For far too long, mental illness has been stigmatized and those stigmas have served as a barrier to innovation. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Rethinking Mental Health” competition offers an opportunity for new ideas outside the traditional structures to emerge.
What can you do to participate? Visit the Changemakers Website to do any of the following:
- Comment on entries from others like you who are deeply concerned about this very important issue and want to get involved.
- Enter the competition and share your own idea for improving mental health.
- Nominate an inspired idea or project.
Please note that you will have to create an account on the Changemakers website, but it is free to do so and will only take a minute of your time.
Entries and comments can be submitted until October 14th. A panel of judges will then select 10 ideas that the Changemakers community will vote on to select the top three. The Changemakers collaborative competition winners-the three finalists that receive the most votes-will be announced on December 16, 2009 and will each receive a cash prize of USD $5,000. As important as the three winners, however, is the dialogue that occurs about mental health and that as many great minds as possible come to the table with fresh thinking and new solutions.
It is positively correct that mental illness has been stigmatized, and this project offers hope that significant improvement can and will eventually occur. The lack of proper understanding and the inadequate or inappropriate course of therapy stemming from it can lead to catastrophic results. That is one of the salient points of my recently released biographical novel, Broken Saint. It is based on my forty-year friendship with a bipolar man, and chronicles his internal and external conflicts as he battles for stability and acceptance (of himself and by others). More information is available at http://www.eloquentbooks.com/BrokenSaint.html or authorautobahn.webs.com/bookpeek.htm.
Mark Zamen, author
Sure wish I’d seen this sooner.
I could use $5,000.
But here’s the real deal. I keep posting and my blog keeps getting read. And I think some people (especially people who know me—my students, for example) are mystified, then terrified, then come to some kind of, well, almost respect, for the fact that I refuse to hide in the lonely, shameful closet any more. Even if I’m too late, I want to than the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. you can read my blog at https://sumnonrabidus.wordpress.com/
I think this is a wonder, wonderful competition. Though I haven’t taken the time to read the entries (though I hope to read some of them soon), I am impressed by the number of entries, and the international representation of ideas. I’m only beginning to understand the impact that stigma has had on my life – an impact that certainly rivals, if not eclipses, my struggle with Bipolar Disorder. Thank you for this post.
Ive had Bipolar for over 22 years and within this last 2 years I have been able to fully recognize what a true mania episode is. Not only do I deal with Bipolar, I also deal with Social Anxiety, PTSD and Type 2 Diabetes. So in saying that by being open about what I deal with, not only will I help myself but I will help others fully recognize that they are not crazy and weird.
is this site still being updated? i noticed the last post was in 2009
Hi, Dennis–
Rarely. We’re doing most of our posts on our Psych Central blog, Bipolar Beat. The only thing here that gets updated on a regular basis is the Bipolar Stories and Insights area, which offers a place for people to post their stories and read about others who live with bipolar.
We really need to transition this site over to a full-fledged Bipolar Stories site, but time and resources are slim right now. I will post something on the opening page to let people know. Thanks for calling this to our attention.
I seek solace, Stability, peace & routine…I wanna find The woman I was when the illness had not yet consumed every fiber of my body… Paralyzing me: the funny, witty, creative, caring, loving me that i cannot find as the darkness has fallen upon me… I stumble through darkness, lost! Unable to find my way. What’s real? Is this darkness real!? Is the calmness that I felt once real?!