His rages were ugly. Fits of yelling, shrieking, hitting, swearing, kicking, and slamming had become daily occurrences. These weren't the normal tantrums of a young boy. His mother, Monica Kriese, was certain of that ...

...As early as age 3, Kriese's son Cameron was exhibiting dangerous and disruptive behaviors. "If he could find matches or a lighter, he liked to play with them. We had a gas stove and I once caught him putting a pipe cleaner into the flame," she says. By age 5, Cameron had been kicked out of four daycares. "The daycares didn't want to keep him any longer. He couldn't get along with the other kids. He was too hard to deal with and his explosions were getting stronger."

To read more about how Cameron's mother learned to cope you can read the full article "Parenting a mentally ill child" by Melissa Churly in the Spring Issue of SZ Magazine. 

SZ magazine was launched in 1994 by Bill MacPhee, who envisioned a magazine that could reach out and help those affected by schizophrenia.

 
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July 2010 - No Board Meeting

August 3rd, 2010
Cougar's Game: fund raiser for the Kane County Mental Health Court.  Donations will be used for program incentives.

August 9th, 2010 - Monday 5:30 pm
NAMIDKK Board Meeting
Location: M H Board Room, 400 Mercy Lane, Aurora, IL
Time: 5:00PM Meal/Committees, 5:30 Meeting
Please call the office for more information (630) 896-6264

August 17, 2010 - Tuesday 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Family-to-Family Classes begin, continuing weekly on Tuesdays for 12 weeks to November 9, 2010.  See information above for more details.


Save These Dates:

October 3 through 9, 2010 Mental Health Awareness Week This year's theme is "Changing Attitudes, Changing Lives."

October 9, 2010 - Walk/Run in Batavia: RUN FOR MENTAL HEALTH (Previously called the Bat Run) 9:00am
Go to the website: nami5k.com for more details and to register.

February 5, 2011 - Annual Dinner/Raffle in Geneva

July 6-9, 2011 - NAMI National Conference to be held at Chicago Hilton

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Dear Governor,
 
I am writing to you because I am concerned about the state of the state, mainly about the budget cuts on mental health and social services.  I realize that the state has been in crises for a long time now, and in fairness to you, it is not all your fault.
 
However, from this moment on, if it is in your power to do something about the crises, I would strongly encourage you to do the very best you can do to balance the budget without hurting the needs of the people of our state.
 
I know that it will take great courage and wisdom to do what is right and necessary to find solutions to the problems in our state.  It will take working together, hard work, and putting the needs of the people first.
 
Times are tough, and things may seem bleak, however, I am optimistic that all things are possible, and that if there is a will, there is a way.  If we have the right heart and attitudes, we can work together and accomplish anything.
 
I personally have gone through many struggles.  Having a mental illness for over 20 years, there were many times that I could have given up hope, however, with help from doctors, therapists, medications, family, friends, and God, I made it through the struggles.  I have great faith: faith in God and in people. Each struggle I went through has made me stronger.
 
I have learned to never lose hope and that we can make it though the struggles if we do what is right and not give up.
 
Sincerely,
Brian Hansen

Brian sent his letter to Governor Quinn earlier this month.

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There is an application process for these classes.  If you are interested in taking any of this training please contact NAMI-DKK at 630-896-6264. 

DON'T CALL ME NUTS! addresses one of the pressing issues in psychiatry today, indeed in the larger scope of civil rights in society--the stigma of mental illness. In its pages, Corrigan and Lundin explore all facets of the stigma which persons with mental illnesses face. DON'T CALL ME NUTS! is both a valuable resource, a history lesson, and a gaze into the future of a stigma-less community.

DON'T CALL ME NUTS! is a handbook for persons with mental illness. In its pages are discussions about dealing with self-stigma, knowing when or whether to disclose a mental illness, seven ways to foster personal empowerment, and legal and political remedies. From the point of view of impacting society, DON'T CALL ME NUTS! explores the public's reaction to stigma through the methods of contact, education, and protest.

 

Sticks and Stones is a collection of over fifty stories about facing abuse and violence. The compelling stories are told by a diverse group of people with disabilities, as well as family members, services providers, and other allies, and cover a wide range of mistreatment and recovery experiences.
 
The goals of this book include giving voice to people with disabilities who have confronted abusive situations, breaking their isolation, and revealing the complex issues of abuse and violence, particularly the ones faced by those who depend on help from family or paid assistance.
 
By sharing their stories, these writers hope to empower similar survivors to resist and to disclose abuse and violence, to recover if abuse occurs, and to move ahead to live strong, fulfilling lives. Contributing writers from eight other countries join those from the United States in sharing their stories.
 

Nutterville is a remarkably compassionate and tender memoir written by Social Worker Faye Ellen Kufahl, who had the experience, as a young girl, of seeing her older sister stricken by the disease of paranoid schizophrenia.

Kufahl also recalls stories of her childhood in a rural area, and what it was like overcome odds that were not exactly in her favor.  She invites you to share it all with her, as she makes discoveries and triumphs over the roots of ignorance and pain.
Her "adventures" in the second half of the book take the reader to life inside a shelter for abused and battered women, where Faye found herself at age 55.

These stories are a candidly optimistic, dealing with family dynamics on a subject that is often taboo in our society to discuss openly. Nutterville neither begins nor ends on a negative note---Faye weaves stories that are seductively alluring, having the power to change reader's hearts. Nutterville will empower readers to fight against the stigma and isolation that may happen in struggling with a mental illness.  No one should be alone; it takes a society to cope---let us work toward making it so. That is the clear message of this book.

In this stirring and beautifully written wake up call,psychiatrist Daniel Carlat exposes deeply disturbing problems plaguing his profession, revealing the ways it has abandoned its essential purpose: to understand the mind, so that psychiatrists can heal mental illness and not just treat symptoms.

Writing from an insider's perspective, with refreshing forthrightness about his own daily struggles as a practitioner, Dr. Carlat shares a wealth of stories from his own practice and those of others that demonstrate the glaring shortcomings of the standard fifteen-minute patient visit. He also reveals the dangers of rampant diagnoses of bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other "popular" psychiatric disorders, and exposes the risks of the cocktails of medications so many patients are put on.

Especially disturbing are the terrible consequences of overprescription of drugs to children of ever younger ages. Taking us on a tour of the world of pharmaceutical marketing, he also reveals the inner workings of collusion between psychiatrists and drug companies.

Concluding with a road map for exactly how the profession should be reformed, Unhinged is vital reading for all those in treatment or considering it, as well as a stirring call to action for the large community of psychiatrists themselves.
 

Rosalynn Carter's Helping Someone with Mental Illnessis a powerful tool that anyone--families, social workers, doctors, consumers--can put to good use.  She has managed to weave the deeply moving stories of many individuals into a cleanly organized discussion of every salient issue: diagnosis, treatment, scientific research, stigma, advocacy. Her descriptions of the different mental illnesses--schizophrenia, depression, manic-depression or bipolar illness, and the anxiety disorders--are particularly cogent, and her 20-page list of references is alone worth the price of the book.

Carter never sugarcoats a hard truth or omits a painful statistic, but somehow her voice--warmly personal but also respectfully reserved--comes through so strongly that it is almost as if she is in the room with the reader. Coauthor Susan K. Golant, whom Carter thanks for her organizational skills--among other things--has done her work in a particularly unobtrusive way. This is much more than a book; it is a companion.

Reading Carter on mental illness is like reading Dr. Spock on child care. Having advocated for the mentally ill for most of her adult life, she is an acknowledged expert by now, and she writes with the authority one might expect. But her special status as a mother also subtly informs her text.