Every day should be mental health day
When I hear the words “Mental Health Awareness Month,” a few things come to mind: Bad, or dark days, and good days. I learned the hard way what happens when an individual with a mental illness goes off meds, or forgets or fails to take his or her meds, but I have come a long way since those “dark days.”
To recover from mental illness, an individual must want to help himself. Loved ones cannot hold your hand and do everything for you. Now, I take control of my meds, and I get a refill before I run out of meds. I try to be a role model for my peers. I am very blessed and give thanks for my peers and family members who give me the support I need to make it through the bad days as I continue to recover.
I lost my mom last October, and I miss her a lot. Mom helped me so much — we used to work on the National Alliance on Mental Illness “In Your Own Voice” program, which I and the co-leader present to local organizations and for the NAMI Kane County North Family-to-Family Education classes. I hope to continue educating the public in the future.
My wish is that we all would live every day like it’s a mental health awareness day — not just on days in May. And, let’s all say a prayer that Gov. Quinn will stop cutting the funding for critical mental health programs.
Guy Czmyrid
Burlington