First NAMI Presentation

Today was my first NAMI presentation and I was overyly excited to be speaking in front of 123 nurses at the Maryland School of Nursing. I couldn't sleep lastnight thinking about what I was going to talk about and didn't have the nerve to look at my notes from training. I sat up all night thinking about how I was going to present myself and prayed that I didn't make a fool out of myself.

When I arrived at the school I took a deep breath in as I walked down the small strip to the podium. The instructor pinned a small microphone to my sweater so that the students in the back of the classroom could hear me speak. I felt pretty important having this microphone strapped to my chest and the mobile battery back attached to my hip.

My partner Gayle was a woman with a child like voice but her presence was felt through out the room as she spoke and shared her story with the class. Me, well, I felt right at home. I felt like I was putting on my best performance for my children and their friends as I presented myself with confidence and shared my Dark Days, Acceptance, Treatment and Hopes & Dreams with a room full of nurses.

It's funny, as many times as I have had trouble with doctors not listening to what I had to say about my illness and how it affects my life if felt so incredibly good to talk with people (health care professionals) who had a genuine interest and a thirst for the knowledge of how I (as a mental health consumer) ticked! They had no preconcieved notions or ideas just their stigmatizations of what they previously thought a mental health consumer was like. I stood tall and proud as I help destroy those images in their minds to show that not all people who live with mental illness are serial killers, stalkers, rapist, etc. We look and act just like those who consider themselves "NORMAL".

My instructor once said that "Mental Illness is not for sissies!" and I agree 100%. So I'm giving myself kudos for standing in front of a crowd of strangers (doing what I do best be a DRAMA QUEEN) and sharing my story with them and in the process allowing them to understand that a book is more than it's cover!