NAMI: In Our Own Voice

On Thursday October 5^th, I attended the NAMI: In Our Own Voice presentation. NAMI stands for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. I heard from two speakers, Phil and Mallory, who both are living with a mental illness. They bravely shared their stories and talked about their dark days, acceptance, treatment, coping skills, and their successes, hopes, and dreams. As I was reading this weeks stories, the NAMI: In Our Own Voice presentation was fresh in my mind as I made connections between mental illness and the readings. 

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” is a story of vengeance, revenge, and freedom. Montresor tries to bury his problems (literally). Fortunato has somehow insulted or offended Montresor and the only solution in Montresor’s eyes is to kill his foe. As I read the part of the story where Fortunato is being buried brick by brick, I was reminded of the In Our Own Voice presentation. Phil talked a bit about feeling trapped by his depression. He went from being a successful lawyer to unemployed due to mental illness. He said that he gets in dangerous moods where things feel completely helpless. This reminds me of Fortunato and how he is completely trapped and doomed but he still pleads with Montresor. The natural human instinct is to fight, and although Phil has felt completely helpless where the only foreseeable option is ending his own life, he still stood before me on Thursday.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke paints the picture of a complicated father/son relationship. The father is a violent alcoholic but his young son loves him unconditionally. Phil also had a conflicting relationship with his father. While his mother was accepting of his diagnosis, his father on the other hand had a difficult time coming to terms with his son’s depression. There are people who believe mental illness does not exist, and Phil’s father is one of those people. In the poem, Roethke writes about loving someone who still hurts you. Although it is hard for Phil and his father to come to terms with each other’s beliefs, they still love one another. The father in the poem has control over his son. Mental illness has control over whomever it affects. Depression has an impact of motivation and functionality. Phil cannot handle paperwork because it triggers him. His depression is real and difficult for him to accept. Mallory made the inspiring statement, “the mental illness didn’t own me, I owned it.” This just comes to show that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel even if the light is dimmed.

“Cincinnati” by Mitsuye Yamada sheds light on the horrible treatment of Japanese-Americans by society after World War II. The speaker in the poem is ready to start her new life after being in a relocation camp but is bombarded with hatred from people in the city. She is treated like an outcast and is discriminated against. In this poem, there is a stigma against Japanese-American citizens and society treats them cruelly. In today’s society, there is a stigma surrounding mental illness. People have many ideas and assumptions about mental illness and people living with mental illness. The NAMI: In Our Own Voice presentation was put in place to help fight against stigma and raise awareness about the truths of mental illness. Mallory was a great example of receiving a diagnosis and not letting that diagnosis define her. She struggles with anxiety as a teenager and was hospitalized due to a suicide attempt. She recalled looking out the window of her hospital room and watching the world go by without her. It was a surreal moment for her. She had a difficult time with different medications and eventually realized that medication was not the right route for her. She found healing in talk therapy and coping skills. She sought out a holistic and natural approach to dealing with mental illness. Although she will always have anxiety, she knows how to cope and live with it in order to live her best life. Because the speaker in “Cincinnati” was a Japanese-American, she had a label on her and people made assumptions based on that label. She was called a “dirty jap” and was spit on. In the city she called home, she was an outcast. Having a mental illness can be equally isolating.

People view those with mental illness as unstable, insane, or sick. The NAMI: In Our Own Voice presentation helped to erase stigma that surrounds mental health. Mental health is just as important as physical health. We do not shun someone with a broken leg, so why does society shun people who have something wrong with their brain?