Julie Bayes doesn't know whether the sexual abuse she suffered as a child caused her mental illness.
"It's sort of a chicken-and-egg kind of thing with me," she said. "It's hard to say which came first."
Bayes, 46, still deals with major depression and post-traumatic stress. Sometimes, she hears voices.
But after more than a decade of counseling, intermittent hospitalization and finally finding the right medication, she's better.
"I still have symptoms, but I've learned to manage them in a way that lets me live my life rather than letting the illness take over my life," she said.
Bayes, who moved from Wichita to Lawrence in 1998, says she's committed to helping others find ways to cope with mental illness. That's why she'll be at Washburn University in Topeka on Saturday for the 1 p.m. start of the Kansas-National Alliance for the Mentally Ill walk and fund-raiser.
"To me, NAMI is the advocacy group that's doing the most to fight the stigma that comes with mental illness," said Bayes, who until recently helped run Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center's day program for adults.
"Getting past the stigma is one of the hardest things to deal with," she said. "The stereotype is still out there -- that people with mental illness are out of control, irrational or violent. And yet, really, the mentally ill as a whole are no more violent, irrational or out of control than the non-mentally ill."
In Lawrence, NAMI sponsors classes and support groups for both the mentally ill and their families. It also backs a consumer-driven recovery group called RAHN (Recovery And Hope Network) that meets at Independence Inc., 2001 Haskell Ave., on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Julie Bayes, rural Lawrence, who has battled mental illness off and on for many years, gives talks to share her experiences with mental illness. Bayes says nurturing and growing flowers is something that helps her with her own growth. She plans to participate in the Kansas-National Alliance for the Mentally Ill fund-raiser Saturday in Topeka.
RAHN hopes eventually to have a voice in the discussions on whether to reopen the inpatient psychiatric unit at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. The hospital announced last month that it will expand its emergency room to serve patients with mental health issues, but the rooms will only be designed to accommodate patients for 24 hours.
Several families from Lawrence are expected to participate in the NAMI walk.
Group to meet about mental health services in Lawrence (05-04-05)"By walking on Saturday, everyone there will know they're not fighting the battle against mental illness alone. It's a way to end the isolation," said NAMI Executive Director Karen Ford Manza.
For more information about the walk and the NAMI classes in Lawrence, call (800) 539-2660.
| JW Staff Reports Area residents will have a chance on May 23 to tell a new group what they believe should be done regarding mental health services in the community. At the first meeting of a new task force established by the Community Health Improvement Project, members agreed to host a public forum at 7 p.m. May 23. The group plans to have the forum at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., but must still reserve the space. Mark Buhler, a former state senator who is the facilitator for the group, said members wanted the community to have a chance to speak up on the issue. "I just want to hear about what is on the mind of people when it comes to mental health care in our community," Buhler said. "Tell us what do you think we need." The 16-member task force was formed after Lawrence Memorial Hospital closed the last vestiges of its inpatient mental health care unit. Buhler said the group would examine whether the unit needed to be reopened, but would look at other options as well. "We're trying to figure out how to help people in crisis," he said. |
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