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Identify and Deal with Mood: We all need to find safe and constructive ways to express our feelings of anger, sadness, joy and fear.
In Our Own Voice
What is In Our Own Voice?
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.
The program was started with a grant from Eli Lily and Company. "It gives insight into how the outsider misjudges the situation." – Dept. of Juvenile Justice worker, Baltimore, MD "Willingness to share personal stories made these illnesses real to me." – Nursing student, AZ
"Encouraging to know there are brave, courageous people in this world who are strong enough to overcome their life obstacles." - Anonymous, MO "This presentation validated my professional goals in mental health services." - Social Worker "I want to be a presenter and help people like me – I want to get on with my life." - Consumer
"It really opened my eyes to what some people have to go through and now I have a new perspective on the way I look at this."
- High school student, MO
IOOV is an opportunity for those who have struggled with mental illness to gain confidence and to share their individual experiences of recovery and transformation.
Throughout the IOOV presentation, audience members are encouraged to offer feedback and ask questions. Audience participation is an important aspect of IOOV because the more audience members become involved, the closer they come to understanding what it is like to live with a mental illness and stay in recovery.
IOOV presentations are given to consumer groups, students, law enforcement officials, educators, providers, faith community members, politicians, professionals, inmates, and interested civic groups.
All presentations are offered free of charge.
Groups or organizations interested in seeing a presentation may request that one be given in their area through their local affiliate.
The goals of IOOV are to meet the need for consumer- run initiatives, to set a standard for quality education about mental illness from those who have been there, to offer genuine work opportunities, to encourage self-confidence and self-esteem in presenters, and to focus on recovery and the message of hope.
Anyone familiar with mental illness knows that recovery is not a singular event, but a multi-dimensional, multi-linear journey characterized more by the mindset of the one taking it than by his or her condition at any given moment along the way.
Understanding recovery as having several dimensions makes its uneven course easier to accept. Much as we don't blame the cancer patient for dying of invasive tumors, we can't condemn a consumer whose symptoms overtake his or her best efforts to manage illness.
Recovery is the point in someone's illness in which the illness is no longer the first and foremost part of his or her life, no longer the essence of all his or her existence.
Ultimately, recovery is about attitude and making the effort.
Testimonials
In Our Own Voice is a program focused on spreading the message of recovery by living examples. It provides hope and opportunity to both the audience and the presenters. The following testimonials are examples of the impact this program has had in helping to foster a more positive attitude towards mental illnesses.
From consumers….
"[This] program shows the hope in recovery if we use all the tools available today and work toward that goal." - Consumer in CA
"I have been through the dark times. I am glad that I belong to a behavioral health center to help me cope, and even though I just volunteer some and do activities I feel like I have success." - Consumer, Springfield, MO
"The advice I learned about how to structure my day and having a positive attitude helps me realize what I can become. I hope this program reaches each and every consumer." - VA audience member
From family…
"I didn’t believe my son could have any quality of life." - Parent in MO
From professionals…
"It helped me think about what consumers on my caseload may be going through." - Professional, San Diego, CA
"This was a very enlightening session for me. It makes me more sensitive to individuals with mental illnesses." - D.J.J. worker, Baltimore, MD
"This program provided me with additional tools for my clients." - Social Worker
From others….
"It is great when a person can get help to overcome something that the general public does not or cannot see." - Anonymous, SD
"I did not know people could be so severely ‘disturbed’ and still recover before I heard this presentation." - Student, Springfield, MO
"Breaks the stereotype that clients with mental illnesses are ‘goalless’ or ‘not motivated’." - Nursing student, AZ
"I have a friend diagnosed with depression – this helps me understand what she is going through." - High school student, MO
A final note…
"Presenting Living with, as we have nicknamed the program, has been therapeutic for me. The presentation reminds me of where I was, how far I’ve come, and that I am still living with mental illnesses. I guess the best way to describe what working again, after initially feeling trapped, really means to me is a story I stumbled upon:
‘Two men were fishing in a creek. One man noticed that every time the other guy caught a fish, he would measure it with a small stick he had in his pocket. This confused the first fisherman, so he asked the purpose of the stick. The second fisherman said the stick was the size of his frying pan, and any fish that was larger he threw back because he knew it wouldn’t fit.’
The fish, for me, represent opportunities for growth. The frying pan represents self-imposed limitations. Working again has meant learning to get larger frying pans, and since I’ve been working for NAMI and the IOOV program, my frying pans just keep getting bigger and bigger." - Royal Riddick, Program Coordinator, Baltimore, MD
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