Organization gives hope to those affected by mental illness
With all the stresses of a busy life, students sometimes have a hard time knowing exactly where to turn when they need help with mental health issues. There is hope for students at USU because of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a new group organized by Kristin Lillywhite, junior majoring in English education.
NAMI is the largest organization in the nation dedicated to improving the lives of adults and children with mental illnesses and their loved ones.
In June 2007, Lillywhite said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a serious medical illness that causes shifts in a person’s mood, energy and ability to function. Lillywhite said she immediately wanted to find something that could help her deal with the illness.
“I was looking to find a group that could help me at least get through that semester because I had a lot of questions and wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” she said. “I didn’t really find anything on campus that suited that need so I did some research and looked online and found NAMI. It looked like a cool group and I thought we should have it here.”
Lillywhite created a draft of what she thought a NAMI group on campus should look like and took it to Wally Odd, executive director of Alumni Relations and the Logan affiliate for NAMI. Odd said it was a coincidence because the university had been thinking about getting a group started for a while.
Lillywhite said the NAMI group has attempted to meet Tuesday nights at 8 in the library, but said it has been hard to make it consistent and to get students involved.
“Our problem right now is we don’t have a large consumer base,” she said. “It’s mostly been the people who are in the club presidency and those who have just been helping out and getting together to plan activities.”
NAMI is an official club recognized by the university and Lillywhite said the club is looking to meet during the summer to plan advertisements and service projects or smaller activities that will be more consistent during the year.
Jim Davis, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center, said one thing that determines whether students have a mental illness is if it affects the ability to function and perform in daily life.
“My definition of a significant mental illness is anything that affects your performance,” he said. “School, work, relationships, sleep, appetite – if it’s disruptive to your life, it’s probably of some significance. It means it is interrupting your life and you’re having trouble functioning. Mental changes occur to all of us and we’re all under a little bit of stress, but if it makes your performance better, don’t treat it. If it makes your performance worse, then have something done.”
Lillywhite agreed and said if it is affecting daily life, talk to someone about the problem.
“If it’s prolonged and to the point where you can’t focus, or it’s affecting your ability to do what you normally do or you can’t enjoy the things you used to enjoy, then I would recommend talking to a friend or getting help because the Counseling Center is great. It’s free and they do an intake interview where they can usually get you assigned to a therapist pretty quickly,” she said.
Lillywhite said when students are diagnosed for the first time, they need to design their own treatment plan and find the right balance of medication and support groups. Lillywhite also said one of the things that helped her was learning more about mental illnesses.
“Reading books, talking to people and counseling work great for some people and I think it’s just trying everything and finding what works best for you,” she said.
Lillywhite said she hopes she will be able to help others in the ways that she was helped. Lillywhite is grateful to NAMI’s mission and purpose for those reasons.
“Our mission is a four-fold mission. We want to have service, we want to educate, we want to support and we want to socialize to accomplish those goals for people who are affected by mental illnesses. My ideal is that people who have just been diagnosed or who have family members that have been diagnosed can have a place to learn more,” she said.
There will be more information advertised in the future on NAMI including a possible open house in April or May at the Alumni Center where the group will review strategies for the year and honor volunteers for Cache Valley. Odd also wanted to present an award the group received for being the number one affiliate in the state.
Odd said he is proud of the group and hopes the group will be successful, effective and people will not attach thoughts of disgrace or shame to the group.
“There is hope. For the students, I think it’s critically important to be able to be with those who you can communicate. This group can provide support and help,” he said.
–mackenzie.love@aggiemail.usu.edu