Posted by Rand
on August 22, 2003, 12:01 pm
24.73.97.46
I am just writing because I had found cinemaniastigma.com thru a friend of mine and I am in the process of getting into advocacy for people with mental illnesses.I am just new at this and I am havinbg a hard thining of the words..
Ok here goes, My name is Rand Pierce and I have experienced alot of the stgma that people with mental illnesses encounter. I am 36 and have been in and out of psych. facilities since I was 11 years old. I had been sickened and concerned about what was happenoing in the facilities and in my own home since then.. I can tell you that over the years I have fallen prey to the stgma and I actually believed that I was supposed to act and think the way the system and society told me I was supposed to act. I now realize that because of this mode of thinking I have allowed my basic Human Right to be trampled on and discarded. It has taken me years to realize that yyes, I have a mental Illnes I am not my Metal Illness and that even though My illness may cause certain thoughts and feelings. I am ultimately responsible for my actions and that the illness does not control me. Recently I have gotten involved in a program that encurages self-empowerment and responsiblity.
I have always wanted to do something in the Mental Healt field but had been to embarrassed because of my illness and basically taught that because of my illness that I probably would not be able to and I bouoght into that. Then when and only when I decided that I could do something in the field and for the rights of myself, as well as, People with mental illnesses that I decided that advocacy was my best bet. I do love people and am apalled at the way society and the media treats and are afraid of people with mental illnesses.In ,apparentlly, the last 17 months 9 people with mental ill nesses have been killed by police officers!! Here NAMI has been trying to get a program called CIT( Crisis Intervention Training). It is supposed to help officers to understand and to assist people with mental illnesses to avoid such catastrophic endings, but the point is is that there are over 400 officers with this traing and not one of those officers were called to any of these situations!!!! I do think that it is a good idea but it is absolutely a waste of time, money and resourses if the officers trained to help desculated a possibly bad situation are not utilized.
Well I have been babbling a little too much I doi hope to write and read more in the future and to write in a little less of a nervous manner..
Thanks again..Rand
and if you would like you can write me at randpierce@yahoo.com
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