Blog
NAMI Keystone PA’s Blog features personal stories, press releases, news articles, and other content that provides information, insight, personal experiences, and more.
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WQED-TV: Access to Care for FEP
Dr. Spyridaki-Dodd describes how people involved in the FEP program help clients live more fulfilling lives. Tina and Brice talk about how his care team is helping him work to achieve his goals. WQED Multimedia's "Living With Mental Illness" campaign is an ongoing commitment to explore various...
WQED-TV: What is First-Episode Psychosis (FEP)?
Dr. Melina Spyridaki-Dodd of Family Services of Western Pennsylvania explains "First-Episode Psychosis" and the process of diagnosing the illness...
Annual NAMI Walk Seeks to Change Perception of Mental Illness
Even though one in four people will experience a mental illness this year, more than half of them will not seek treatment because of what they perceive others will think. This Sunday, Oct. 4, thousands of people will come together to change that perception....
One Conversation Counts: NAMI Offers Resources to Help for Suicide Prevention Month
Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or background and are often the result of mental health conditions. But suicide is preventable. One conversation with a person who cares can make a difference. To honor National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month in September...
Out of the Darkness
I experienced social anxiety when I was only five years old. I couldn't speak to anyone, especially girls, all of my elementary school years. In 1958 there was NO awareness or understanding of Mental Health so I was just considered shy and told by many to "just snap out of it and get some guts."...
NAMI Southwestern PA 16th Annual Education Conference, "Call to Action: Creating A Movement to Change Lives."
Promising, new intervention programs for First Episode Psychosis (FEP) have shown to offer real hope for recovery to the hundreds of thousands of adolescents and young adults who experience their first psychotic episode each year....
Life is a journey, not a destination...
My life has been anything but dull, this is for sure! My diagnosis came while I was in high school. It came after a mental break after trying to be too strong, from traumas in my childhood, for too long. I was 17 years old and rebelling against everything in my life. I was drinking and doing...
Recovery is a Process
My first break with reality came when I was 25. It was the summertime, and I was a high-school teacher who had my summer off. I was severely depressed and would stay in bed all day. I was isolating, not eating, not sleeping at night, and drinking a lot of caffeine and alcohol...
WQED-TV: Bundle of Nerves - Our Anxiety Epidemic (documentary)
Anxiety is among the most common, yet under-reported of all behavioral health issues. 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety and panic disorders - overwhelming worrying that results in physical symptoms such as pounding heart, chest pain, shortness of breath and nausea...