officer came to our house to tell us what had happened, and that he would be fine; how the blade, miraculously, missed his heart by millimeters.
I’ve written about my brother’s battles with schizophrenia many times, how Steve finally found a medication, Clozaril, that returned him to us — his gentle nature, his kind words, his loving eyes. But I’ve never really written about how my family survived, the hope and love that saw us through such trying times.
That hope and love was, and still is, embodied in one person, my mother, June Judge, a fierce, loving and tireless advocate for those suffering from mental illness for more than 40 years, indeed from the day her first son received his diagnosis.
Instead of surrendering, my mother fought — the doctors, the psychiatrists, the psychologists, the social workers, anyone and everyone who said her children couldn’t be helped or were somehow not suffering from a disease of the mind as clearly as others suffered from kidney or heart disease or cancer.
She not only fought, she educated those around her, founding one of the earliest National Alliance for Mental Illness groups in the nation, helping thousands get the care and treatment they deserve.
At 83, she’s still fighting, still giving me and all those she encounters, the greatest gift of all — hope. My brother Steve died suddenly a few years ago of an undiagnosed heart condition. Yet, thanks to my mother, he had lived a full and meaningful life, “knowing he was loved,” as she likes to say.
She lost her son John, but he, too, I believe, knew he was loved. This, even in the darkest time, gives me hope, and for that hope I will always be grateful.
Michael Judge is a former deputy editorial features editor at The Wall Street Journal and a contributing editor at The Dallas Morning News.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/12/12/as-my-brothers-battled-mental-illness-my-mother-gave-us-the-greatest-gift-of-all-hope/
Page 12 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 “Join”. You will start receiving our monthly electronic newsletter within the month. You are also invited to attend our monthly education and support meetings, 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 January 2020
P.O. Box 999
Kennesaw, GA 30156
TO:
Yes, I would like to join NAMI Cobb of Georgia! Date:____________________ Membership is for NAMI Cobb, includes NAMI Georgia and NAMI
Annual Dues: Individual [__] $40.00 Open Door [__] $5.00
Household [__] $60.00 - List specific persons living at the same address.
(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
[email protected] with questions
about either support group."
Next Monthly NAMI Cobb
January 16, 2020
Our new location is:
Tommy Nobis Center 1480 Bells Ferry Road
Marietta, GA 30066
**Please mail this form along with your check to:
NAMI Cobb, P.O. Box 999 Kennesaw, GA 30156
Thank you for your membership!
