Hello Friends. Many of us have been sharing our thoughts and feelings about mental illness on these pages for a while now. Many of you have written to me about some very personal matters involving either your own or a loved ones mental illness. It wasn't untill I finally opened up to someone about my illness that I could begin to see that maybe I really didn't have to live my life in fear. Always wondering when that demon would come and take away everything I cared about again. It is my hope that for every story on these pages about hopelessness there will be another story with a happier ending. For every person out there who thinks the only way out is by dying, there will be someone else sayiny the only way out is by living.We will not diagnose here.Giving others advice is not our purpose here either. I want our purpose to be to believe that maybe, by sharing our story, we could be giving someone hope. Sincerly, Bill Vanderbilt

Here is an article with information about how we can become more active in our treatment decisions. The message is spreading like peanutbutter on a hot muffin. People are finally taking charge of their own lives and their own treatment methods and there are pleny of consumers and professionals getting involved. Consumer/Survivor Mental Health Information SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) supports the meaningful participation of mental health consumers/survivors in all aspects of the mental health system including the planning, design, implementation, policy formulation and evaluation of mental health services. To accomplish this goal, CMHS sponsors a variety of consumer affairs activities such as scholarships to attend national conferences, meetings to address the needs of consumers/survivors, regional consumer meetings, programs to address discrimination and stigma and other issues related to mental illness, the development and dissemination of educational materials, and much more. Consumer Affairs activities at CMHS are carried out by the Consumer Affairs Program within the Office of the CMHS Director.

Thnaks for sharing this my friend. Without hope there are no future..

Thank you Bill and of Course LaNell and her efforts in awareness and educating people on this subject also. Bill, Thank you for this Forum. 37 and still finding out how my Sister's illness and death, Parents Divorce and some other things in my life has effected me. Guilt and Pain has ruled my life and still is. Relationship and Family is a struggle for me. I will help a friend in a heartbeat. But then later get S@*# on. I never get back what I put in. Answers and help is hard to stick with. Faith and Hope is what I know.... Success is still so far away. Have to work harder and be more dedicated to getting to the finish line and staying there. Blessings,

Good Morning Everyone! Gosh, LeeLu, did I write that post? Oh how I identify with your every word! Bless you... I am not finding a lot of positive these past days...I know I need to do something, but my hands are tied. What do you do when a loved one is not receptive? Or how do you do anything when you do not know where that loved one is? How do I make him see that there is hope? I feel guilty when I seek help for myself and I cannot get the help needed for my son. Thank you once again, Bill for this forum. Julia Youngblood "The Ink Lady"