HERE/HEAR wants to help you help those with mental illness and their loved ones. Contact us for how we can help.
HERE/HEAR helping those with MENTAL ILLNESS
As we see from the above statistics, MENTAL ILLNESS (or MENTAL DISORDER) is a major problem in our world. Mental illness, or mental disorders, are those things that are located in the brain and inhibit one from living life in some way. Or, mental illnesses are brain disorders that cause things to go haywire sometimes and make it hard to live. And these disorders are almost always the result of chemical imbalances. And it is good, here, to distinguish mental illness from autism, which is a spectrum disorder. And, while people suffering from autism are more likely to develop a type of mental illness,autism in and of itself is not a mental illness. It is a developmental disorder. Mental illness, on the other hand, seems to have nothing to do with mental development and everything to do with things not going correctly when the brain is fully developed (hopefully that makes sense).
An incomplete list of mental illnesses would include the following:
*DEPRESSION
*BIPOLAR DISORDER (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MANIC DEPRESSION)
*SCHIZOPHRENIA
*POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
*ANXIETY DISORDER
*PANIC DISORDER
*OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)
*ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD)/ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)
*BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER
The MISSION OF HERE/HEAR IS TO HELP THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR LOVED ONES. We believe that it takes a community to help combat mental illness and to help those suffering with their recovery. We also believe that we can act as a catalyst to those with mental illness and to those who do not understand mental illness. We want to spur people on to action, whether that is getting help, loving someone, pushing someone else to get help, or talking to a friend. We believe in training people to look for the signs associated with suicide and helping find help for those who are contemplating suicide. We believe in being a resource for the caregiver, for the loved one, so that they may know they are supported and loved in return.
The work of Here/Hear, at this moment, takes three distinct tracks that all work together to help those with mental illness and their loved ones.
1. WE ARE ADVOCATES AND EDUCATORS FOR MENTAL ILLNESS
First off, we are advocates and we are educators. Here/Hear takes the role of advocate very seriously. If you find someone associated with or a place where Here/Hear is active, you can know that these people will advocate on behalf of the mentally ill and their loved ones. This might mean finding a right counselor, or finding a psychiatric hospital or taking a person out to coffee. It might mean helping a mentally ill person make a phone call to a doctor to discuss meds or hospitalization; it might mean finding the right rehab for a person suffering with addiction. It also might mean calling a Senator or Representative or Governor or President or Councilperson to say that a piece of legislation is great or needs help or could be better and how. We do not do so with a partisan agenda, but with the defense of the mentally ill and their loved ones always in mind.
As educators, we offer a number of services that all work to give people an idea of what it is like to live with mental illness, what a mental illness is, and how we all can help the mentally ill. We run a series of workshops that involve hearing the voices of the mentally ill as they say, "I am Here" and how people can in turn say, "I Hear You." We run events, like HEAR FESTIVAL, which raise awareness about mental illness in our communities while also advocating for things like peer-to-peer support groups and more educational initiatives. We believe that talking about mental illness, and giving others a forum to talk about their experience with mental illness, is a vital and necessary resource to combating the stigma around mental illness and increasing our understanding of it as such.
2. WE SUPPORT THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
At Here/Hear, we believe that one of the vital and most important things we can do is to support people with mental illness in their recovery. The main way that we do so is through the development of curriculum to create peer-to-peer support groups. These groups use three tenets that identify them as Here/Hear Groups: meditation/mindfulness, discussion, and reflection. These three activities all work together to help the person with mental illness to face their recovery and develop the tools necessary to live life.
The three tenets of Here/Hear Groups work in conjunction with one another to provide a unique experience that is also shown to be helpful in recovery. The first piece of the Here/Hear Group is meditation/mindfulness. The idea is to root yourself in the group by allowing the thoughts that are dominating you at that moment to come to the fore. As one sifts through and becomes more aware - or mindful - then one can truly participate in the group in a way that helps others and helps oneself. This is not transcendental meditation, but a becoming aware. This leads the person with mental illness to enter into the discussion. In each group, the next step may be to introduce a topic or to simply go into discussion. The idea is to have a discussion time that is as good as possible. This discussion should be open and honest with everyone feeling safe and everything said being confidential. At the end of the discussion time, there is a few moments of reflection. At this point, each person takes out a notepad and pen/pencil and writes down 2 or 3 action points that they learned during the Here/Hear Group. If enough time is left one or two people may share; or, the group may simply end there. The whole goal, though, is for the mentally ill to put into place the tools necessary for recovery.
3. WE CREATE TO HEAR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
In our understanding, art and creativity is meant to evoke a response from people. Art, whether music or painting or drawing or video or whatever, evokes a response from people, especially those with a mental illness. Art also connects people as they respond in similar ways to a piece. It is this connection to humanity, to something greater than the self, that really works to help those with mental illness in their recovery. And, art can also work as an outlet for those with mental illness to deal with their experience, to say "I AM HERE" and to be heard, seen, felt. Art is a way to do all of this and more and, so, Here/Hear absolutely supports and encourages art. We do so to the point that all people are connected, tethered, to one another. This is the ultimate goal, both of art and of the work of Here/Hear.
An incomplete list of mental illnesses would include the following:
*DEPRESSION
*BIPOLAR DISORDER (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MANIC DEPRESSION)
*SCHIZOPHRENIA
*POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)
*ANXIETY DISORDER
*PANIC DISORDER
*OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER (OCD)
*ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD)/ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)
*BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER
The MISSION OF HERE/HEAR IS TO HELP THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AND THEIR LOVED ONES. We believe that it takes a community to help combat mental illness and to help those suffering with their recovery. We also believe that we can act as a catalyst to those with mental illness and to those who do not understand mental illness. We want to spur people on to action, whether that is getting help, loving someone, pushing someone else to get help, or talking to a friend. We believe in training people to look for the signs associated with suicide and helping find help for those who are contemplating suicide. We believe in being a resource for the caregiver, for the loved one, so that they may know they are supported and loved in return.
The work of Here/Hear, at this moment, takes three distinct tracks that all work together to help those with mental illness and their loved ones.
1. WE ARE ADVOCATES AND EDUCATORS FOR MENTAL ILLNESS
First off, we are advocates and we are educators. Here/Hear takes the role of advocate very seriously. If you find someone associated with or a place where Here/Hear is active, you can know that these people will advocate on behalf of the mentally ill and their loved ones. This might mean finding a right counselor, or finding a psychiatric hospital or taking a person out to coffee. It might mean helping a mentally ill person make a phone call to a doctor to discuss meds or hospitalization; it might mean finding the right rehab for a person suffering with addiction. It also might mean calling a Senator or Representative or Governor or President or Councilperson to say that a piece of legislation is great or needs help or could be better and how. We do not do so with a partisan agenda, but with the defense of the mentally ill and their loved ones always in mind.
As educators, we offer a number of services that all work to give people an idea of what it is like to live with mental illness, what a mental illness is, and how we all can help the mentally ill. We run a series of workshops that involve hearing the voices of the mentally ill as they say, "I am Here" and how people can in turn say, "I Hear You." We run events, like HEAR FESTIVAL, which raise awareness about mental illness in our communities while also advocating for things like peer-to-peer support groups and more educational initiatives. We believe that talking about mental illness, and giving others a forum to talk about their experience with mental illness, is a vital and necessary resource to combating the stigma around mental illness and increasing our understanding of it as such.
2. WE SUPPORT THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
At Here/Hear, we believe that one of the vital and most important things we can do is to support people with mental illness in their recovery. The main way that we do so is through the development of curriculum to create peer-to-peer support groups. These groups use three tenets that identify them as Here/Hear Groups: meditation/mindfulness, discussion, and reflection. These three activities all work together to help the person with mental illness to face their recovery and develop the tools necessary to live life.
The three tenets of Here/Hear Groups work in conjunction with one another to provide a unique experience that is also shown to be helpful in recovery. The first piece of the Here/Hear Group is meditation/mindfulness. The idea is to root yourself in the group by allowing the thoughts that are dominating you at that moment to come to the fore. As one sifts through and becomes more aware - or mindful - then one can truly participate in the group in a way that helps others and helps oneself. This is not transcendental meditation, but a becoming aware. This leads the person with mental illness to enter into the discussion. In each group, the next step may be to introduce a topic or to simply go into discussion. The idea is to have a discussion time that is as good as possible. This discussion should be open and honest with everyone feeling safe and everything said being confidential. At the end of the discussion time, there is a few moments of reflection. At this point, each person takes out a notepad and pen/pencil and writes down 2 or 3 action points that they learned during the Here/Hear Group. If enough time is left one or two people may share; or, the group may simply end there. The whole goal, though, is for the mentally ill to put into place the tools necessary for recovery.
3. WE CREATE TO HEAR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
In our understanding, art and creativity is meant to evoke a response from people. Art, whether music or painting or drawing or video or whatever, evokes a response from people, especially those with a mental illness. Art also connects people as they respond in similar ways to a piece. It is this connection to humanity, to something greater than the self, that really works to help those with mental illness in their recovery. And, art can also work as an outlet for those with mental illness to deal with their experience, to say "I AM HERE" and to be heard, seen, felt. Art is a way to do all of this and more and, so, Here/Hear absolutely supports and encourages art. We do so to the point that all people are connected, tethered, to one another. This is the ultimate goal, both of art and of the work of Here/Hear.
IF YOU NEED HELP, FOLLOW THE LINKS OR NUMBERS BELOW
1. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Referral Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). See samhsa.gov for more info.
3. Veterans should see this website: http://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/veterans/index.html
4. A good set of links for finding help https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/
5. For LGBTQIA people, the Trevor Project is a fantastic resource. The Lifeline number is 866-488-7386.
Really, the best advice is, if you feel suicidal or like you could harm yourself or someone else, CALL 911!
2. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Treatment Referral Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). See samhsa.gov for more info.
3. Veterans should see this website: http://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/veterans/index.html
4. A good set of links for finding help https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/
5. For LGBTQIA people, the Trevor Project is a fantastic resource. The Lifeline number is 866-488-7386.
Really, the best advice is, if you feel suicidal or like you could harm yourself or someone else, CALL 911!