May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental illnesses are often dark secrets in families.  Stigma and misinformation prevent many people from talking about it and from seeking help and treatment.  With the sun finally shining in Minnesota, it’s time to shed some light on mental illness.

There is no shame in having a mental illness.  This is not something that is caused by an individual any more than cancer or heart disease.  It is a biological brain disorder that affects one in five people.  With treatment and support, people with mental illness can recover.  They live in our communities, go to school, work and volunteer.

The stigma surrounding mental illness means that many people face this illness alone.  Often when people are hospitalized they receive no “get well” cards.  No hot dishes are brought to the family. No calls of concern are made.  It is an illness often faced alone with little information.

But people with mental illnesses and their families need not face this illness alone.  There are education classes and support groups around the state where people can learn about mental illness and obtain support.  As a community, we must start talking about this illness, sharing information, discussing treatment options and most importantly providing care and support to families who are affected.

One way to learn more about mental illness is to attend Hearing Voices (Speaking in Tongues). Performed by Boston-based poet and performer Michael Mack this one-man play will be presented at three shows only – May 21^st  thru May 23^rd  – at the Mixed Blood Theater. Over ten years in the making, Mack’s 90-minute monolog draws on his life as a child raised by a mother with schizophrenia. He will present his play in association with the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Minnesota to raise awareness about mental health issues.

My mother’s illness profoundly shaped me,” he said. “For decades I felt shadowed by it, afraid I’d get sick too.” Mental illness is more common than most people realize. “Whenever I do this show,” Mack said, “people come up afterward to tell me about their own mother’s illness, or their father’s, their sister’s, their son’s.” Increasingly recognized as a brain disorder with physiological roots, mental illness is more common than cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.

To find out more about mental illness or to locate a class or support group near you, call the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) 651-645-2048 or toll free at 1-888-473-0237.