What is your opinion of NAMI

Cheze2 wrote:

Devilock wrote:Certainly ppl who I have met who are so called 'mi', and speaking and hearing what their parents have to say, the parents come across as patronizing, wanting to control the relative, using them as a scapegoat etc. I also think there is a large % of ppl who would never have been diagnosed as 'mi' if it wernt for their familys, they simply would have recovered of got on with their lives and problems in other ways ie not being locked up forced drugged etc

agreed. The question then becomes, is it because the stigma is still out there regarding mental illness that the families are told/feel that they need to control this person? or is it the families who are geared towards needing this control that are driving the stigma?

I think certainly, allot of it comes from the parents being 'told' there whole lives that this is what we do is someone is acting in a way that we don't like, and especially lately theres been allot of 'mental health' anti stigma campaigs saying its 'ok' to 'get help' and the parents think this is the thing to do, some parents would not be aware of what this 'help' consists of and when they find out may or may not like /enjoy it. But yes, some famil\ies are geared towards needing this control and are driving the stigma, theres allot of different situations out there, psychiatry can be very convenient for allot of ppl wanting to to 'get rid of an unwanted relative' or hurting /abusing a relative or just wanting them 'under control'..

also u didn't answer what kind of legislations has 'nami' been able to pass?

Devilock wrote:also u didn't answer what kind of legislations has 'nami' been able to pass?

Sorry, I didn't see your question in the quote box. They're all over the advocacy aspect. They have things on their webpage for members to call their local officials to advocate for certain things, particularly increased funding for those diagnosed with mental illness. Here's their website so you can take a look.

http://www.nami.org/template.cfm?sectio ... lic_Policy

I'm sorry to hear that things were decided for you in terms of psychiatric care. It's definitely difficult as many parents think they are doing the right thing, when in fact they may be harming the situation.

Check out this video of the National Alliance on Mental Illness getting its butt kicked in congress !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASa7iQQpOMI

Copy_Cat wrote:Check out this video of the National Alliance on Mental Illness getting its butt kicked in congress !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASa7iQQpOMI

Interesting video, who is the guy in it? Just a congressman who has noticed that psych drugs are killing ppl? I felt good on him after watching it, at least someone is taking notice of what these drugs do and noticing that the chemical imbalance 'theory' is not evidence of proof! Its a theory and a pretty stupid one too if u think about it.

What is wrong with ppl like that join NAMI? Do they just want to follow someone or something? So someone else can do their thinking for them? Are they just all really stupid , or do they just think oh im too busy to research any of this stuff that I find interesting because my son etc has a mi, im not going to bother this nami group sounds good, and they are also into control methods so that makes me feel good cause I like controlling my child, so im just going to join them and agree with everything they say??? Mabye many of the parents do havea busy lifestyle working and that etc. That they do not bother to find out the facts about psychiatry and that, but jesus Christ they've got a brain, cant they see for themselves what it does? Or maybe they are just slightly stupid, im thinking they are probably a group of not very smart ppl that are attracted by the control that NAMI seems to want to dish out to 'mi' ppl and 'blame ' them and patronize them etc. Because of the parents needing to satisfy their own needs, maybe someof them caused the problems that their child is experiencing and this is a good way to cover it up? whatever the case, I think allot of the ppl that join NAMI have a form of sickness that society promotes and causes, oh and then theres the money and drug companies thing too...

Devilock wrote:What is wrong with ppl like that join NAMI?

Family members, or people who know someone diagnosed with a psychiatric disability make up a lot of the NAMI population. I think they are confused and looking for something to help them understand their loved one. NAMI is a huge organization, they have a good reputation. It is natural that family members would flock to this as a means of support. Unfortunately, they are getting the messages that those who fund the organization are giving out vs from those who are living with the illness.