Years ago I helped a patron at the public library where I work. He had on a t-shirt that said, "People with mental illness enrich our lives". It was as if time stood still the moment I saw it. I thought to myself, "Yes, yes, that is true. I'm so glad someone else thinks it."
This is the organization where he got the shirt. NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. They are a wonderful reminder that people who live with mental illness (such as yours truly: post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, OCD, eating disorders) are human beings with both good qualities and bad qualities. Your friends and loved ones and neighbors and fellow humans whose neural synapses don't fire the way yours do would like to be treated the same way you treat anyone else. With respect. With understanding. With patience. With love.
Thanks for being my friend. I know sometimes it's challenging, but I hope it's sometimes enriching too.
NAMI is 400 "likes" away from 100,000 on Facebook. Help them reach this 100K milestone by the New Year. Like their page here and please share!
Find out other ways you can help this great organization here.
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