NAMI - Western Tidewater Support Group
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Meetings
Purpose: To educate ourselves and each other and receive and provide support for one another's struggle with a devastating and chronic disease. As consumers and/or family members, we aim to learn about all aspects of mental illness, from its diagnosis, treatment, and biological nature to coping skills, crisis management, and relapse prevention. We work toward living a fulfilling and productive life while managing our own illness or supporting our loved one in that effort.
It is an enormous relief to discover that we are not alone; consumers and family members alike draw strength from the realization that everyone in the room is struggling with similar problems.
Participants discover within themselves unexpected strength for dealing with unfamiliar and often frightening circumstances. They develop confidence in their ability to cope and enjoy a less stressful atmosphere at home as a result. This confidence often extends beyond the boundaries of home as they find themselves educating family members, friends and neighbors.
Our meetings are relaxed and informal, and we strive to create a comfortable and "safe" atmosphere. While ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to share what's on their minds, we also respect the silence of those who prefer to simply listen. We insist on confidentiality, with the rule that "what is said here, stays here."
NAMI Support Group Principles
Principles of support represent what we strive for, our touchstones and aspirations as we struggle to come to terms with serious mental illness. This is our belief system regarding universal, necessary truths which guide and strengthen us when life deals us this particular challenge.
- We will see the individual first, not the illness.
- We recognize mental illnesses are brain disorders.
- We aim for better coping skills.
- We find strength in sharing experience.
- We reject stigma in ourselves and others.
- We won't judge anyone's pain as less than our own.
- We forgive ourselves and reject guilt.
- We embrace humor as healthy.
- We accept we can resolve all problems.
- We expect a better future in a realistic way.
- We will never give up hope!
Time and Place
All are welcome at our meetings, held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month, at 7:30 PM at High St. Methodist Church, on the corner of 1st and High Streets in Franklin, Virginia.
To contact someone with questions you may have about the Support Group, click here.