In the world of health care, there aren't many secrets left.
We talk openly about alcoholism and addiction.
We have breast cancer month.
We can talk in public about our heart attacks and surgeries.
We even can talk about the colon and prostate gland.
But mental illness? A few celebrities have spoken about depression, yet these subjects haven't entered the mainstream.
In a major study being led by Jacksonville Community Council Inc., participants have heard the big picture from physicians and mental health providers.
But they received some rare insights recently from people who have suffered and survived their mental illness - as well as one man whose family was torn apart by his son's schizophrenia.STORY OF RECOVERY
Nancy Fudge Sweatland is an advocate of self-directed care.
She makes a convincing case that the mentally ill themselves are most interested in recovery. She says they will know when a treatment is failing - and that giving patients more power can save money.
Sweatland's story is more painful than most. She grew up in an abusive home with an alcoholic father. Her mother died when Sweatland was 18; her mom had been the one stable person in her life.
There were five suicide attempts, four in her early 20s. She was served with divorce papers on the day she was to be released from treatment for bipolar disorder. Echoing a common theme, Sweatland said she had found it difficult to find the right dosage for medications. It's time consuming.
Yet she doesn't let her illness or the stigma define her.
She found her way to recovery, then to advocacy and national speaking events.
"I have not been hospitalized since I heard the word 'recovery' attached to mental health," she said. "I actually had a word that said you can become all you are destined to be."
Wes Evans has also experienced mental illness and found help through self-directed care.
He spent years of depression and crisis fueled by drugs and the revolving door of the mental health system - including jail.
There was no system to communicate among prescribers of his medications
He spent so much time in psychiatric facilities that they became his comfort zone.IMPORTANCE OF SUPPORT
Evans said it would have made a big difference if he had had a network of support waiting for him as he was released from various facilities.
Finally, a community mental health support group helped Evans find the right track. He was surrounded by people like him who were doing well and living with their illness. Hope appeared in his life.
So often the parents or caretakers don't know the right answers.
The demands on the caretakers can be overwhelming. John Boggs has cared for his schizophrenic son and still goes to therapy and support sessions.
His son's descent took about eight years to fully manifest itself.
"It affects everybody in the family," Boggs said. "Nobody escapes unscathed."
Boggs quit his job and went to work for himself to devote more time to his son.
Finding the right medication was difficult, and the side effects sometimes were worse than the cure.
The family moved. It split up.
Boggs had to educate himself to advocate for his son.
The family caretaker has to become the expert for his son.
"The things I saw and the things the doctor saw were drastically different," he said. "The biggest thing that has helped me is education."MENTAL HEALTH FACTORS- Older white men have the highest suicide rate of any age.- Depression involves persistent sadness, withdrawal from enjoyable activities, difficulty sleeping or concentrating and feeling slowed down.ON HER SUICIDE ATTEMPTSNancy Fudge Sweatland describes her suicide attempts: "Contrary to what most people believe, it's not the easy way out. There is a huge battle that goes on in your mind, and it's usually about what would be best for everyone else. It isn't a selfish act but rather a selfless act (loss of self-purpose)."SUPPORT FOR CAREGIVERSFamily- to-family classes, a 12-week program.Call NAMI Jacksonville helpline: (904) 724-7782