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| October classes & events |
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| Wednesday, October 4. Northwest Suburban/Arlington Heights Chapter annual fundraising dinner, 6:30 p.m. at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria at 85 S. Buffalo Grove Road (just south of Lake-Cook Road). All you can eat pizza, salad, mostaccioli and dessert for $20.00 per person. Raffle and door prizes. Call Star at 847-899- 0195 for tickets. Thursday, October 5. Bipolar disorder in children, teens and adults, presented by the Elk Grove/Schaumburg NAMI chapter. 7 p.m., Schaumburg Township Library. Seating limited. Call 847-352-6708 for info.
Monday, October 9. NAMI Barrington Area Chapter family support group, 7 – 8:30 p.m., at the Barrington Area Library, Meeting Room B - second door on the left after entering library (no charge, no reservation). Call Mary at 847-381-6919 with questions.
Tuesday, October 10. NAMI Cook County North Suburban Chapter invites you a fundraiser, The Art of Recovery. Dr. Jan Fawcett, former chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Rush, will speak. Tickets $175 Call Pat Rodbro at 847-945-6402 for details.
Wednesday, October 18. NAMI Northwest Suburban/Arlington Heights Chapter family support group meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. Alexian Brothers, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights (no reservation, no charge). Call Star at 847-899-0195 if questions.
Thursday, October 19. NAMI McHenry County Chapter family support group meets the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the McHenry County Mental Health Board Building, 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake. Call 815-444-9991 for information.
Friday October 20 - Sunday, 22. NAMI Illinois Annual Education Conference: Recovery Concepts, Promise to Practice. An extended weekend conference open to NAMI members, consumers and the public. Radisson Hotel Northbrook. Read the updated conference agenda. Registration and fee required.
October 23, 24 or 25. Tom Wootton, author of The Bipolar Advantage, and John McManamy, author of Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder present a free evening lecture open to all. Time, 7 - 8:30 p.m. each of the following nights:
Monday, October 23, Northbrook Public Library, 1201 Cedar Lane. Call (847) 272-6224 for directions.
Tuesday, October 24, Lincoln Park Branch of the Chicago Public Library,1150 W. Fullerton Ave. Call (312) 744-1926 for directions.
Wednesday, October 25, Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights (seating may be limited at this location). Call (847) 359-6316 for a reservation; (847) 899-0195 for directions.
Starting October 25: Cooperative Family Solutions Workshop. Presented by Barbara Grace, the Grace Center, P.C. Wednesday evenings October 25, November 1, 8 and 15, 7 - 8:30 p.m. Fee: $90.00 (no one will be turned away who is unable to pay). Call 847-382-3232 for details.
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| November classes & events |
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| Early November: NAMI Barrington Area Peer to Peer Education Course will be taught by a team of 3 trained “mentors” or peer-teachers who are themselves experienced at living well with mental illness. There is no charge, but reservations are required for this 9-week class. Call Fred Nelson at 847-304-4212 for details.
Monday, November 6. NAMI Barrington Area Chapter family support group, 7 – 8:30 p.m. at the Barrington Area Library, Meeting Room B - second door on the left after entering library (no charge, no reservation). Call Mary at 847-381-6919 with questions.
Wednesday, November 15. NAMI Northwest Suburban/Arlington Heights Chapter family support group meets the third Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. Alexian Brothers, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 114, Arlington Heights (no reservation, no charge). Call Star at 847-899-0195 if questions.
Thursday, November 16. NAMI McHenry County Chapter family support group meets the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the McHenry County Mental Health Board Building, 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake. Call 815-444-9991 for information.
NAMI McHenry County's Latino Outreach will meet in November. Call 815- 444-9991 for details.
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| Family-to-Family Education Program |
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| We invite you to attend a series of 12 weekly classes structured to help you understand and support individuals with mental disorders while maintaining your own well being.
These NAMI classes are for family members, partners, and friends of individuals with serious mental illness. "This course is a wonderful experience," said one student. "It balances basic education and skill-training with emotional support, self care and empowerment."
There is no cost to participate, but registration is necessary as class size is limited.
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| Visions for Tomorrow Education Program |
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| NAMI Barrington Area will soon offer another session of the Visions for Tomorrow Education Program. This 11-week course provides basic information for parents and other caretakers of school age children with a wide range of brain disorders. You’ll also have a chance to share mutual experiences and learn valuable lessons from one another.
There is no charge for the course, but please call now as space is limited.
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| Peer to Peer Education Program |
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| Our first NAMI “PEER-to-PEER” Education Course, “Learning to Live Well with What We’ve Got,” will begin in early November. Call Fred Nelson at 847-304-4212 to: a) discuss the program and your needs and b) to signup to be considered for this first 9 week class. We will be finalizing the meeting dates and locations (i.e. private rooms in public libraries) this week. The NAMI “PEER-to-PEER” (P2P) Course is taught by teams of 3 trained “mentors” or peer-teachers who are themselves experienced at living well with mental illness.
Who can take the course? The course is designed to offer an opportunity for growth to any individual who experiences mental illness.
Call Fred at 847-304-4212 for a confidential, one-on-one discussion of your needs and the program’s potential value for you and your well-being.
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| Grace Notes - Handling a crisis situation |
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| We all have small day to day events which can feel like a crisis, especially if our loved one is not properly medicated or is going through a stressful time themselves. And then there can be very serious situations involving dangerous behavior, violence, or severely out of control behavior. So how can you tell if you are having a serious crisis, something that you have to call someone to help you with? And what do you do if you do need to call for help? In this month's column we will cover:
1. Making a plan ahead of time
2. The paperwork you want if you need to call an ambulance or the police
3. Escape plans
4. Psychiatric plans
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| Consumer Corner: Borderline Personality Disorder |
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| BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) has become more of a frequent issue this past decade. Many sufferers of BPD deal with the "I hate you, don't leave me" syndrome, which leads to depression and psychosis. In the link below is a general overview of what BPD is and what its concerns are. BPD is still an investigated illness that is similar to bipolar disorder except that there are more intense spouts of rage, shorter mood swings and an increased 'unloved' sensation. Because it is very difficult to diagnose BPD and bipolar, as well as many other illnesses, I thought it best fit to inform the loved ones of consumers on a new and growing illness.
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| Tom Wootton: on being a better person |
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| Tom Wootton, speaker at the evening lecture later this month, writes about living with bipolar disorder.
I have finally settled on a motto that says it all for me - "I want to be a better person." For me that simple phrase addresses many of my issues; my arrogance, my bad behavior, my admission of having done wrong, my acceptance of who I really am, and most of all my need for hope. "I want to be a better person" reflects my belief that in spite of my bipolar condition I can overcome my bad tendencies and become someone to admire instead of someone to fear or feel sorry for.
My journey to wanting to be a better person was long and convoluted, painful, yet even funny some times. My hope is that by sharing some of it with you I will have an even greater desire to live up to my dreams and perhaps give someone else hope as well...
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| Family focus: the healing power of family and friends |
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| The power of family members or a network of friends to help someone with a serious mental illness can be awesome.
The World Health Organization has conducted two long term studies on the effectiveness of psychiatric care in the west versus poorer nations such as India, Nigeria and Columbia. Researchers attribute the remarkable results—that patients with schizophrenia fare far better in poorer nations—to the strong social networks that these countries have compared to the U.S. and Europe.
What can these findings teach us?
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| Legislative update |
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| by Hugh Brady On Wednesday, September 27, NAMI Northwest, the NAMI chapter based in Arlington Heights, hosted a legislative forum for area state legislative candidates. Those who attended were State Representatives Carolyn Krause and Sid Mathias, both of whom are seeking reelection, as well as two candidates for the Illinois State Senate, Peter Gutzmer and Dan Kotowski.
All the candidates responded sympathetically to the problems audience members brought up during the question and answer session. There was general agreement that when it comes to budgeting at the state level, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease, and they all urged NAMI members to contact their state legislators regularly, urging them to improve Illinois’ “F” rating.
Remember, election day is November 7th. Remember, NAMI is a support and advocacy organization. The way to start advocating for our family members is to vote!
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| Please pass on this newsletter |
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| We'd like to ask you to pass this newsletter on to friends, family members or professionals who might be interested or get some useful information from it. Even though you don't know if your friend would need this information, you never know who may know someone else, whether it be a co-worker or neighbor who might benefit from this valuable information and support.
The best way to pass it on is to hit the 'forward email' button at the bottom. You can write a note when you forward it, and you may also ask your friend to pass it on to others for the same reason. You may mention that if he or she enjoys it, to be sure to hit the 'join our mailing list' button in the right-hand column.
There's no need to worry if your friend or other contact lives in the area, as NAMI is a national organization with chapters throughout the United States. It's a free newsletter. You don't have to be a member to receive it. No one will call, email or otherwise bother new subscribers.
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| Join NAMI |
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| We hope you’ll join NAMI and support our advocacy for the mentally ill. The cost is only $35 (adult and spouse) or $10 (for consumer). If this cost will create a financial hardship, we have a limited number of open door memberships available at a reduced fee.
If you don't wish to join right now, but you'd like to receive our free newsletter, simply use the "Join our mailing list" button in the gray column to the right, call or send us an email (see below).
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| Visit our website |
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| Emergency numbers |
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Local police/ambulance: 911
State police: 847-294-4400
Crisis team, Alexian Brothers, Hoffman Estates
(24 hour): 847-755-8140
Illinois state suicide hotline: 800-784-2433
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Who we are
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| NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation's foremost grassroots mental health organization. We are dedicated to improving the lives of people living with serious brain disorders that cause mental illness and to improving the lives of their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI is active in all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico with over 1100 local chapters across the country. Our mission is one of education, support, self help, advocacy and research.
NAMI Barrington Area is a new NAMI chapter located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. We are a dedicated group of people hoping to help you or someone you love on the path to recovery from mental illness.
NAMI Barrington area chapter formed |
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