President’s Message for February 2023
Without knowing in advance that mental health topics would play a big part in the show, I watched Taylor Tomlinson’s “Look at You” comedy standup routine. Taylor is 29 years old, and she describes her thought process when she was trying to decide if and how to tell friends and family about her fairly recent bipolar diagnosis. She reports that when she broke the news to one friend his response was, “Yeah, your mental illness was kinda like your middle name. . . I didn't know what it was, but I knew that you had one.” We at NAMI strive to be a friend like that, one that accepts you as you are.
If you could benefit from a circle of friends that are open to talking about “middle names,” aka living with mental health conditions, consider NAMI’s Connection Recovery Support Groups. There are currently ten options for online support groups available on the NAMI Mass website: namimass.org/nami-connection-recovery-support-groups/. The groups operate on a drop-in basis, and adults are free to sign up for any group that suits their schedule. There are also specialty groups for women of color, people who are dealing with dual diagnosis, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. As always, they are offered at no charge. If your support group experience makes a difference in your life, you can consider being trained as a NAMI Support Group Facilitator which can be extremely rewarding.
We are thrilled to offer an in-person NAMI Family-to-Family course in Winchester starting Saturday, March 11, from 9 am to 11:30 am. It will continue weekly until Saturday, May 13 at the First Congregational Church, 21 Church Street in Winchester, MA. Both NAMI Central Middlesex and NAMI Cambridge/Middlesex are sponsoring this signature NAMI course for family members, providing invaluable education about mental health conditions, skills every family needs, and many resources. Most importantly, the course offers family members the opportunity to have open conversation and mutual support in a stigma-free environment. You may register online at f2f-nami-central-middlesex---march-2023. To learn more, please contact Linda at mojolb2@gmail.com
Our late January webinar about the CBHCs was a big hit with over 200 people registered to attend. If you missed the live event, you can get caught up by viewing the recording in the button below. We made sure to thank all the individuals working hard to build this new level of care in Massachusetts.
Our Annual Meeting took place just prior to the webinar. The self-imposed 20-minute time limit didn’t carve out quite enough time for warm hellos or chats, and we ran out of time to offer up the last poll, “For next year’s meeting, would you prefer to meet via Zoom or in person in Bedford with a catered meal?” Please let us know your opinion on those two options! The photo below recognizes our 2022 active volunteers who are valuable to us beyond measure.
