<p>The National Alliance on Mental Illness is an EXCELLENT resource. [NAMI:</a> National Alliance on Mental Illness - Mental Health Support, Education and Advocacy](<a href=“http://www.nami.org/]NAMI:”>http://www.nami.org/)</p>
<p>They offer support groups for ill people as well as for family members. I just completed a 12-week course for family members. Each class was 2 1/2 hours. We were given material each week that ended up filling a big binder. A young woman with bipolar disorder came and spoke to us so we would understand things from her perspective. We learned about the causes of illness as well as treatment and medication. It was as intense as a college class.</p>
<p>I am currently reading an excellent book about suicide, “Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide.” Here is the link: [Amazon.com:</a> Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide (9780375401459): Kay Redfield Jamison: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Night-Falls-Fast-Understanding-Suicide/dp/0375401458]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Night-Falls-Fast-Understanding-Suicide/dp/0375401458)</p>
<p>The author, Kay Redfield Jamison, is a JHU psych prof who suffers from bipolar disorder and has been suicidal at times through her life. She does a good job of describing the despair that mentally ill people go through. She and a close, close friend actually made a pact to contact the other if he or she were considering suicide. Even as she was making the deal, she realized it probably wouldn’t work. Sure enough, years later, her friend killed himself without ever calling her.</p>
<p>I have two sons, aged 16 and 19, whom this book applies to. I’m scared out of my wits. They’re both living at home and receiving therapy and medication. The younger one called the crisis help line the other night. They had a stable upbringing with lots of love, so this is hard to understand. The NAMI class helped me understand that they suffer from a real ILLNESS, and it wasn’t my fault or my husband’s.</p>
<p>At Thanksgiving dinner, we each mentioned something we were thankful for. My older son said, “I’m thankful that I’m safe and at home.” Amen!</p>