NAMI to host walk to end stigma around mental illness

May 17, 2022

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

JACKSON, Tenn. — In honor of National Mental Health Awareness Month, one organization is ending the stigma.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Tennessee is raising awareness on the importance of mental health.

And it starts with recognizing the signs.

“Things that we all experience every single day, whether that is feeling great, feeling lousy, sleeping too much, sleeping too little. All of these are signs of mental illness, but how you know it might be mental illness, when it is time to seek help, is when it impacts your quality of life in a negative way,” said NAMI Director Roger Stewart.

Stewart says he first found NAMI when his family needed answers regarding mental health.

“The coping skills, the information that I have learned, absolutely saved our family. We determined early on that one of two things was going to happen: mental illness was going to rip our family apart or we were going to choose to live in mental wellness,” Stewart said.

And he says this organization has numerous resources to help those that might need it.

“The single biggest challenge for most people is overcoming the stigma and reaching out for help. When you reach out, there are a lot of different things that can really really help. We also can just sit and listen. Sometimes that is exactly what people want,” Stewart said.

The organization wants to highlight mental health in Jackson.

Stewart says the walk is going bring awareness to the stigma of seeking help for your mental health.

“Individuals with mental health conditions, family members, mental health professionals all get together to say, ‘This is something that we’re not going to be afraid of the stigma anymore.’ We are going to step out, talk about mental health, talk about mental wellness, talk about mental illness and celebrate recovery together,” Stewart said.