Presenters: Leslie Kent & Dana Sullivan
Sign Up For A Family & Friends Seminar
April 24th, June 19th, August 21st /10am -12:00pm ZOOM
What You’ll Learn
The seminar is led by trained people with lived experience of supporting a family member with a mental health condition. They will walk you through the following topics.
- Understanding diagnoses, treatment and recovery
- Effective communication strategies
- The importance of self-care
- Crisis preparation strategies
- NAMI and community resources
What People Are Saying
“Hearing personal experiences and how relatable my experiences are to them was very helpful. Hearing specific strategies to communicate and specific traits that people with mental illness have. Know that the illness is what can cause “cruelty” and poor decisions rather than the person.”
“I have a better understanding of how mental illness impacts the person affected…it was nice to hear the stories of the instructors and their paths. The handbook (eBook) given has a lot of helpful information which I did not know about.”
Leslie’s NAMI Story
In March of 1993, my prince Charming arrived. I met my ex-husband of 22 years at a church service. He was handsome, kind, loving, talented, he seemed like a dream come true. We were married in May of 1993 and I got pregnant shortly after that, and in August 1994, our son was born. The majority of our first year of marriage seemed fine, but as time went on some strange things begin to happen and continued throughout the span of our 22-yr marriage. Sometimes, I felt like a bomb went off and everything went up in smoke. Through circumstance, I discovered he had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder formally known as Manic Depression.
Throughout our marriage, he had severe jealousy, paranoia, heightened spirituality, lack of empathy, minimal impulse control, held grudges, he would get stuck on things that were unfounded, severe irritability, and his moods would shift like a lightning bolt.
With that said, I want you to know, through-out our marriage it was not always bad. There were many wonderful memories we had as a family. He is a very likable guy; he is like a big teddy bear. He is an incredible self-taught musician playing guitars and an amazing voice. He was a good provider and tried to be a good dad to our kids. He had an extremely good heart, but his brain was injured.
About 15 years into our marriage, I found out about NAMI, This organization saved my life; I began to finally understand what mental illness was. I felt like I finally found a family the “GOT” me.
After our marriage ended in 2014, I had to step back from all things related to mental health to mend myself.
I have come full circle and here I am today with passion, understanding, and empathy to help family members realize they are NOT alone. There is a family who understands!
Dana’s NAMI Story
Hello, my name is Dana Sullivan. I am a mother of 4 adult children and a grandmother to 3. I retired from 30 years in Law Enforcement. I enjoy all things health and wellness, more specifically; playing pickleball, working out, walking, hiking, bike riding, and golf. I have been with NAMI since 2012.
My adult daughter was born with Cerebral Palsy and developmental delay.
I found NAMI Family to Family class after my adult daughter had been diagnosed with major depression, anxiety and an eating disorder. That class changed my life! It gave me the education I needed regarding a mental health condition, medications, I met others who had been going through similar situations, I had support from genuine people. I have been volunteering with NAMI since 2012 – it truly is a family.
I share my story so that others will know they are not alone in this journey. To help others feel no shame in talking openly about mental health and to let others know about NAMI and the many services they provide. I feel so blessed to have found NAMI F2F, Support groups, and the organization as a whole. I have been a F2F facilitator, a Family Support group facilitator, NAMI Volunteer coordinator, and most recently a Family & Friends Facilitator. NAMI has been my support system and family for many years.
I have learned this journey is a marathon, not a sprint.