Mental Illness Meeting Report

I decided to attend a meeting based first (and almost solely) on convenience of the location. So I decided to attend a meeting right here in Batavia. The “Batavia 12 & 12” at the Holy Trinity Church down on 6th & Wood St. They hold meeting on Mondays around 11:00am. The main focus is to follow the 12 steps in order and work on them in a more traditional fashion. They do have the big book, but follow it more in a step by step focus. However karma decided to rear its head and make it a Closed Meeting, meaning that it is not as open to the public to sit on and they only allow members who are coming with a problem related to alcohol. So at first I was turned away but, I was lucky enough to know a person

I attended Celebrate Recovery at Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers, Arkansas on October 7th. This meeting is not for any specific addiction or problem, but spans many issues and therefore was very different than any other support group I have attended. The fact that it is a faith-based meeting was another interesting difference from the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting I visited last semester.

According to NAMI, The National Alliance of Mental Illness 1 in 5 adults experience a mental health condition yearly. 1 in 20 people live with a serious mental illness like, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Not only does the person who is directly experiencing a mental illness suffer, but the family, and friends are also highly affected. NAMI states that 50% of mental health conditions begin by age 14 and 75% of mental illnesses develop by age 24. Each year, 1 in 5 children from the ages 13-18 experiences a mental illness reported by NAMI. That’s a large amount of our young generation. Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma, a mark of disgrace that sets a person apart according to the

As a member of the Somerset County School Nurse Association, I learned about the meeting by email from the coordinator of the meeting, Carolyn Seracka.

Provide a brief description of each of the meetings (how many people, set up of room, who was in charge, did everyone talk, how was meeting run, was it educational or support?)

What I found most enlightening about this experience was that what I thought of the meeting was completely different from what it actually is. It was amazing to be in a space where the group members are pouring their hearts out about their experience but also lifting up the ones who are struggling. Despite how different they all are there goal for being in that space was the same, which was to create a supportive environment.

For my observation. I attended an NA meeting. It was in Hemet CA, on a Tuesday night. The building was called “Red Dog Group”. I had walked in, and told the lady at the front desk that I was here to sit in on a meeting and observe it for my health class. She said”Of course you can, just wait here for about another 10 minutes and you will go in with everyone.”

The place where I decided to go for my 12-step meeting assignment is called Harmony Room and is located at 2215 South West 67th Avenue, Miami, FL. I went on July 6th, 2015 at 1:00 pm. It was an open meeting for Alcoholics Anonymous.

On the 14th of November, my classmate Lina and I went to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Newington, CT for their open speaker AA meeting. Upon arrival, I was a little nervous since this would be my first time at an AA meeting and I did not know what to expect. However, once in the meeting, you could feel how much everybody cared about everyone else, whether they were new or returning. I think this was because everyone was going through the exact same thing and they did not have to worry about being judged. As stated in class and on the syllabus, open speaker meetings are ones where members of the meeting share their life story. Most of the stories told at the meeting were positive and encouraging. Here are a couple stories told in the meeting that touched me in a way.

1.- Legal: Erica’s ex-landlord has deducted 1000 dollar out of the rent bond. Erica disagreed with the charges and complained about it with the real estate worker. For her surprise the real estate worker talked to her in a rude manner and tried to intimidate and persuade Erica not to take this matter further, as Erica will be charge for VCAT legal cost and others. Erica would like to contact legal aid and requested the writer to provide her with their numbers.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI, 2015) estimates 1 in 5- 48.8- million adults in the United States are diagnosed with a mental illness each year. Amongst adolescents and children, it is estimated 1 in 5 youth ages 13-18-(21.4%) have, or will have a serious mental illness every year (NAMI, 2015). For children ages 8-15 the prevalence of experiencing a serious mental illness at one point in their life is 13% (NAMI, 2015). Although, children and adolescents are most commonly diagnosed with mood, conduct and anxiety disorders, there are those who occasionally experience psychotic disorders such as early onset schizophrenia.

I would also be grateful if more information on the online meetings could be provided, so that I might be adequately prepared for the same.

The husband, John, did not want the stigma of mental illness tied to his family. “He says that no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let any silly fancies run away with me (Gilman). In reading this story I had to constantly remind myself that society today treats mental illness differently and that this was written from a nineteenth-century perspective. The narrator continues to repress her own needs and allow her husband to dominate in all areas of her

I am in Newark this morning to talk to some therapist regarding their notes. I will also go to Homecare Association to attend the meeting at 1:30pm, today.

This group meeting was held in a meeting space at The Council on Recovery located in Houston, TX. This organization offers meeting spaces for support/therapy groups to meet regularly in hopes of adding and addiction free society. The room was setup with about 25 chairs formed in a circle with a small opening for people to walk through. The meetings are 1 hour long. I forgot to count the number of people but if I remember correctly it was approximately 23 people attending including myself. The meeting that I attended was a support group for children of alcohol parents. The group is called ACA (Adult Children of Alcoholics) and they meet weekly. The meeting that I attended was held on Friday November 17, 2017 from 12:00pm-1:00pm. It is considered and open-group and people are welcome to come and go as they please. There is no membership but donations are accepted. The donations are to help maintain the meeting space and other needs of the group such as materials. I was probably one of a few people in the young adult group and there were attendees upwards of 50-60 years of age.