#ioov

[the-transgenda-agenda]

I finally managed to snap a photo of this billboard. For some reason I never had my phone out whenever I passed previously.

[inourownvoices]

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Our first group conversation on love, relationships, and how you should treat the one you're with.

This was done 2/14/14--Valentine's Day

[hopeisreal42]

Sharing my positive story, positive energy, and message of hope for a better life despite having severe mental illness really feeds my soul and gives me great energy. I am very excited as I will now do In Our Own Voice presentations at a psych inpatient hospital on a regular basis now. Besides sharing my story of hope to the clients and I getting energized in return, I also think that we-my IOOV partner and I-give the clients validation, humanity, and extra respect just by talking to them as equals, as fellow consumers who have struggled and who still struggle with mental illness from time to time, as opposed to the staff who mean well and probably do a lot of good, but will always represent an uneasy power dynamic.

Hope Is Real!: IOOV 2014 Part I Dark Days

[hopeisreal42]

, I have been doing a lot of service work lately and I feel so good afterwards that I think it is a good idea of service work being a staple of one's recovery. By service work I basically mean work that helps other people. I have been doing more In Our Own Voice presentations lately-in fact, tomorrow I am going up to Dahlonega, Georgia, to do three IOOV presentations to psychology classes at North Georgia College. It is my hope that speaking about my experiences of living with mental illness will help ease some of the stigma present and that it will spawn some great discussions. Even more than that, I hope that if there are any students in the classes who deal with mental illness, which there probably are, then I hope the presentations will help give them some hope and let them know that they are not alone. I completed college even while grappling with major depression, anxiety, and undiagnosed borderline personality disorder. I am so glad that I completed college, but there were many times when I felt alone and isolated. I wish that colleges offered more support groups or group therapy-I think the outcome would be worth the extra work.

Hope Is Real!: My Staples are Banana Fudgesicals and Service Work

[getridofthestigma-blog]

In Our Own Voice (IOOV) is a unique public education program developed by NAMI, in which two trained consumer speakers share compelling personal stories about living with mental illness and achieving recovery.