October 14, 1998
Stigma Stomp strikes out against ignorance
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Twenty-six years ago, Diana Paolella's daughter was diagnosed as schizophrenic.
Just a sophomore in college, her daughter had been hiding problems since her senior year in high school. At that time she began seeing and hearing things that were not there, had become increasingly nervous and started to lose weight.
When she finally reached a point a few years later where she could not cope, she was admitted to a mental hospital and given the diagnosis, which devastated her.
"It was a terrible blow to my daughter," said Paolella, an East Bay Township resident. "She felt she was doomed and that it was the end of her life. By this time in college, being as bright as she was, she had studied psychology and she knew what schizophrenia was."
While her daughter did go on to graduate Phi Beta Kappa from college, she never was able to work in her chosen career as a French teacher. Instead, she has been in and out of mental hospitals and foster care homes since graduation, struggling with her illness.
Besides helping her daughter and family cope with the illness, one of the biggest hurdles Paolella has faced over the decades has been other people's fear and misunderstanding of her daughter's condition.
"People don't realize that even schizophrenia, the worst mental illness a person can have, has treatments," said Paolella, treasurer of the Grand Traverse/Leelanau Alliance for the Mentally Ill. "My daughter is still delusional at times, but if not for modern medicine, I don't know where we'd be. She is much calmer, lives at home now and works part time as a housekeeper."
Paolella and twenty others banded together Saturday morning to fight the ignorance and fear associated with mental illness in the first annual Stigma Stomp, sponsored by the Grand Traverse/Leelanau Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
Starting from Tom's West Bay, the walkers marched down Grandview Parkway waving signs educating about and advocating for people with mental illness. The group wanted to raise the awareness that mental illness is a treatable disease, not a curse or caused by a person's weakness.
"A lot of people don't come for treatment because they are worried about the stigma," said Valerie Harpel, program coordinator for partial hospitalization at Munson Medical Center. "Mental illness is a biological disorder of the brain, not a weakness."
The Grand Traverse/Leelanau Alliance for the Mentally Ill was formed in 1987 to provide education, support and advocacy for the mentally ill and their families. The founders wanted to create a place for people and families to go for help, instead having to cope alone and in silence. The local group has 35 members and is affiliated with both state and national Alliance for the Mentally Ill groups.
"We got together because we needed to talk to other people and families trying to cope with mental illness," said Marjorie Hartnett, a city resident who is president of the group. "Many times the illness strikes and you don't know what to do. We help people learn more and develop skills to handle it."
The Grand Traverse/Leelanau Alliance for the Mentally Ill meets twice month at Munson Medical Center. Meetings are open to any person coping with mental illness or their family members. The group is also hosting their sixth annual regional Alliance for the Mentally Ill conference on Friday, October 23, in Traverse City. Contact Margie Hartnett at 947-4174 for more information on the group or about the conference.