About F2F…

Welcome!

 We’re talking about the BRAIN and how to cope with injuries or disorders that occur in it.

WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BIOLOGY!

When a loved one has mood changes or difficulty with cognitive functioning or thinking… we realize that something is different and that our usual coping models are not working.  In our Family2Family (F2F) education program, we learn to think differently about our relative’s behavior and see that the behavior is the result of a serious illness in the brain.

     The evidenced-based  free 12-week F2F course is offered across the country and in 13 affiliates associated with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Maryland (NAMI MD).   In the Anne Arundel County course, as elsewhere, the goal is to reduce the stigma around brain disorders; we do that by telling our stories and sharing our experiences. When you leave comments on the F2F4Md Blog, it is thus okay to be anonymous, that is to say, we don’t need to use last names, real names or actual email addresses. What’s important is to get the story out about what’s happening to us, how we cope with our mentally ill relatives, and/or what our experiences with various parts of the legal system,  social services, and health care systems in our State and County are like.

 

Our narratives thus become  another way of advocating for change as we seek improved services for those with such mental disorders as: anxiety, major depression, manic depression (Bipolar Disorders I and II), OCD, PTSD, Schizoaffective Disorders,  Schizoprenia, and Borderline Personality Disorders, among others.

None of these conditions are character flaws; they all have a biological source.  We’ve also learned in F2F that early treatment and medication are the answers.  Recovery does not mean being CURED but becoming a functioning member of society.  It is essential, therefore, that we educate the public, health care workers, the police, attorneys, the courts and churches, social workers, the clergy, and others that TREATMENT works.  Take a moment to think about that as you relax to the sounds of Enya…

FYI… A Tribute to Family-to-Family

The year 2011 marks the 20-year anniversary of Family-to-Family… NAMI’s flagship education program.

With nearly 200,000 graduates, Family-to-Family is available free in communities across the country, offering help and hope to millions of families affected by mental illness.

Show your appreciation and support for this lifesaving, evidence-based program by donating to NAMI Anne Arundel County, Inc. today.

F2F classes were taught at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis for 12-weeks in the Fall of 2010 and again in January 2011.  In the Spring, the F2F classes started in April  at the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Maryland.  More than 20 family members signed up for each of these classes.

UPCOMING Family2Family Classes

Tuesday, September 20, 2011  (Anne Arundel Medical Center)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012  (Anne Arundel Medical Center)

 To sign up for the  free 12-week F2F Education Program.

call   443-569-3498     or email:   NAMIannearundel@NAMI.org

If you’ve already taken the class, you’re invited to sign up with your co-teachers to become certified to teach F2F.  The annual training is in the spring.  What makes NAMI’s F2F course so special is that Family members are teaching family members about mental illness.  Remember… if you can read it, you can teach it. Plus you’ve already earned the right to talk about what you know first-hand:  Brain Disorders.  Finally, I know that if you teach, you will feel better because you’re helping others.  I teach F2F because it gives my life meaning; I continue to be inspired by every person taking F2F.  When you’re ready, we look forward to you volunteering your time to answer phone calls from those in need, helping with mailings, distributing flyers, organizing education programs, showing up at Support Group meetings, fund raising, or checking up on your other class members.

I have joy because of my outreach efforts AND because of what we all do to spread the word as we cope with what is often, 24/7 caregiving.   I’m grateful to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), my F2F teachers – Micki and Simon,  my trainers (Pat & Bob), and, of course… all the NAMI volunteers in Anne Arundel County and the state of  Maryland.