You Don't Have to Sit Alone in The Dark

As mental health awareness month comes to a close, please remember that while the spotlight may be turning off, mental illness does not need to sit alone in the dark. Healing is harder on your own. It begins in community; it happens when people feel seen, heard, and connected. When we break our silence and speak our truths, we create space for healing — for ourselves and for others.

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a network of over 600 affiliates nationwide, united in our mission to better the lives of individuals and families living with mental illness. At our heart and really at every level, we are a grassroots operation. While we have the benefit of shared programming and use our combined voices to amplify our message, we are a very localized, people-powered organization. By sharing our lived experience, we provide education, support, advocacy, and public awareness. At NAMI Southwest Ohio, we are fortunate to have an incredible, diverse group of over 160 trained volunteers who give so much of their time and energy to make this happen right here in the Cincinnati region.

The thing that I find so beautiful about NAMI is that you can be sure when you interact with someone in our orbit, you are talking to someone who truly gets it, and has walked the road you’re walking. If you come to a Connections support group, it’s going to be facilitated by a peer that’s been navigating their own journey with mental illness. When you show up to your first Family-to-Family class, you’re going to be greeted by a pair of family members that have been where you are, and surrounded by others facing similar circumstances. As a student sits down in class for Ending the Silence, they will be greeted not by a mental health professional, but by a young adult who experienced mental health challenges when they were in school and they can have an honest conversation rather than a lecture.

My name is Katie, and I have the honor of leading this team as Executive Director. (I grew up here;  fellow Loveland-natives may know me by my maiden name - Henn.) Like all of us at NAMI, I have deep personal connections to mental illness. My big brother was not what would be considered an easy child. With disruptive behaviors in the classroom, and increasingly erratic behavior into his teen years, it was easy to label him as a problem kid and move on. After all, in the 90’s we were not talking openly about mental illness; our parents did the best they knew how to, but they were at a loss on how to help their child who was obviously struggling. As he grew into adulthood it became increasingly clear that something deeper was going on. My brother did not receive a bipolar diagnosis until he was 21, as if we’d been sitting in the dark & someone finally turned on the light. And still his journey of recovery over the last 22 years has been filled with ups and downs. With the benefit of hindsight, it seems incomprehensible that no one caught these “bad behaviors” as symptoms of a mental health condition. The stigma surrounding mental illness meant that nearly every family had “that” relative, and they just didn’t talk about the elephant in the room.

As an adult, I have faced many obstacles that deepened my understanding of mental illness. In 2011 I lost my dearest, oldest friend Mitch to suicide, and that tragedy turned my life upside down. Another lightbulb moment, illuminating the past in ways I hadn’t considered before.  In 2023, after the birth of my daughter, I experienced severe postpartum depression and anxiety, and in the aftermath, a lifetime of coping mechanisms for my own mental health dissolved. It was at the age of 35 I received diagnoses of ADHD, OCD, & Generalized Anxiety. You guessed it - a lightbulb moment, presented with the benefit of hindsight. All that to say, my family’s story is not unique, it’s one that could be told in so many living rooms across the country. But not every family has the support, knowledge, or resources to navigate the complex systems of mental healthcare, even today.

We don’t have to sit alone, waiting for someone to shine a light into the dark. If only my family had known of the supports available; had heard another family’s story; what pain could have been avoided? How much sooner could healing have begun? My Dad likes to say, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” and how true that is. But the good news is that now reader, you do know. And you can use what you know to tell more people; to share your family’s stories, and to show up for one another. You can be part of a community where we support each other through everything life throws our way.

There is help, and there is hope. Let’s make sure that Mental Health Awareness Month is about more than awareness, and turn that awareness into action in the coming days and months. Whether you’re living with a mental health condition, supporting a loved one, or advocating for change, NAMI offers free programs, resources, and opportunities for support, connection, and healing. We’re healing together, and shining a light into the dark, because no one is alone.

Katie Harper, Executive Director NAMI Southwest Ohio

Find out more about local services at namiswoh.org, or contact 513.351.3500 or info@namiswoh.org. In mental health crisis? Call/text 988 24/7.