Skip to main content

NAMI Efforts

Let me give a recap as to what happening: last month I received an award from NAMI Georgia, "Mentor of the Year" for my role in NAMI's Peer-to-Peer Recovery Education Course. I feel really good about it, honored to be recognized for the effort and very excited about it.

Now, I am leading another NAMI Peer-to-Peer class. It is going very well, participants are very engaged and willing to share. I feel really good about the group, many of us can relate to each other and that is awesome.

If you are interested in learning more about schizophrenia visit NAMI or Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia (Canada).

Comments

Helen said…
Congrats! Bigtime! I am so proud of you. Keep doing all these wonderful classes.

Helena
June 14, 2010 at 5:10 AM
Lady_Amanda said…
Yeah! Ashely way to go. I think peer groups are wonderful. And it's awesome that your work is being recongized. I go to a clinic run by the county because I have Medicaid and Medicare so I go to groups through there. They are runned by liscensed professionals, but they let us do a lot of the work. My Mom has bipolar and is under my Dad's private work insurance. So she doesn't have the lexury of clinics with groups. However, she goes to a peer group called DBSA! My Mom loves it and they asked her to train to be a peer leader. I really hope she follows through with it. Again, Congrats on the award.

Blessings and hugs,
Amanda
June 14, 2010 at 10:31 PM
Valash said…
Thank you for your blessings, ya'll!

Ashley
June 15, 2010 at 11:19 AM
Nishant said…
hello, my name is nishant. i am from india. i am suffering from catatonic schizophrenia. i need to speak to you . could you help me?
June 17, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Valash said…
Hello Nishant,

I am not a professional health care provider and can not give medical advice. However, you may email me with any comments at info@embracingmymind.org.

Thank you,

Ashley
June 18, 2010 at 10:25 AM
Jen Daisybee said…
Hi Ashley,
I noticed you had not posted in a long time. I was wondering how things were going with your advocacy efforts in Georgia. I am involved with NAMI in Florida, and have taken the Peer-to-Peer course here. I am part of our local consumer council and speak to police officers for Crisis Intervention Team Training here. I'm glad you are still working for advocacy in Georgia, and congratulations on your award!
June 19, 2010 at 12:02 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Religious Preoccupation

After a talk, a woman asked me if my faith contributed to my recovery because she noticed that I mentioned it throughout my speech. In addition to that, she told me that she observed people with faith as having a better outcome in their mental health recovery.

First, I came from a family with Christian values. My faith in God started to get intense during the latter years of high school, which in my opinion, is when I started having symptoms. In my experience religion plays a major role in my mental health- its delusions, its coping skills, and in my recovery. In medical terms they call my religious rituals and delusions "religious preoccupation."

Before I was diagnosed I was highly religious. In fact, I wanted to be an evangelist and to go to a Christian college. I would read my Bible for several hours a day throughout the day, listen to hymns, and meditate. Sometimes I would ignore people if they wanted my attention while I was meditating I was in such deep thought. Also, I …
15 comments
Read more

How Can I Support Someone with Persecution Delusions

Recently, a reader asked how to support, or what to say to someone who has persecutory delusions and confides in them. I thought this question was profound. By investigating this question it could help so many people maintain or develop a trusting relationship with their relative, friend, or client, etc. I asked the opinion of my therapist, and she gave some pointers and asked me to remember a time when I was psychotic and what could someone have said to me to make me feel more comfortable...

When I was at my peak of psychosis everything was a sign from God- that truck making a U-turn meant go back, that taxi cab driver telling me to stay out of trouble meant he was in on it too. While I was psychotic I heard conflicting voices. When I would ask someone a question on the phone the voices would give different information. I was extremely paranoid. And almost everyone was a threat. I couldn't confide in relatives because they would tell my secrets, I couldn't trust friends becaus…
11 comments
Read more

Lack of Trust: A Byproduct of My Mental Illness

In this entry, I'll share my experiences with Schizophrenia in regards to feeling lack of trust in others, paranoia, and isolation.... I remember my many episodes with Schizophrenia where I felt uneasy because of lack of trust in others. In the past, isolation was a giant bullying me around.

Sometimes my mind would take me to a place of fear, hurt, and an unsettling spirit, which started with what seemed like a strange look, or a different feeling around an individual, when in reality it was another symptom of my undiagnosed illness- paranoia. My paranoia was rampant and dictated my life prior to experiencing a crisis, which led me to jail and into forced treatment and to receive an official diagnosis of Schizophrenia in 2007.

In other words, my illness created enemies in my mind. For instance, I once believed my favorite kin was against me and I felt like she wanted me to fail, and I eventually thought she was conspiring to harm me. However, she never said anything to imply these f…
13 comments
Read more