3. What Am I Going to Talk About?
What is Mental Illness Exactly?
What is it like having a Mental Illness? (My
Experience)
What can you do (or not do) to support
someone with a Mental Illness?
What resources are there for myself or a
friend on Campus or Livingston and Monroe
Counties?
4. What is Mental Illness?
Technical Terms
A mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts
a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate
to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a
disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are
medical conditions that often result in a diminished
capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of
life.
5. What types of Mental illnesses are
there?
Serious mental illnesses include major
depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder,
obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic
disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
Eating Disorders, and borderline personality
disorder.
6. What types of Mental illnesses are there?
Major Depression – feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for
weeks or longer.
Schizophrenia – makes it hard to: Tell the difference between what is real and not real; Think
clearly; Have normal emotional responses; Act normally in social situations.
Bipolar Disorder - a condition in which a person has periods of depression and periods of being
extremely happy or being cross or irritable.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted and repeated
thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that make them feel driven to do
something (compulsions).
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder – a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after you have gone through
an extreme emotional trauma that involved the threat of injury or death.
Eating Disorders - such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder – include extreme emotions,
attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues. Eating disorders are serious emotional
and physical problems
Borderline Personality Disorder - condition in which a person has long-term patterns of unstable or
turbulent emotions. These inner experiences often result in impulsive actions and chaotic
relationships with other people.
7. How to Identify Symptoms of Mental Illness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JjZYLl1Ils
8. Do NOT, I repeat, Do
NOT diagnose
yourself, a friend, or
a family member with
a mental illness
9. Who Can Mental Illness Affect?
Mental illnesses can affect persons
of any age, race, religion or income.
Mental illnesses are NOT the result
of personal weakness, lack of
character or poor upbringing.
13. The idiom, skating on thin ice
is used figuratively to refer to
the state of being in a risky
situation. It is also used in
speech as a warning to a
person who seems to be
taking a big risk without
being aware.
14. What is it like having a Mental
Illness?
I have 4 mental Illness diagnoses
1. Dysthymia - a mild but long-term (chronic) form of depression. Symptoms usually
last for at least two years, and often for much longer than that. Dysthymia
interferes with your ability to function and enjoy life.
2. Anxiety - extreme worry about things, even when there is little or no reason to
worry about them. very anxious about just getting through the day and that things
will always go badly.
3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - an anxiety disorder in which people have unwanted
and repeated thoughts, feelings, ideas, sensations (obsessions), or behaviors that
make them feel driven to do something (compulsions)
4. Eating Disorder, Atypical anorexia nervosa - characterized by self-starvation and
excessive weight loss.
15. A Day In the Life of a Person with a
Mental Illness
7:00am – Wake up, wanting to sleep more but knowing if I skip class, I’ll fail out of
college
7:05AM – take my dog for a walk, constantly worried that he’ll run away or eat
something and he’ll get sick
7:20AM – Come home to a messy kitchen and feeling the urge to clean it or else.. But I
have to get some reading done… But…
9:30AM – I finish cleaning the kitchen and debate whether or not to eat breakfast, even
though my stomach is rumbling
10:00AM – Go to class (without breakfast), going back and forth between frantically
writing notes and making a to-do list of things I could be doing at that moment, like
other school work
16. A Day In the Life of a Person with a
Mental Illness
How People See Me
Outgoing
Caring
High Energy
Sweet
Fun
Inspiring
Compassionate
Important
Bright
Understanding
How I see Myself
Incompetent
Stupid
Fat
Annoying
Horrible
Burden to everyone I meet/Poisonous
Failure
Unattractive
Fake
17. The Do and Do Not’s
of Supporting
Someone with a
Mental Illness
Let’s start with Not’s
18. Do NOT say: “Get over it”
“You’ll be ok”
“Just be happy”
“You wouldn’t be
depressed/Have anxiety/etc.
if…”
“I understand what you’re
going through. I was
depressed once”
“Why don’t you do something
about it?”
“If I were you, I’d…”
“This happened because
you…”
“IT’S JUST A PHASE. IT WILL
PASS.”
“CHIN UP!”
“WHAT CAN I DO TO FIX THIS?”
“IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND”
"YOU'RE JUST OVERREACTING
AGAIN.”
"ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T KILL
YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER.”
"EVERYBODY HAS MOOD
SWINGS SOMETIMES."
"YOU ARE
PSYCHO/CRAZY/WEIRD/ETC.”
"ISN'T THAT WHAT SERIAL
KILLERS HAVE?”
"EVERYONE IS A LITTLE
BIPOLAR SOMETIMES."
"I WISH I WAS MANIC SO I
COULD GET THINGS DONE!”
"YOU'RE ACTING LIKE A
MANIAC!”
"BUT YOU SEEM SO NORMAL!”
"IT MUST BE YOUR TIME OF THE
MONTH.”
“YEAH, I UNDERSTAND. I’M
LIKE SUPER OCD ABOUT
CLEANING MY BATHROOM.”
19. Do NOT say: “Do you like have to organize
everything?”
“Just calm down.”
“Are you nervous?”
“It’s okay, I get anxious about
things too.”
“There really aren’t that
many people here.”
“You know [insert dumb
statistic here] is more likely
to happen, right?”
“Are you medicated?”
“Medication will change who
you are. Besides, you already
act normal.”
• “CONQUERING YOUR FEARS IS
THE ONLY WAY YOU’RE GOING
TO GET RID OF THEM.”
• “YOU'RE ONLY THREATENING
SUICIDE TO GET ATTENTION”
• “ANYTHING IN A WHISPER”
• “HAVE YOU LOST WEIGHT? YOU
LOOK AWESOME!”
• “BUT YOU’RE SO THIN! WHY
DO YOU NEED TO LOSE MORE
WEIGHT?”
• “IS THAT ALL YOU’RE EATING?
YOU SHOULD EAT MORE.”
• “YOU’RE NOT FAT.”
• COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR OWN
WEIGHT LOSS OR SOMEONE
ELSE WEIGHT GAIN/LOSS
• “WOW. IF YOU THINK YOU’RE
FAT, THEN I MUST BE REALLY
FAT.”
• “IF YOU COULD GO OUT LAST
WEEK, WHY CAN’T YOU GO
OUT NOW?”
• “I’VE BEEN THROUGH THINGS
TOO, THAT’S LIFE.”
• “ARE YOU FEELING DOWN IN
THE DUMPS?”
• “JUST TAKE SOME DEEP
20. Do NOT say: “Get busy, and distract
yourself.”
“Do you want to get better?”
“Change your attitude.”
“Stop focusing on the bad
stuff, and just start living.”
“You have everything you
need to get better.”
“Just pray about it.”
“Why can’t you work?”
“You have the same illness as
my ______.”
“There’s always someone
worse off than you are.”
• “NO ONE EVER SAID THAT LIFE
WAS FAIR.”
• “STOP FEELING SORRY FOR
YOURSELF.”
• “SO YOU’RE DEPRESSED.
AREN’T YOU ALWAYS?”
• “TRY NOT TO BE SO
DEPRESSED.”
• “I THINK YOUR DEPRESSION IS
A WAY OF PUNISHING US.”
• “HAVEN’T YOU GROWN TIRED
OF ALL THIS “ME, ME, ME”
STUFF YET?”
• “HAVE YOU TRIED CHAMOMILE
TEA?”
• 'WHY ARE YOU MAKING
YOURSELF MISERABLE?'
• 'YOU DON'T WANT TO BE
HAPPY.'
• 'IF YOU WON'T CHANGE FOR
YOU, DO IT FOR...'
• 'YOU DON'T 'LOOK' {INSERT
ILLNESS HERE}.'
21.
22. Remember:
“Telling a depressed person to
be happy is like telling
someone who is choking to
breathe. The presence of air
is not the issue.”
24. DO: Active listening! THIS ONE IS HUGE
Sincerely express your concern: ‘You have {insert illness}? I’m so sorry to hear that. From what I’ve heard, that
can be just awful.’
Offer your support: ‘Please let me know if you need anything, or if you’d just like to talk.’
Be there as much or as little as that person needs. Unless they are going to hurt themselves or others, leave
them alone if they need to be left alone
Talk to them the same way you did before, which lets them know your feelings about them or respect for them
hasn’t changed; your relationship is stable. They’re the same person, just dealing with an issue that is less
visibly obvious than a broken arm or the flu.”
Be Patient. It won’t be easy
Take care of yourself. If working with the person is affecting your mental health, schooling, personal life, etc.,
ask a mutual friend for help. Never Ever TELL THE PERSON THAT THEY ARE A PROBLEM TO YOU. You would not
tell a friend/family member with cancer they are a Problem. If you’re overwhelmed, reach out.
Invite them to go places with you, even if its just for a walk.
If they live far away, call them when you get a chance and let them know they were in your thoughts.
25. Resources for Mental
Illnesses/Mental Health
Campus
• Lauderdale counseling
• 585-245-5716
• Lauderdale Self-Help
Library
• Geneseo HealthGuards
• 585-245-5747
• Pathways
• 585-237-8860
• 8pm to 8am daily
Livingston County
• Livingston County
Mental Health
• 585-243-7250
• Noyes Mental Health
• 585-111-1111
Monroe County
• University of Rochester
Med Center/Strong
Memorial Hospital
• 585-279-4900
• Behavioral Health
Network, Inc.
• 585-922-2500
• The Steve Schwarzkopf
Community Mental Health
Center
• 585-241-1200
26. Resources for Mental Illnesses/Mental
Health
Online
Geneseo Online Screening Program
http://www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/?keyword=knights
Developing A Recovery And Wellness Lifestyle: A Self-Help Guide
http://store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA-3718/SMA-3718.pdf
Mental Illness Help Guide
http://www.helpguide.org/index.htm
27. Quotes about Mental Illness
I’m not struggling with my weight, I’m struggling with my mind. If I loved myself more my
weight wouldn’t be a problem.
“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to
figure out how that could be.” ― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I promise you, no one judges me more harshly than I do myself; I caused a brilliant wreckage.
Some say I fell from grace; they’re being kind. I didn’t fall – I dove. - Sue Monk Kidd, The
Mermaid Chair
We all carry these things inside that no one else can see. They hold us down like anchors. They
drown us at sea. – Bring Me the Horizon
You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering. - Ernest Hemingway
It’s like drowning but you just won’t fucking die.
28. Quotes about Recovery
Depression is just like any season, it will change, and before you know it you will see the first
flower blooming. Then another. Then another. Before you know if your whole life will be in
bloom. And you’ll no longer remember the winter.
“nobody can save you but yourself and you’re worth saving. it’s a war not easily won but if
anything is worth winning then this is it.” ― Charles Bukowski
If nothing else, one day you can look someone straight in the eyes and say “But I lived through
it. And it made me who I am today. - Iain Thomas
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love
and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself,
as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. - The Buddha
I am not an expert. Things that I say in this presentation may work for some people but not all people. Personally, this is what I know will work. Case study
